I had met Todd in the hospital a couple times - he came by before the Halo installation to take some basic measurements for the procedure, and then afterwards for a post-op screw tightening. This would be just a basic check up to make sure everything with the brace was still behaving exactly as it should. My first follow up with Dr. Lynne the neurosurgeon wouldn’t be for another couple weeks still, at which time we’d actually see how the neck healing was progressing.
Oh, here’s a good spot to talk about a quick CLOTHING update - the vest part of the Halo sits right on your skin and never comes off, but as usual, Lindsay had gotten clever. We took a couple of my sleeveless t shirts and cut the shoulder sections apart, which allowed me to step into a shirt and then slide the front and back now-separated halves up through and underneath the vest and secured under the shoulder sections. There’s just enough wiggle room to get a shirt threaded underneath, which not only allowed a layer of fabric to protect my skin from any irritation, but also allowed me to not feel like I was half naked all the time. This was fine for getting around the house, but further creativity was needed for going outside the house. We made some creative cuts into the back of a large zip up fleece jacket for it to fit around the bars of the Halo in the back. Not perfect, but pretty good for a first attempt. We’ll have plenty of time to keep experimenting with a couple of other extra large hoodies and shirts I picked up as well. One may be in a Halo, but that doesn’t mean one can’t attempt to be as fly as possible at all times.
Snug in my jury-rigged jacket and folded into the car again (much easier than when coming home from the hospital, great strides in mobility over the last week and a half!), we trundled on down to Todd’s office. It was a pretty simple visit all things considered. Todd checked everything out to make sure it all looked good and showed us that the foam pads lining the inside of the vest are actually removable without having to take off the vest itself! With creative use of trash-bag liners to separate the foam from the velcro lining of the vest, it can be removed and swapped out for alternate foam pads should we desire to wash or air out the pads from time to time. It was - while not exactly painful - a rather jostling experience, so I doubt we’ll be doing it every day or two, but it’s good to have the option ready for whenever we need it.
Todd answered a few of our questions and said - barring any unforeseen circumstances - the next time we would see him would be to remove the Halo in however many months down the road Dr. Lynne decided it was time. Optimistically, nothing with the Halo will need adjustment throughout the process - he said to give him a call if any head pain worsened, as that could be a sign that one of the skull screws was loosening and needed to be tightened. He was able to provide the trivia tidbit I had been wondering about - that the entire Halo contraption weighs about 12 lbs total - and also provided us with the wrench set that I must carry with me at all times in case of some catastrophic event in which the vest would need to be removed. Literally, I can’t take this thing off without three separate wrenches for the various bolts and screws that hold it together. That done we returned home and back to our normal routine.
We’ve stabilized into a pretty normal routine at this point. I’m still sleeping in my recliner each night and have graduated to reclining slightly (still more comfortable to sleep mostly sitting up vs lying down - I think this has to do with how the weight of my head is distributed between the four skull pins), and this allows me to keep my feet propped up to avoid any swollen ankles. I’m able to get around the house more and more normally, if still at half-speed or so. Turning or rotating is the most deliberate action - I’m getting better at a smoooooth turn where my entire body rotates at once (I mean my head has to move with the torso, it’s locked into place) - but the smoother the action is the less strain I feel on the neck as I turn. Weekdays I make the climb up the stairs to my office where I’ve found that one thing the Halo is good for is curbing my low-grade physical ADD - whereas before I would often get up from my chair every 20 minutes while working to go do something I had just thought of or been distracted by, now it’s easier to sit and work for at least a couple hours at a time without moving, as it’s when I’m stillest for long periods of time that I am most prone to (almost) forget about my portable, wearable metal cage.
