I missed Gary's get together for a preliminary procedure scheduled the day before in Philly, an had the full procedure one week ago today at UPenn hospital in Philadelphia. I was in the hospital for five days instead of the projected three. Horrible recovery process. I am barely speaking or swallowing. This was due to severe sleep apnea with off the charts test results. I has bee almost a year since I started the fight with insurance company to cover the 3 procedures involved, and ended up having to pay for one of the three out of pocket , but there may be an option yet still. Tonsills/adenoids out, UPP- enlarging hole in back of my throat to about twice the size and removing uvula, and TORS - trans oral robotic surgery to remove substantial excess tissue from back of tongue. Recovery is projected at three weeks and though I scoffed at this at first, i had so man complications in the hospital and now out I believe it will be longer than that. It is an awful procedure to go through. I have gone from 191 lbs to 173 lbs in 8 days. I wanted to get back to performing and singing by labor day but I'm thinking Oct 1st is more reasonable. Don't know if anybody else has had this but would like to know what your recovery was like. I'm also on constant pain killers that impede the thought processes for everything else. Update to come several days from now.

Sparky ... I am SO sorry to hear about this ... I can't imagine what you are going through ... Try to stay positive, because that WILL help with the healing process ...
You will be in our prayers for a full and rapid recovery ...

BTW ... At some time in the future I would like to know how this was related to sleep apnea ...

That's a nasty piece of surgery, Sparky. It will take quite a while to heal, and you may experience some voice changes, but hopefully, they will not be significant. Get well soon.

Tony, sleep apnea is more often than not related to obesity, but not always. With obese individuals, the soft pallet and surrounding tissue tend to drift down over the glottis when the patient falls asleep. This causes the cessation of breathing until the patient becomes aware of the oxygen deprivation and awakens, often gasping for breath.

Not all sleep apnea patients, however, are obese. Some are normal weight, but still have more uvula and soft pallet tissue than normal, thereby causing the sleep apnea problem. In rare cases, the apnea is so severe it requires surgical intervention to prevent heart damage.

Gary

I've known that for sure ... Lydia has sleep apnea - uses a CPAP machine every night - and as you know she is far from obese ... I just didn't know how it related to the uvula and soft pallet ...
thanks for the info ...

You guys are scaring the crap out of me !!!!!
Sparky get well soon..

Sparky, my thoughts and prayers are with you as you recover from this.

Sparky,
Good luck with the recovery - get well soon.

Deane

Sounds like serious stuff. Best of luck for a speedy recovery, keep us posted.

Bill

Sparky hope the best to you man. My dad had tonsils out at age 35 very hard just like you describe.

On another note, when we spent the night with Drew in Denver for his Esophageal endoscopy test, he snored constantly through the night and kept waking up all night. He had to have sleep apnea at 265 lbs. He finished his 28 Radiation and Chemo treatments almost 5 weeks or so ago. Monday before last he had surgery on his left side including three incisions to check lung spots that showed up in his recent CAT scan, before the Ivor Lewis Esophagectomy procedure which will go forward this monday morning.

What I wanted to say is, I've been staying with Drew for 2 weeks to get him up in the middle of the night for his pain medication. There are no more sleep apnea signs whatsoever at 220. He's lost at least 45 lbs through all of this.

Get better Sparky

Sparky,

I will be praying for a full recovery from this horrendous situation.

God Bless,
Don from Canada

All the best, Sparky. Hope your recovery is as quick and complete as possible.

Sparky,

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Hi Sparky:

Sorry to be so late weighing in on this. Sounds like something I would avoid at all costs unless there were no options. My thoughts and prayers are with you for a complete recovery... and for understanding insurance claims agents.

I suppose the "up-side" of all this is a rapid weight loss regimin... but it sure sounds like a real ordeal to me.

All my best,

Dave Rice

Thanks everybody..home 3 days then to local hospital in flemington. Huge blood clot in left leg and partially collapsed lung. Both surgical complications. Clot has me worried. More to come...thanks for your thoughts. FYI 173 lbs...

Be careful Sparky, the damned doctors can kill you if you give them a chance. None of that should have happened. Take a lawyer with you on the next doctor visit and you will be amazed at how the level of care improves.

Good Luck,

Gary

Scheduled for release tomorrow. We'll see. Visiting nurse and phys therapy for week or so..

Sparkster, we can say we're in different hospitals together! You are in my prayers.

Still here. Release keeps getting pushed back. Prayers to you as well.

Prayers are with you Sparky.

Keep smiling. Prayers and good thoughts coming your way...

Home day before yesterday. Throat healing well. Leg pain from clot can be intense, but I have to try to walk on it as much as I can tolerate. Can take 3-4 months to dissolve clot. On coumadin so I have to get blot checked every 3 days for now then that will stretch out. The complications are more dangerous than the surgery. Thank you all for your wishes and prayers- don't stop now! I have to use a stool to keep leg propped up at the keyboard. Can't use sustain pedal for now. Maybe by October..

Due to blood clots I am on coumadin for life now. So my wife got me prescribed a home electronic INR test kit so I don't have to go somewhere to get my blood tested. She just tests me with a simple finger prick at home and calls it in to the doctor. So much easier than having to have blood taken.

Wow, you guys are suffering with clots, and I'm suffering from bleedouts. Last Sunday night a blood vessel in my right foot ruptured during the middle of the night, and now I can barely walk because of a golf-ball size hematoma on the bottom of my foot. It's slowly resolving, but very painful and I had to cancel all of this week's jobs because of it. Nothing much I can do other than keep it wrapped with an ace bandage and ice it down for several hours a day. Yesterday morning, I sneezed and blood gushed out my nose like a spigot. It took an hour to get the bleeding to stop. Talked with the doc and he said to stop taking aspirin for a week. I did that beginning last Sunday, but it takes a week for the effects to wear off. (keeping my fingers crossed.)

Gettin old ain't fer wimps and sissies,

Gary

YIKES!!! This is becoming the "HOSPITAL ZONE"

Common fellas GET WELL SOON!!!!!

Donny, I wish the healing process were a lot faster, but this is not the case with older individuals - and, lets face it - WE'RE OLD! Hell, I haven't shaved for a week and my beard is snow white - if I let it grow more, maybe I could get a job as Santa Claus this winter.

The worst part about not playing for more than 2 weeks is, I'm beginning to enjoy not lugging the gear in and out of venues every day of the week. But, I sure miss that income it generates. And, because of the nature of our business, unless we pay high premiums for disability insurance, we cannot write off the lost jobs on our income tax returns. So, all that money is just gone.

Keep your fingers crossed for a quick recovery,

Gary

Sparky, Sending get well prayers and wishes your way. You're young enough to bounce back and return to gigging without problems.
Gary and you older gents, you'll just have to go back to singing with a limp ...
Ciao,
Jerry

Sparky, Gary so sorry for you guys, hope you get well soon. My son Drew is on his way home right now after 5 days in ICU and 9 days in the Cardiac unit. His Doctor is a Thoracic Surgeon, and her patients are in Cardiac recovery. Drew had an Esophagectomy resulting from a tumor in his Esophagus and Barrett's Esophagus. What about old Don? So many medical things going on with people I know. Drew's problem is usually an old man's problem, but his Doctor said it is becoming more prevalent in younger people today and they don't have a clue as to why this is happening all over the world.
You guy's be careful and take care. Oh and take it easy on the wives. Ya'll need them.