Processing Prevention over Plans

Another surgery has come and gone. Gabby is in a room and doing pretty good. She of course is in pain but is on Tylenol, Morphine, Toradol and Valium to help curb the pain. This surgery was called a lumbar laminectomy fancy words for detethering the spine. Bart and I had so many reservations going into this surgery. One going back to hospital that we left 10 years ago. Secondly, Gabby having a surgery in which Dr. Alam wasn’t performing or had a hand in personally selecting the other surgeons. Third and probably biggest, the possible formidable outcomes. The surgery was predicted to be 2-4 hours but turned into about 5 to 5 1/2 hours. While it makes for a long day I like to think that means that the surgical team took extra caution due to the difficulty of her diagnosis. Once we met with Dr. Volk we soon found out that indeed was the case. Apparently, tethered cords present many difficulties due to the way the spine forms and in Gabby’s case closed. The layers that envelop the spine are typically in a certain order but in Gab’s case they were kind of folded up. Dr. Volk said it took about 1 hour just to “open” her up and then 1 hour to try to do his best job and closing up a layer that in his description was like trying to stitch tissue paper closed tightly. This will be our special request prayers... 1) that she heals properly and quickly 2) that she is able to have patience as she is required to lay completely flat with no pillows or bed elevation for at least 48 hours 3) that she does not develop a spinal fluid leak. Number 3 may be the very most important. If she develops a leak they will have perform another procedure and put in a type lumbar drain. Dr. Volk says that she will not tolerate that type of drain well because of her age and having to stay in the bed even longer. Now moving forward to the title of this blog... Processing Prevention over Plans. Bart and I had a lot to process once talking to Dr. Volk after the surgery. As far as the presented “planned” results and the actual expected results of the surgery. We went into this surgery thinking this will help her feet relax back to more comfortable position. We are now being told that this may not be the case. Instead we should concentrate on the hope that this surgery will prevent her feet from getting worse than they already are. This was a huge disappointment, especially for myself. I was the one that went to all of the appointments prior to surgery and then relaying information to Bart. I feel like I did not listen good enough, ask the correct questions and then failed to communicate the information to Bart correctly. This is tough to swallow for me. If you know me well then you know I’m absolutely my own worst critic and have been beating myself up over whether I have made the correct decision in the best interest of Gabby and her future.Bart and I have come to the conclusion that the detethering surgery was unavoidable. It most definitely will help prevent the almost inevitable occurrence of scoliosis in the future. Also, we will pray that she will proves us all wrong as that her feet will correct even if it’s the tiniest bit. She is the most determined and hard headed little girl I know and she wakes up everyday and faces most any challenge head on. Bart and I want to thank you all for praying for all of us today and in the days to come. We can never repay our family and friends for the support that we receive not only in our major times of need but also daily.