“Pincare” is a new part of our nightly routine as well. One of primary things you have to take care of while in a Halo is maintenance of the four sites where the pins screw into my skull. The four sites have to be cleaned daily to ensure no infection sets in. Using Q-tips and and an antimicrobial/bacterial cleanser (off-brand Hibiclens), Lindsay swabs around the sites to ensure they’re staying as clean and germ-free as possible. Currently, the back two pin sites are causing a bit of consternation. They didn’t shave or trim my hair at all when they put the screws in back there, so for one they are a little hard to see and get to, but for two those two sites are showing some signs of a yellowish discharge (sorry people, no filter here when it comes to the gory details). This is not necessarily abnormal or a huge warning sign as redness, irritation/inflammation, or pain at the sites would be (really the sites don’t hurt at all), but we’ve upgraded (on Todd’s instructions) to using hydrogen peroxide on those sites for a few days for some added cleansing benefit. I’m really not concerned as long as there is no pain or redness - Lindsay is a bit more cautious - but between the two of us I’m confident we would catch any true problems in the early stages and head them off then.
Still plenty of things to do, so thankfully I have never been bored. It is a little astounding how much extra time I feel as though I have some days. In my “previous” life between cycling, running, and working out I was often being physically active for 15-20 hours per week, so to have that much extra time now to sit and get extra sleep, extra reading/gaming/watching done, etc is really a shift in “how I spend my time”. It’s all pretty productive though, so I’m happy.
The higher amount of neck pain I was experiencing last week seems to have subsided a bit. I’m usually only taking a few ibuprofen at night when the fatigue of the day allows more soreness and tenderness to creep in, and to help alleviate any pain that might keep me from sleeping. I’m sleeping pretty well actually, usually in chunks of at least 3-4 hours at a time and sleeping soundly while I’m out. Rest is when the body heals the most, so I’m trying to keep doing as much of that as possible.
I’m constantly reminded - and humbled - by how many good people surround me in my life. Daily reports of people thinking, wishing-well, and praying, as well as dozens of friends stepping up to help provide meals, help around the house, and offers of assistance for anything that we might need over the next few months while I’m facing some of these physical limitations provide daily encouragement and a level of support for which I can never express enough gratitude in return. This recovery may be a tough journey, but I’m very fortunate to not have to walk it alone.
Oh, here’s a good spot to talk about a quick CLOTHING update - the vest part of the Halo sits right on your skin and never comes off, but as usual, Lindsay had gotten clever. We took a couple of my sleeveless t shirts and cut the shoulder sections apart, which allowed me to step into a shirt and then slide the front and back now-separated halves up through and underneath the vest and secured under the shoulder sections. There’s just enough wiggle room to get a shirt threaded underneath, which not only allowed a layer of fabric to protect my skin from any irritation, but also allowed me to not feel like I was half naked all the time. This was fine for getting around the house, but further creativity was needed for going outside the house. We made some creative cuts into the back of a large zip up fleece jacket for it to fit around the bars of the Halo in the back. Not perfect, but pretty good for a first attempt. We’ll have plenty of time to keep experimenting with a couple of other extra large hoodies and shirts I picked up as well. One may be in a Halo, but that doesn’t mean one can’t attempt to be as fly as possible at all times.
Snug in my jury-rigged jacket and folded into the car again (much easier than when coming home from the hospital, great strides in mobility over the last week and a half!), we trundled on down to Todd’s office. It was a pretty simple visit all things considered. Todd checked everything out to make sure it all looked good and showed us that the foam pads lining the inside of the vest are actually removable without having to take off the vest itself! With creative use of trash-bag liners to separate the foam from the velcro lining of the vest, it can be removed and swapped out for alternate foam pads should we desire to wash or air out the pads from time to time. It was - while not exactly painful - a rather jostling experience, so I doubt we’ll be doing it every day or two, but it’s good to have the option ready for whenever we need it.
Todd answered a few of our questions and said - barring any unforeseen circumstances - the next time we would see him would be to remove the Halo in however many months down the road Dr. Lynne decided it was time. Optimistically, nothing with the Halo will need adjustment throughout the process - he said to give him a call if any head pain worsened, as that could be a sign that one of the skull screws was loosening and needed to be tightened. He was able to provide the trivia tidbit I had been wondering about - that the entire Halo contraption weighs about 12 lbs total - and also provided us with the wrench set that I must carry with me at all times in case of some catastrophic event in which the vest would need to be removed. Literally, I can’t take this thing off without three separate wrenches for the various bolts and screws that hold it together. That done we returned home and back to our normal routine.
