News and Lazy Girl Guest Blogger Series
by admin — 44 Comments » Lazies, Two bits of news today. I expect to be away from my desk a bit over the next few weeks as Superman (aka hubster Michael) is having surgery this Friday. Due to this, our Guest Blogger series starts next Monday.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it my hubster Michael getting ready for take off.
Fixing Superman
Many of you remember my husband, Superman. He’s occasionally modeled my creations here on the blog. Here he is showing the power of the Superman cape I made for my nephew last year. What a good sport.
Michael is having two discs removed and three vertebrae fused in his neck (anterior cervical discectomy with fusion). It’s taken nearly a year of pain, tests and appointments to diagnose and get to this point. We’re grateful that he’s in good hands and we found the problem before permanent nerve or spinal cord damage was done.
I’ll close the office for about a week following surgery. Otherwise, I’m here, be patient if you need me, I’ll get back to you.
Here’s Michael modeling one of the hospital gowns I made for my Dad last year.
Guest Blogger Series
I wasn’t sure what to expect of Michael’s recovery and I worried that the blog might sit idle. So I’ve asked some of my favorite designers, industry experts, teachers, shop owners and more to whip up some wonderful posts to educate and entertain us while I’ll be playing nurse Lois Lane to Michael’s I-promise-to-be-a-good-patient Clark Kent for the foreseeable future.
I hope throughout our series, you’ll find some new blogs to follow, get to know these interesting people, possibly expand your creative pursuits, and find insights into their niche in the quilt world.
Next Monday
As a follow-up to our post last week, our series kicks off next Monday with Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts. Following Julie are more new projects, designs, insights and stories to enjoy over the coming weeks.
All of these wonderful guests are a testament to the sense of community behind the scenes in our industry. Within minutes of asking my Lazy cohorts to participate, they started to reply with ideas.
I look forward to our Guest Blogger series getting underway and the variety of posts planned. Thank you to all of the fabulous Lazy Guest Bloggers for participating and helping me.
Thank you for your well-wishes, prayers, love and support. I’ll post an update about Michael next week.
Enjoy!
Joan
Poor Michael: He has to stop all that leaping off of tall buildings and fighting evil doers.
But since Superman is almost invincible he will heal in record time. Joan: get all the sleep you can before the surgery, stock up on coffee for after and take care of yourself. Judi
Thoughts and prayers coming your way for hubby and for his nurse!
I love your model…he looks great and the cape and hospital gown are very cool too. I wish him an excellent recovery.
Hugs,
Kelly
Sorry, can’t even spell my own name right! :-0
Best wishes to the model man. I keep meaning to make one of those gowns for when I have Xrays and the gowns for a size 2 do not fit a size 10 etc.
Having had a few months of back pain…..my feelings are with you in getting it fixed and all better. Good luck at being the perfect patient…..there has to be a first after all……and all the very best for a wonderful outcome.
good luck, had neck surgery a few yrs ago. probably need again in a few more.
praying all goes well and that you can soon jump from tall building again.
Wishing Michael a swift and serene recovery – for both your sakes 🙂
Thanks too, Joan, for organising guest bloggers to keep us out of mischief. Remember to take care of the carer (you).
Hugz, Jan
Keeping you both in my prayers. Hope Michael’s recovery is brief and painless.
Best of luck to Michael…and YOU for his speedy recovery.
Best of luck, and thanks for arranging for a sub!!
Judi, I think the leaping off of tall buildings is the easy part. It’s the landing that hurts.
I really feel your pain (literally). . . since tomorrow my husband is undergoing surgery to have three disks fused with titanium rods inserted and cages placed around two of those disks. His doctor will also scrape out extra bone growth from the inside of one of the disks. This whole procedure has been a LONG time coming and I’m just hoping it provides him with the pain relief he so deserves. He has been such a trouper, I don’t know if I could be so strong.
My prayers are with you and your husband, I ask that you keep my husband in your prayers also. Thanks.
