Pre-Op. Meeting with Dr. LaGrone

Well Thursday was a very busy & long day taken up by lots of time spent waiting. First we started off by dropping Wrigley @ doggie daycare & then zoomed across town to get to my appointment. Dad and I had to be @ Dr. LaGrone's @ 11am for my Pre-Op. meeting & x-rays. Everyone at the office is always so nice & welcoming & were very happy to see we made it to town safely. After waiting 25 minutes they called us back & said "Amanda Bridgman", I said yes and proceeded to get up. Then she read the chart to confirm my address and I was like no, she read more info. & once again I was like no. She had us sit back down while she checked into this matter, turns out there is by coincidence another "Amanda Bridgman" but it's spelled with an 'e'. Go figure, what are the chances of that? I'm glad they picked up on it then & decided to flag the chart with a post-it to make sure the correct "Amanda" is called. Too funny!!! Her accent was so cute and she was asking us what we thought about Amarillo & the people. She asked us if we thought people talked funny down here, we said other than everyone saying "you'all" that was the only big difference. Kelly (Dr. L's surgical assistant) came in first to meet with us and asked if my symptoms had changed, went over my current meds., and wanted to find out about my mystery rash that post-poned the surgery in January. He then went over everthing that would happen the morning of surgery, when I woke up in recovery & ICU, and in the hospital & rehab. I had been fine up until that point and then I became a bit shaken up, but was able to keep my composure. Kelly even got a little teary eyed and re-assured me that he'll be there to hold my hand on Monday, I love him- he's like a big ol' teddy bear. He said I would be in ICU 1-2 days, have a central line, TPN (nutritional supplement started after surgery that goes into central line port), NG tube, catheter, IV's, a pulmonologist/internist to watch me, pain team. After I leave ICU I'll still be on 7th floor for 1st week and then moved down to 6th floor for rehab. I had new AP & Lateral x-rays taken and I took pictures of them which are on this post. No wonder I'm in pain & have headaches, look at my neck- I lean so much to the L that in an attempt to keep my head level it puts great strain on my cervical spine to hold it upright. We were annoyed with the internist & hospital back home in IL. b/c I went in on Monday to get my Pre-op. blood work, MRSA nasal swab, chest x-ray, and EKG done (they had to be done within 7 days of surgery date exactly) and then they were supposed to fax the results to Dr. L's office. Well it was Thursday afternoon & still no results for MRSA swab, chest x-ray, EKG, and clearance from internist- I honestly can't say I was surprised. So we had to call them while we were at the office to get the results faxed. We also had to get the dictated note from my CT scans b/c I was only given the discs with them. By the time we got over to BSA Hospital 3hrs. later they still didn't have results from chest x-ray or EKG so those had to be repeated, which I'm sure the insurance company will just love. Dr. LaGrone came in and looked over my new x-rays & CT scan. He said obviously this surgery is a high risk for me b/c of so many other previous spine surgeries, the scarring involved, and the fact that I get spinal fluid leaks after each surgery my chances only go up. The real concerns are we want to avoid any further neurologic damage, blood loss, failure of fusion, infection. He gave us an approximate time frame that the surgery will take, but said it can obviously change if they run into something that is un-expected or if complications arise- the time frame is 8-10hrs. Plans are to re-instrument my thoracic spine (where the rods were taken out during surg. #3 in NC) and perform several Smith Peterson Osteotomies at various levels to correct the curve, remove rotation, resect, and free up ribs. Then he will do a Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy @ L2 and explore the lower lumbar spine & sacrum to see if any screws are loose and if there is any movement taking place. If he doesn't feel like my Lumbar spine is stable & I don't have quality fusion then he will extend down and put in Galveston Pelvic fixation screws. He would like to avoid this if at all possible b/c he said with me being so thin these could protrude & cause lots of pain, if however he does have to proceed then he'll just remove them later on after significant fusion has taken place. He may need to extend my fusion up higher into my thoracic spine or possibly my cervical spine, the plan though is for sure T2-sacrum re-instrumentation. He feels that by re-implanting the upper rods & doing several osteotomies at various levels this will bring me upright again to improve my sagittal balance and help reduce the leaning to the L side, he said I'll probably still have some lean to the L but it will definitely improve. He stressed that just b/c you correct deformity doesn't necessarily mean that it will help improve pain so that's difficult to hear but I would think just being more up-right will take so much stress/strain/pressure/tension off of my cervical spine. So I've got my fingers crossed that everything will turn out for the best, it's just nice to hear someone be up-front with you & tell you the reality & not make promises that aren't realistic. I'm just putting my faith in God that he'll watch over me & take very good care of me and bless the hands of my skilled surgeon "Dr. LaGrone" & his talented and dedicated staff. I also feel comfort in knowing that I have lots of people praying for me & that I have several 'guardian angels' watching over me. I'm just hoping for the best & keeping a very positive attitude...