Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Surgery in Utah . . .

As most of you know by now, I have experienced great pain in my left arm and neck for the past two months. As these MRI images show, I had a herniated disc in my neck that was pinching the nerves for my left arm.

The herniated disc is between the 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae and surgery was required in order to repair this. On July 16th we left Chile to return to the United States for the surgery. Dr. Yonemura at the University of Utah Medical Center was my surgeon and the procedure, known as a Posterior Lamino Foraminotomy was performed yesterday morning. In this surgery entry was made from the back left side of my neck. Some bone is removed to make a larger space for the nerve and then the ruptured portion of the disc is shaved away. As a bonus, he removed several bone spurs that formed due to my arthritis.

The surgery took approximately 3.5 hours and went well. I am now recovering at home. The doctor estimates 2-4 weeks for recovery. Interestingly, the most painful part of the procedure was a large second degree burn to my right arm that occurred during surgery from the carterization tool. As I woke from the anesthesia I wondered why my right arm was so painful and that is when they discovered the burn.
It is certainly nice to be home for a few weeks and to see many family and friends, especially our granddaughters, but we miss the mission and our missionaries very much. We are hopeful that the recovery will go quickly so we can get back to the greatest mission in the world: Chile Osorno!

In our absence, Elder Stephen Boyden and his wife are watching over the mission. Elder Boyden is the Executive Secretary for the Chile Area and previously served as a mission president in Mexico and president of the MTC in Spain. It is wonderful to know that they are available to help through this process. They will be a great blessing for our mission.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Hola President Lovell! This is Elder Simons' mother. We live in Provo. Very glad that your surgery went well. Our son sure loves you and your wife.
Thanks for all of the wonderful service and love you give to our amazing sons!!!! (We are going to try to visit you while you are home for awhile, hopefully we can find you 801-830-7075 Craig Simons)

Sue Bullough Burningham said...

We were sorry to hear that you have been suffering, but happy to hear that the surgery went well and that you are feeling better. We will keep you in our prayers.

We are sure that you are very missed in the Chile Osorno mission, but what a blessing for your loved ones to be able to see you and spend some time with you. Thank you both for being so loving and such great examples to our daughter. (Hermana Burningham)She loves you both!

Love,
Ted and Sue Burningham

The Pettit Family said...

Hola Presidente! Espero que todo esta bien les extrano mucho! Estoy feliz que la suegeria paso bien. Cuidese mucho. Llamame si puede (480)294-0777 les amo
Kendra

Familia Mora said...

Estimado Presidente Lovell;
Nos alegra que ya salio todo bien con la operacion.....y lo buenisimo que debe ser estar disfrutano de la familia y sus amados nietos...se le extraña mucho, en especial los misioneros de Aysen , quienes han orado mucho por ud..le aman mucho, a lo cual nos unimos...reciba nuestro amor y mejores deseos para ud y su salud..
un abrazo a la hna Lovell y se les espera en nuestro bello Chile....

KarenM said...

Hi Kenny - Glad to hear that all went well with your surgery. I'm sure you are getting anxious to return to Chile. Say Hi to Susie.

Cindy B said...

Ow ow ow! I'm glad to hear that you are recovering well. We have been praying for you.

Halliday's said...

Pres. Lovell! I'm glad to hear it all went well! We had a little OK reunion and while it was small it brought back many fond memories, not to mention some great laughs over photos! Thank you for being such an example to me. We are all doing well. Neil is enjoying his mission and definitely growing up...less than a year to go! Life is good and I hope your recovery goes smooth! We have a blog, but it's private. Yeah, I'm a little paranoid I guess. haha Anyhow, if you would like an invite, I can send you one. My email is snhalliday@hotmail.com
Take care!

lorena said...

Pero bueno...no nos has dicho nada...como estas?? espero que bien!muchos besos españoles!