Long Day

I have good news and bad news.  Carla went into the hospital at 7:30 this morning and didn't leave until after 3:00. 

The good news is she is feeling much better and not in pain.  The doctor did kyphoplasty on the T7 vertebrae that had collapsed even more after her surgery in Springfield on August 28th.  Basically this involved drilling a hole in T7 and using a balloon to make a pocket in the vertebrae and then injecting a pastic cement into this cavity to stabilize this area.  Kind of reminds me of my model car days ;-)

The doctor also gave an epidural injection of a steroid into Carla's back below the metal rod that was implanted on August 28th.

The bad news is the CT scan showed the screw in the T9 vertebrae was almost pulled loose from the vertebrae.  He thought the epidural would suffice for 4 - 6 months.  He will keep watch on her back as Carla goes through the rest of her multiple myeloma therapy.  They don't know what they would have to do to repair her messed up implanted rod but it will possibly involve opening up her back again.  We hope not. 

If any of you happen to know someone diagnosed with multiple myeloma, insist that they get it analyzed at the Myeloma Institue in Little Rock or at least by someone who has dealt with many myeloma cases before.  I am certain the neurologist in Springfield did what he thought best but he had not dealth with enough recent myeloma patients to be up to date on the newest treatment methods.  Myeloma weakens the bones and they aren't strong enough to hold screws used to fuse vertebraes. 

Carla also got her central venous line (catheter) implanted in her chest so she is ready to start her chemo tomorrow.