mamabunny
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2012
- Messages
- 3,834
So I haven't been around a whole bunch lately.
That's because on Wed Dec 30, I woke up and had lost sensation below the waist.
That triggered a trip to the ER, a sub-trip through an MRI, and then ultimately a sub-sub-trip to the OR where I got fused, and laminectomy-ied and I now have enough shiny new hardware in my back that if you sit next to me, you are always guaranteed a 5G signal on your cell phone.
I was inpatient for 3 days, and then got discharged home. Have had a couple of complications, but so far I am (hopefully) on track to recover much of my lost function. Right now, we know there will likely be another surgery, but I am doing my best to ignore that for the moment.
It stinks, because right now, the hubs and I were supposed to be on our anniversary trip/eleventy-third honeymoon trip, staying at CR. It was going to be our first trip alone together - no other family, just us - in our 34 years of marriage. We had gotten an amazing room at CR - truly a "bucket list" reservation, and we were looking forward to trying out the new Park Hopper system, and enjoying the Arts Festival at EPCOT, and I can't talk about it anymore because I am going to swamp my keyboard with tears. Forgive my pity party; I'm still hurting physically, and I'm sad because we were so very excited about this particular trip.
In reality, I know I am actually very fortunate. Not just because we have been to WDW before, and we will go again - I know that. Trips can be rescheduled; it happens for lots of different kinds of reasons, all the time.
But if this health emergency had occurred while we were on the trip, I would not have had access to my neurosurgeon. We would have been dealing with unknown doctors and hospitals, "out of network" expenses for everything, and would not have had the support of our family and friends. We would have been alone in the middle of a serious medical emergency, and so for that, I am wildly grateful that it happened when it did, before we left.
I won't be around quite as much as usual for a while, but I am still here, and - thankfully - headed towards as much full functionality as possible.
°o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o°
Well, it's update time.
The first (major) thing that I had not really discussed here is that our daughter got engaged on Christmas Eve - at MK, in front of the Castle! Wanna see the ring? Of course you do - all of us Disney kids are born romantics, after all!
Rose gold, a large morganite stone surrounded by opals and diamonds. It's the perfect ring for her!
He is a wonderful person from a loving and wonderful family; we have known him since they were children, and she is over the moon❤
Our daughter actually works in Silicon Valley (SF Bay Area, California) and came home to us early last summer when her employer fully shut down and went to total telecommuting/work from home. We have a stupidly large house, because are very fortunate to live in my family home, and so there was more than enough room for her, all of her stuff, and her work stuff too. When they reconnected, we had brought him into our "family pod" early in the autumn because they were spending so much time together it was easier (and safer) for everyone. So while we weren't surprised at the proposal, we were very, very happy for them! He even called us from MK (she had gone to the Starbucks on Main Street to grab them a coffee) to formally ask our "permission" before he proposed!
They reported that the entire time they were at WDW, even with holiday crowds, they felt safe - safer than they felt on their flights, or in the airports!
They got home on December 26, about 3 ½ days before my emergency surgery.
Two weeks ago, (on Jan 14th) he woke up feeling sick, running a fever, and with a cough that escalated quickly from nothing to horrible. It was a slow motion nightmare, he went from zero - great, fine, no problem the day before - to being genuinely, seriously ill in less than 24 hours. They called his doctor, he went and got a rapid test, it came back positive (no surprise). She was tested also, and was negative.
We are very fortunate, very blessed. Because of how our house is laid out, we moved him and our daughter into a room where we could kind of "isolate" them to their own HVAC system. I can't do much because of the surgery, but my husband and daughter basically created an isolation area, and she cared for him mostly on her own. She was double masked 24/7 and we did our best to keep them supplied with everything they needed, from sanitizing wipes to Puffs Plus and his favorite foods. She stayed in touch with his doctor daily, monitored his pulse ox, and symptoms, and thankfully in just under 10 days he was done, and tested negative. He still has not fully gotten his sense of taste and smell back, but we are hopeful. Our daughter has been rapid-tested every 3rd day since his positive test, and continues to test negative (somehow). She's fine, and happy that he is feeling good enough to finally return to work today! She took her last (negative) test yesterday, and the hubs and I never developed a single symptom. They don't believe they were exposed on the WDW trip - the timing (more than 2 weeks after their return) indicates that he was somehow exposed/infected after they were home, even despite taking all precautions (masking, washing hands, social distancing); his doctor said there is no way to ever know where he got it from. Or why she has stayed healthy, even while nursing him with only doubled face masks and over the counter products for PPE.