Better luck with the surgery than my friend had. Techniques have improved so much over the years. Being a nurse is quite fun, especially when pill time comes – now do I or don’t I make him pay? Things will go well for you both. TIme will fly when he’s home and recouping and you’ll wonder how you had time to even work.
best wishes to you both,,,, surgery can bring you closer together,,, (and maybe sometimes to the end of your ropes)… the in the end the love shines thru!!!! 🙂
Wishing you well Micheal and hoping your good as new soon… Hugs to you Lazy Girl… sometimes it’s harder on the “non patient”…bj
Hi, lazy girl and michael, GOD IS IN CONTROL and by his stripes you are healed.
My thoughts and prayers are with you BOTH. You will NEED them as much as Michael will.
My Best Friend in Calif. just had the same operation less than a month ago and she tells me she is in no pain now…it’s been a long time and will be long in healing, but worth it she says.
May God hold you tight in his arms until you are completely healed, Michael. Joan you must take care of yourself so you can care for Michael after he is home again.
Thank you for the Guest Bloggers but look forward when you are back with us here again.
will have you in our prayers.
Best wishes to both of you and a speedy and complete recovery for Micheal.
Be patient with recovery time. We humans expect all to be back to ‘normal’ soon after surgery. NOT. It all takes time and patience and an encouraging spouse is essential to the whole process. I know you are both up to the challenge. Prayers and best wishes.
In 2003 I had the 5th lumbar and 1st sacral vertibrae fused and the disc in between replaced with a teflon disc so I can appreciate and empathize with your hubby. I still have some pain but not nearly what I have had. I hope all goes well with the surgery and I will say a prayer for him.
Lynn Moore in Goderich, ON Can.
Another challenge to face, but every reason to think life will be better after. Best wishes for a speedy recovery Michael!
Wishing you a sepedy recovery.
May it go well, with great doctors, great nurses, quick recovering and God’s hand of protection upon Michael and His strength upholding you as you hold everything together in your home!
Praying for skilled surgeons and swift recovery. And, don’t forget to take care of yourself while you’re taking care of Superman.
Joan
My husband had 4 disks removed and 4 vertabrae fused a year ago October, and he was a new man! No more pain. If your husband is anything like mine, remind him to stay ahead of the pain after surgery. If they offer pain killers, take it. He will get better faster. Do warn him that if he has the incision in the front (throat) he may find that he wil get a saggy chin after the healing is done. Kind of like a rooster waddle. Small price to pay to get rid of the pain.
Wish him well, and remind him to baby himself while healing.
Sandy
Good luck with hubby’s procedure! I had an ACDF last year and came out of the OR like a new person!
Best Wishes to the both of you. It might take some time to heal, but it’s all worth it. I ‘ve had several surgeries but not the neck or back. Two total hip replacements & one total knee replacement recently & my neck is probably next. So I can empathize with your husband. You also take care of yourself. Thanks for the guess blogger. God Bless
May God’s blessing be with Michael, to be out of pain , that is a blessing in itself. You have had some good advice already so I will say my prayers for you both.
Best of luck to you both! Sending well wishes for a sucessfull procedure and a speedy recovery. Patience and time are the key to successful healing, that and following the doctor’s orders!
Hi Joan,
Tell Michael that he will probably be surprised at how little pain there is after surgery. At least that was my experience. I had the same thing done. Mine was done from the front. Is that anterior? I never can remember. I had 3 vertebrae fused after replacing the discs with donor bone(glad they didn’t have to use some of my bones). I have a pretty plate in my neck that’s screwed in! I was disappointed that it wouldn’t set off the alarm at the airport. I thought that wouild be fun – I’m sorry ma’am, we can’t seem to find the source of the metal – lol. I had been in pain for years, to the point that I had to turn the shower water to hot, hot, hot in order to feel it on my back, neck and arms. I had it done in 1998. I was out of work for 3 wks, worked half time for 3 wks, but had to wear the darn neck brace for 3 months! That was torture for a menopausal woman, let me tell you. Of course, I’m sure Supermichael does more physical work than I do. I sit at a desk all day, which the doctor said was a bad thing to do for neck/back stuff. I did have pain, but it wasn’t horrible. When I woke up from the surgery, I asked if I had pain killers in my IV, and they said no. A little Tylenol w/Codeine from time to time did the trick. It was hard to eat and swallow for awhile because your throat is swollen from being manhandled during the surgery. I was used to just popping a handful of meds/vitamins all at once and the first time I tried that after the surgery, I nearly killed myself…..lol. I like to learn the hard way, unfortunately. It’s surprising that I have more range of motion in my neck now than before. I can’t touch my chin to my chest anymore, which my Neurosurgeon said he guessed that meant I’d have to give up golf! (as if ….you should see me, I couldn’t golf if you held a gun to my head) It was his attempt to be funny. He was a jerk pre-surgery, and nice post-surgery. I guess that goes w/the territory with some specialists. I have a nice scar on my neck which I’m always tempted to say came from a bar fight! Picture a 64 yr old grandma with a walker in a bar fight….
