An Update on Allen's Recovery from His First Surgery

“Allen is doing better than expected,” Trish said at the beginning of a call to talk about Allen’s recent surgery. That seems like a fabulous way to start this blog post because, as any Journalism 101 class will teach you: Don’t bury the lede!

If you’ve been following the updates closely, you know that Allen’s first surgery was supposed to take place on April 1st. But… April Fools! It didn’t happen then because, four days prior to the scheduled surgery date, Allen went in for a pre-op appointment. That was the first time that one of the medical people thought about the heart stents that Allen had put in during 2017 or 2018. His aftercare for those was not what he would have received in the States and the doctor wanted to make sure that he was in good shape for surgery. 

Trish shared, “We were so fortunate that, after the pre-op appointment on a Thursday, we were able to find a cardiologist that would see him the following day. They did an EKG on Friday and then scheduled an ultrasound and stress test for the following week. It was amazing that it went so fast. After the tests, Allen was given a clean bill of health for his heart and was ready to get back on the schedule for surgery.”

The surgery, which took place on April 29th, went very well, with no real complications. The doctor mentioned that Allen has a lot of bone spurs, which was probably causing as much pain as the vertebral compression. Allen now has an 8 inch incision on his back that is being held together with 36 staples. The staples are a definite cause of pain and discomfort. They aren’t supposed to be covered and they are proving to be a source of annoyance. Thankfully, they are scheduled to come out on Tuesday and Allen is counting down the days.

The pain meds are doing their thing and Trish has learned a bit about having prescriptions filled in the US. For instance, she discovered that if you go to a new pharmacy and they notice that you have an address from the west side of Florida, a doctor from the east side, and are trying to have a prescription filled in Orlando, suspicions will be raised! Trish mentioned that Allen had just had surgery in Orlando and she believes the pharmacy called the hospital to check on that. That is quite a difference from going into a pharmacy in Honduras and simply asking for what you want, normally without a prescription. 

Allen was in the hospital from Monday to Thursday. He blew the physical therapist away and it became clear that he didn’t need to have an extended stay to receive physical therapy. He also didn’t need a walker. Trish described him as having “the mindset of wanting to get back to mobility.” 

Allen himself described his current pain level as just a little worse than what he was dealing with pre-surgery. The pain is different now, which Allen and Trish are hoping is a good sign. The prayer is that this is just the healing pain from the surgery. They will know more when the incision has healed and the staples are removed. 

Sleep was a major concern because Allen has a long history of being a lousy sleeper. The pain meds are helping with that for now. After leaving the hospital, he’s sleeping better than he has in years. 

The four-mile drive home from the hospital had Trish driving 20 mph with the flashers on the whole way. Every single crack or slight bump in the road caused Allen pain. The trip to the doctor on Tuesday will be his first time to get out and about. 

Allen wants to be sure and thank you all for your prayers. Trish shared, “We thank the Lord that thus far it seems that it has gone much better than we thought it would. We didn’t know how much aftercare he would need.”

Trish did make two trips to CVS and one trip to a Walmart pharmacy yesterday. The pain meds are definitely helping to keep things manageable. In fact, the pain meds are likely the reason Allen is now saying that he might not need to have surgery on his neck later on. Don’t worry, though. There will be another appointment in a few weeks to assess how he is really doing after he’s had a little more time to heal and is less medicated!

- posted by Christi