But...
10 days ago, in the middle of our little family's COVID crisis, my beloved father-in-law dropped dead on his kitchen floor. No warning, no obvious reason. He had tested negative for COVID himself not even 24 hours before, and had been waiting for my sister-in-law to come over and visit that day. She found him, and called my husband.
We are all shattered. He was everything a dad should be: good, and kind, and loving. He always supported his kids and grandkids, without reservation or judgement, and he was sharp and funny and punny and witty until his last day. I want to be just like him when I get old(er).
When my own dad died just a few years after I married his oldest son, he hugged me tight after the funeral and promised me that he would always be my dad from now on, and that all I had to do was call him, and he would be there for me. He never failed me, for more than 30 years. I will miss him every day, just like I miss my own parents.
Because of the pandemic, everything is out the window, and there can be no funeral, no memorial service for now. We are oddly adrift in our grief. My husband's siblings are all trying to work their way through everything together, over daily Zoom calls, but it's all still so sad and surreal.
°o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o°
I truly and really appreciate all the of the love you all have shown me here - now, more than ever, it helps heal my heart and make me feel better and stronger. I know how very lucky I am - my daughter, who came home because of COVID, has found the love of her life, and I am so truly happy to know that she has her "forever person" and that he is every bit as wonderful as we want him to be. We are all together here, supporting one another through our shock and grief and recovery - mine from surgery, and his from the virus - but I don't think we can deal with much more on our (collective) plate right now.
So, be sure to stay safe and healthy, please. I need every one of you to be OK. I love all y'all.
I'm going to continue to work on healing and getting stronger again.
That's because on Wed Dec 30, I woke up and had lost sensation below the waist.
That triggered a trip to the ER, a sub-trip through an MRI, and then ultimately a sub-sub-trip to the OR where I got fused, and laminectomy-ied and I now have enough shiny new hardware in my back that if you sit next to me, you are always guaranteed a 5G signal on your cell phone.
I was inpatient for 3 days, and then got discharged home. Have had a couple of complications, but so far I am (hopefully) on track to recover much of my lost function. Right now, we know there will likely be another surgery, but I am doing my best to ignore that for the moment.
It stinks, because right now, the hubs and I were supposed to be on our anniversary trip/eleventy-third honeymoon trip, staying at CR. It was going to be our first trip alone together - no other family, just us - in our 34 years of marriage. We had gotten an amazing room at CR - truly a "bucket list" reservation, and we were looking forward to trying out the new Park Hopper system, and enjoying the Arts Festival at EPCOT, and I can't talk about it anymore because I am going to swamp my keyboard with tears. Forgive my pity party; I'm still hurting physically, and I'm sad because we were so very excited about this particular trip.
In reality, I know I am actually very fortunate. Not just because we have been to WDW before, and we will go again - I know that. Trips can be rescheduled; it happens for lots of different kinds of reasons, all the time.
But if this health emergency had occurred while we were on the trip, I would not have had access to my neurosurgeon. We would have been dealing with unknown doctors and hospitals, "out of network" expenses for everything, and would not have had the support of our family and friends. We would have been alone in the middle of a serious medical emergency, and so for that, I am wildly grateful that it happened when it did, before we left.
I won't be around quite as much as usual for a while, but I am still here, and - thankfully - headed towards as much full functionality as possible.
°o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o°
Well, it's update time.
The first (major) thing that I had not really discussed here is that our daughter got engaged on Christmas Eve - at MK, in front of the Castle! Wanna see the ring? Of course you do - all of us Disney kids are born romantics, after all!
Rose gold, a large morganite stone surrounded by opals and diamonds. It's the perfect ring for her!
