This afternoon I got the call that confirmed it: my spine surgery will go forward tomorrow! I need to report to the hospital at 5:15 a.m. (!!!) The surgery will likely be long, and the recovery even longer. But after all the tests and appointments this week, the surgeon has made encouraging noises about what he thinks we’ll be able to achieve from this operation.
In addition to stabilizing the vertebra that are unstable and threatening the spinal cord, he plans to remove as much as possible from the largest tumor mass. That will allow us to get a better pathology report, which could be helpful for guiding treatment in the future. He’s hoping to straighten my spine in order to help my lung capacity and address some of the vertebral fractures. Although we’ve done updated scans this week, he won’t know for sure about the state of the bones until he’s looking at them, so the extent of the surgery will be determined by what he sees tomorrow.
The hours between now and the time when I need to be at the hospital are dwindling, so I’ll keep this post brief. Here are some notes of gratitude from the week:
Our travel was smooth with no disruptions
Lovely friends have a car they were able to share
Other friends and loved ones have shared housing and food and logistics support
My Covid bout was mild and happened with just enough time to be considered recovered before surgery
Some notes for prayer:
Enough good quality bone to be able to do the stabilization
Ability to excise the tumor and get a good pathology report
Swift and smooth recovery, with ability to do the required walking
Determining the post-op treatment decisions
And some housekeeping notes: I’ll post brief updates as I’m able, and will hopefully be back to more regular posting before too long!
Healing thoughts and good wishes for a smooth recovery are being sent your way, Heather.
Praying for you and your family. Let us know what the Doctor says.