Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Surgery Details

We met with the orthopedic surgeon today and I was "forced" to hear the details of the surgery. To put it simply, they will put Jack on a "rack" (the surgeon's word - not mine). They will place a halo with screws in his head and screw some other device to his knees, then they will stretch him out as far as they can to straighten his spine. Then, they place two long rods - one on each side of his spine, place brackets all along the sides of his spine to keep the rods in place, and place anchor screws in his pelvis. It just sounds so barbaric to me. The surgery is expected to take 6 1/2 hours. After we met with the surgeon, it was off to the lab for pre-op blood work. It took 7 sticks to get all the blood they needed for the tests - poor Jack was such a trooper through it all. I think Jack will need a more permanent line put in (a central line) because if he blows an IV, it will be near impossible to get another one in. Needless to say, Jack and I were both glad to get this day over with. I'm beyond scared for Friday ....

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, just a holler of hello and thinking of you from California. I send you hugs through the wires and keep you and Jack in my thoughts,


Kari

Anonymous said...

Just remember you're on a lot of prayer lists and God will provide that extra boost that you, Mark and Jack will need to get through on Friday. Keep the faith!!!
Gloria

Anonymous said...

Hey Ann,
Great site. I hope you were able to get some rest last night. As always you're in our prayers. Call on Friday.

Maureen

Anonymous said...

Ann -

I hope it goes well tomorrow. I will be praying for you and watching for updates late Friday night or Sat. You and Jack are in my thoughts. I hope Jack will not have to repeat this procedure as he grows :( It does sound very primative to me too.

- betty