He is a wonderful person from a loving and wonderful family; we have known him since they were children, and she is over the moon❤
Our daughter actually works in Silicon Valley (SF Bay Area, California) and came home to us early last summer when her employer fully shut down and went to total telecommuting/work from home. We have a stupidly large house, because are very fortunate to live in my family home, and so there was more than enough room for her, all of her stuff, and her work stuff too. When they reconnected, we had brought him into our "family pod" early in the autumn because they were spending so much time together it was easier (and safer) for everyone. So while we weren't surprised at the proposal, we were very, very happy for them! He even called us from MK (she had gone to the Starbucks on Main Street to grab them a coffee) to formally ask our "permission" before he proposed!
They reported that the entire time they were at WDW, even with holiday crowds, they felt safe - safer than they felt on their flights, or in the airports!
They got home on December 26, about 3 ½ days before my emergency surgery.
Two weeks ago, (on Jan 14th) he woke up feeling sick, running a fever, and with a cough that escalated quickly from nothing to horrible. It was a slow motion nightmare, he went from zero - great, fine, no problem the day before - to being genuinely, seriously ill in less than 24 hours. They called his doctor, he went and got a rapid test, it came back positive (no surprise). She was tested also, and was negative.
We are very fortunate, very blessed. Because of how our house is laid out, we moved him and our daughter into a room where we could kind of "isolate" them to their own HVAC system. I can't do much because of the surgery, but my husband and daughter basically created an isolation area, and she cared for him mostly on her own. She was double masked 24/7 and we did our best to keep them supplied with everything they needed, from sanitizing wipes to Puffs Plus and his favorite foods. She stayed in touch with his doctor daily, monitored his pulse ox, and symptoms, and thankfully in just under 10 days he was done, and tested negative. He still has not fully gotten his sense of taste and smell back, but we are hopeful. Our daughter has been rapid-tested every 3rd day since his positive test, and continues to test negative (somehow). She's fine, and happy that he is feeling good enough to finally return to work today! She took her last (negative) test yesterday, and the hubs and I never developed a single symptom. They don't believe they were exposed on the WDW trip - the timing (more than 2 weeks after their return) indicates that he was somehow exposed/infected after they were home, even despite taking all precautions (masking, washing hands, social distancing); his doctor said there is no way to ever know where he got it from. Or why she has stayed healthy, even while nursing him with only doubled face masks and over the counter products for PPE.
But...
10 days ago, in the middle of our little family's COVID crisis, my beloved father-in-law dropped dead on his kitchen floor. No warning, no obvious reason. He had tested negative for COVID himself not even 24 hours before, and had been waiting for my sister-in-law to come over and visit that day. She found him, and called my husband.
We are all shattered. He was everything a dad should be: good, and kind, and loving. He always supported his kids and grandkids, without reservation or judgement, and he was sharp and funny and punny and witty until his last day. I want to be just like him when I get old(er).
When my own dad died just a few years after I married his oldest son, he hugged me tight after the funeral and promised me that he would always be my dad from now on, and that all I had to do was call him, and he would be there for me. He never failed me, for more than 30 years. I will miss him every day, just like I miss my own parents.
Because of the pandemic, everything is out the window, and there can be no funeral, no memorial service for now. We are oddly adrift in our grief. My husband's siblings are all trying to work their way through everything together, over daily Zoom calls, but it's all still so sad and surreal.
°o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o° °o°
I truly and really appreciate all the of the love you all have shown me here - now, more than ever, it helps heal my heart and make me feel better and stronger. I know how very lucky I am - my daughter, who came home because of COVID, has found the love of her life, and I am so truly happy to know that she has her "forever person" and that he is every bit as wonderful as we want him to be. We are all together here, supporting one another through our shock and grief and recovery - mine from surgery, and his from the virus - but I don't think we can deal with much more on our (collective) plate right now.
So, be sure to stay safe and healthy, please. I need every one of you to be OK. I love all y'all.
I'm going to continue to work on healing and getting stronger again.
Last edited:
Your advice was excellent and helped alot.