We’ve stabilized into a pretty normal routine at this point. I’m still sleeping in my recliner each night and have graduated to reclining slightly (still more comfortable to sleep mostly sitting up vs lying down - I think this has to do with how the weight of my head is distributed between the four skull pins), and this allows me to keep my feet propped up to avoid any swollen ankles. I’m able to get around the house more and more normally, if still at half-speed or so. Turning or rotating is the most deliberate action - I’m getting better at a smoooooth turn where my entire body rotates at once (I mean my head has to move with the torso, it’s locked into place) - but the smoother the action is the less strain I feel on the neck as I turn. Weekdays I make the climb up the stairs to my office where I’ve found that one thing the Halo is good for is curbing my low-grade physical ADD - whereas before I would often get up from my chair every 20 minutes while working to go do something I had just thought of or been distracted by, now it’s easier to sit and work for at least a couple hours at a time without moving, as it’s when I’m stillest for long periods of time that I am most prone to (almost) forget about my portable, wearable metal cage.
“Pincare” is a new part of our nightly routine as well. One of primary things you have to take care of while in a Halo is maintenance of the four sites where the pins screw into my skull. The four sites have to be cleaned daily to ensure no infection sets in. Using Q-tips and and an antimicrobial/bacterial cleanser (off-brand Hibiclens), Lindsay swabs around the sites to ensure they’re staying as clean and germ-free as possible. Currently, the back two pin sites are causing a bit of consternation. They didn’t shave or trim my hair at all when they put the screws in back there, so for one they are a little hard to see and get to, but for two those two sites are showing some signs of a yellowish discharge (sorry people, no filter here when it comes to the gory details). This is not necessarily abnormal or a huge warning sign as redness, irritation/inflammation, or pain at the sites would be (really the sites don’t hurt at all), but we’ve upgraded (on Todd’s instructions) to using hydrogen peroxide on those sites for a few days for some added cleansing benefit. I’m really not concerned as long as there is no pain or redness - Lindsay is a bit more cautious - but between the two of us I’m confident we would catch any true problems in the early stages and head them off then.
Still plenty of things to do, so thankfully I have never been bored. It is a little astounding how much extra time I feel as though I have some days. In my “previous” life between cycling, running, and working out I was often being physically active for 15-20 hours per week, so to have that much extra time now to sit and get extra sleep, extra reading/gaming/watching done, etc is really a shift in “how I spend my time”. It’s all pretty productive though, so I’m happy.
The higher amount of neck pain I was experiencing last week seems to have subsided a bit. I’m usually only taking a few ibuprofen at night when the fatigue of the day allows more soreness and tenderness to creep in, and to help alleviate any pain that might keep me from sleeping. I’m sleeping pretty well actually, usually in chunks of at least 3-4 hours at a time and sleeping soundly while I’m out. Rest is when the body heals the most, so I’m trying to keep doing as much of that as possible.
I’m constantly reminded - and humbled - by how many good people surround me in my life. Daily reports of people thinking, wishing-well, and praying, as well as dozens of friends stepping up to help provide meals, help around the house, and offers of assistance for anything that we might need over the next few months while I’m facing some of these physical limitations provide daily encouragement and a level of support for which I can never express enough gratitude in return. This recovery may be a tough journey, but I’m very fortunate to not have to walk it alone.
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| Graham the Occasional Lapdog provides regular emotional support |
Your blog is very interesting. I'm glad you're doing so well. God has been so good to you. I was surprised that you were able to go back to work so quickly. What a blessing! I'm sure your parents are glad that you are doing so well, too. Just the fact that you survived is a miracle. Modern medicine is really great, but God is still ultimately in control. This is Miss Cleveland, by the way.
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