One thing you may or may not know about me is that I tend to worry. Alot. I really can't help it.
What if my car veers over the edge of the bridge into the river below??? I'd better crack a window to make an easier get-away. What if that concrete pipe rolls off the back of the semi truck in front of my van??? I'd better switch lanes to be safer. What if this chicken really isn't baked all the way through and I end up poisoning my whole family??? I'd better cook it until it's disgustingly dry and tasteless. What if an active shooter shows up at my kids school today and this is the last time I ever get to pack a lunch for them?? I'd better put a love note in it. So, here I am, worrying...about all that can go wrong in Cora's upcoming surgery. And I'm trying my hardest to focus on all the precautions the Medical Center is taking to make sure things go smoothly. I found some of these precautions facinating and thought you might be interested: They will be using "intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. IONM is a general term used to describe testing and monitoring of the nervous system- the brain, spinal cord, and nerves-during a surgery. IONM helps the medical team understand how the nervous system is working during surgery. This knowledge can increase the safety of the surgery, lowering the chance of complications like loss of movement, feeling, or hearing. IONM is done by a specially trained technician or doctor. This provider stays with the patient throughout the surgery. The provider's job is to set up the equipmetnt, connnect it to the patient, and to monitor the IONM readings throught the surgery. Another doctor, -a specialist such as a physiatrist or neurologist provides extra oversight during IONM. This doctor will also watch the waveform data from IONM, either from within the operating room or from another location" So basically they will be hooking her up to a machine at the wrists and ankles, the scalp, the ears, the leg and arm muscles and the sacral portion of the spinal cord. Then we watch and see... Another cool fact I learned about the surgery: Cora will not need a blood transfusion because they will be "recycling" her own blood. "To recycle the blood, a machine known as a cell saver is used to collect what a patient loses during surgery, rinse away unneeded fat and tissue, and then centrifuge and seperate the red cells, which are then returned to the patient." Wow. I feel so blessed to live in a day where my daughter can receive amazing medical care, close to home, with a renowned orthopedic surgeon. I also feel so blessed she will not have to have a brace, a body cast for months or total bed rest. We are told the day after surgery, they will sit her up. Day 3 she gets into a chair, day 4 she stands and day 5 she walks. As much as I will want to crawl into that hospital bed with her and hold her tight until she heals, I know it will be in everyone's best interest if I instead hold her hand and cheer her on as she takes that first step. So for the next 8 days, my mantra will be: Let go and let God. Let your faith be bigger than your fear. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Repeated 100 times a day
2 Comments
Dawn Wright
11/2/2016 01:43:50 pm
Boy oh boy! Are you my daughter or what???? Sorry you inherited my worrying gene...... Amazing what medicine can do now!
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Jennifer Shugart
11/2/2016 02:11:09 pm
Ha ha ha! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who worries that much! I'm pretty sure I've worried about all of those exact same things you wrote about. Seriously! We are human and thus we worry ;) I have enjoyed reading all of your posts and I am praying that everything goes well for your daughter as well as for you and your husband, and everyone! I'm sure it will be a stressful time, but like you just posted, your daughter is in amazingly good hands and you will be blessed. Hang in there!
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AuthorMy name is Kirsty. I am the mom of an amazingly courageous daugher with scoliosis. This is our story. Archives
June 2019
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