update

Since leaving the hospital, I've been sleeping constantly. I mean almost all day and all night. I have queued posts on tumblr, but the queue doesn't work on this host for some reason. Please check tumblr until further notice of my recovery. Aside from flaring and pain, I'm healing well with no infections or complications :)

Back to sleep..!

    

Surgery Was Canceled. Again. For the Fifth Time

 My surgery has been called off for a fifth time, only this go around I was only feet away from the operating room.

I have reached the end of my rope. This will be long so I don’t have to explain to friends and family what happened 100 times.



A big thanks to the support and love, both online and from friends and family. I’d never be as strong as I am without you all, and I am so very grateful.

Surgical Hiatus: Wish Me Luck!

Trying to get everything in order for surgery and my return home late next week (hopefully), and filling up the queue with a ton of posts/quotes/articles to keep you all entertained for two+ weeks. The queue will definitely work on tumblr, however I am not too sure about blogspot. Check tumblr for daily updates if you do not see posts coming up here, and I will fix errors when I'm back in action. 

I will answer your questions when I get back and am able to use a computer or focus, and a huge thank you to everyone who has sent kind messages both here and on facebook wishing me well with positive thoughts or prayers through my surgery! You are all so wonderful and I will respond to each of you individually when I’m home.

I leave early Monday morning at 4:45 for the hospital. My check in time is 5:45 and my surgery is scheduled for 7AM sharp. They have assured me I will be given oxygen with a sedative to keep me calm or knock me out so I don’t have an anxiety attack or throw up from nerves like I did last time (granted, I was eleven, but still), so I am not too worried. I think I’m probably dreading the foley catheter just as much as the actually surgery and recovery (how pathetic is that?). Looking forward to putting an end to the whole ordeal. It’s going to be a long road, but at least I am moving forward :)

I’m off to spend the rest of day relaxing with friends and family. I will update the facebook page when I am first able to alert friends, family, and followers that I made it through surgery okay without problems.

I hope everyone has an easier week than I will be having! Talk to you all in a week or so,

Emily

 Feel kind of awkward with my boobs all up in your face (not sure why the x-ray is like that…), but this would be my wonky spine that is causing me so much pain. The rods go farther up (this is only mid-spine and the black bar is there because the x-ray screens were separated) and the lower spine is completely contorted in weird directions. That short rod is pressing against and irritating my diaphragm. Can’t wait for the rods to finally be OUT of my body come Monday morning!

Surgery on Monday the 19th: What You Can Expect While I'm on Surgical Hiatus

Tumblr queue will be stocked since I’ll be taking a break to have and recovery from a huge spine surgery starting Monday, the 19th. I’ll be in the hospital for a minimum of a week, so I anticipate taking a three week break, possibly longer. I haven't used blogspot's queue and hopefully it will work, but if not I'll update after I am home from the hospital. Coming up in the four weeks:

• Multiple Weekly Link Roundups that are lengthy to make up for being so overdue— one specifically geared towards Scoliosis
• Surgery 101: How to mentally prepare for a major surgery, how to prepare for recovery time after surgery.
• Book review of Enemy Within by Karen Ager (a must-read)
• Book review of How to Be Sick by Toni Bernhard (another must-read)
• Announcing my two jewelry lines, one of which focuses on awareness jewelry
• Part II of my College and Chronic Illness: Preparing for School series
• Finally launching The Pre-Med Patient, which has taken a backseat to everything else lately (reilareila, know that I have you in mind :)
• Finishing blogspot layout and custom logo designs
• Post/discussion Painkiller 101 FAQ

And a ton of other great stuff will be queue’d up. As always, please like and share the facebook page with your friends. Spreading awareness and sharing the content of Chronic Curve with others is the goal :) It’s possible that I will be updating facebook after surgery to let friends and family know how things went— another reason to check CC Facebook.

Hope everyone is well,

Lessons Learned: A Beautiful Journey

There is immense strength to be found in yourself. Sometimes, we just need someone or something to show us how to find it.

Lack of Communication in the Medical Field

is incredibly frustrating. Though I understand in most circumstances why it is so difficult for doctors to communicate with each other, what I do not understand is when they do not even make the effort.