Now, for lower back pain, which I have in spades from Spinal Stenosis, I would never let them operate. I’ve heard too many horror stories of lower back pain ending up causing more pain than before.
If you or Michael have any questions I could help you with, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
xoxo Linda
Wishing your hubby a successful surgery and a quick recovery and you lots of patience,and take care of you too. I have had back surgery and pain so I can feel for him.
Joan and Mike, one of the blessings of having a blog is interacting with all the others who have had this surgery or know of people who have had it. My sense is it will all be good just from reading of others experiences. This is such a blessing to hear of what other people have been through. I know it was when I had surgery of a different nature. It took a majority of the fear away. So have faith it will all turn out for the better and Mike will be a new man in a matter of a few hours. Heck, he is superman already so it is just a momentary blip in his routine. My prayers are with you both.
Good wishes sent you way to both of you. I went through this procedure with my husband and it worked so the pain and future issues were averted. Hang in there and you both will be back to your life in a few weeks. In the meantime take things easy and take the meds.
Will be praying for Micheal and your family. A quick recovery for your # 1 model
Joan Hunny,
My mom has been there and done that. Awful, but worth it to be out of the pain. She had hers done back in the 90’s. Lots better methods now. Minimum of 6 months recovery, but above all…make sure he does all of the required physical therapy! The PT is the key to getting better and doing well for the coming years. Mom has also had other back surges done over the years ‘cuz of degenerative arthoritus. (can’t spell today). Mom is now coming up on the big 86 and still getting around pretty well. Her xrays look like they planted a ladder in her back. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you both! Sleep when you can…men tend to be big babies…hmmmmm.
Wish Michael the best. I am sure he will be leaping, bounding and modeling with the best of them very soon. Will light a candle and say a prayer for his uneventful and successful surgery and rapid and pain free recovery.
Prayers for both of you – Michael for healing and you as the caregiver. You will both do well.
I will be thinking of you and “Superman”….. take care of yourself while taking care of him.
Tell superman to hang in there and Lois will keep him
comfortable, company, warm, medicated, fed, encouraged, and most of
all LOVED!! You both will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Will be thinking of your hubby and you and keep you in my
prayers for a speedy recovery and that your new nursing job does
not tire you out. I’m sure everything will be fine.
Heal quickly thoughts and prayers coming your way! Take care of yourself as well Joan!
Penny in lovely, lovely Chesapeake, VA
You will both be in my thoughts and prayers. Take good care of Superman. I assume he’ll have some really cool hospital gowns.
Take heart Joan and Michael. I’m a nurse and these are a good part of the patients I take care of. He’ll feel so much better right after surgery. You of course have surgical pain but most patients say when they wake up the pain that led them to surgery is gone. Especially when the surgery is in the cervical area. I’ll be thinking of you both.
LOve the Superman cape! Praying for the Drs to have a steady hand
and open mind! Quick recovery to all!
Hi Joan,
It has been a few weeks since you posted that Michael was preparing for surgery. I hope that he is recovering well from the surgery and that you are both dealing with the stresses that such a surgery can place on your everyday life. (my dad had 3 back surgeries so I remember this well.)
I had 2 breast biopsies (one in mid-Feb., the other early March) I am facing yet another surgery, as the second biopsy did not come back with clean margins. I hope you will be back with us soon, with more goodies to share with us. In the meantime, I have enjoyed your guest bloggers. Take care and all the best to you and hubby.