I already knew that the hardware that is in my back now, two long rods on either side of my spine, are going to be removed. In their place, the surgeon is going to put in two slightly shorter rods with thicker screws to attach it to the bone. The hope is that thicker screws will help the rods from dislodging again. To encourage the bones to heal around the screws, they will be taking a small amount of bone from my hip and using it as bone graft. The hip bone that they place in my spine will grow into any space that is left after the surgeons have done their work. If all goes well this should be my last back surgery.
The surgery should last for about 4 hours. I will be staying at Johns Hopkins for roughly around a week after the surgery. I will continue to do outpatient therapy for another week. We will be driving home the 23rd with just enough time to make it home for Christmas.
The bear sitting on a shelf in my surgeon's office.
Thank you for everyone who wished me good luck and kind wishes. Thank you for your support. Try not to worry, as I will be at the hands of one the world's finest spinal surgeons, a man who does this kind of thing every day. I've also got all my family, friends and *others behind me to help me tackle anything else that will come my way. I'll let all of know how things went from the other side.
*Others may include but are not limited to facebook friends, family friends, the people my friends and family may have told about me, the random people my mother has told my story to while shopping in the grocery story, and people who stumbled on to this website by accident.
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