Successful Surgery Today

Hi, Kirstin again. I'm beat, so will make this short.

Jonathan had a short surgery late today that went great. The surgeon went in from the backside again and pushed the bone fragments down and away from the spinal canal, and the result is that his spinal column is 100% decompressed, we couldn's ask for more. What this means is that there is no longer anything pressing in on the spinal column that can interrupt the messages that are being sent to/from the brain. He also reworked and added to the existing hardware. We will not see IMMEDIATE results from this surgery, but the benefits will show up over time. Weeks and weeks of rehab will tell us more.

And that reminds me...just to set expectations out there...I know everyone wants to hear the doc's definitive answer about whether or not JLD can walk, run, dance at WPS shows again, but the truth is that they really can't say yet. Every spinal cord injury is so different. It will take weeks and months of physical therapy to get things going, and up to 18 months before he is fully recuperated. However, we should have a pretty clear picture of where this is headed within the next 2-3 months.

HOW's JLD?
He came out of surgery feeling little pain, I assure you. It was nice to see him a little doped up and relaxed for a change!! He was comfortable and we all left early so he could sleep. He has a great nurse on duty tonight. Today was a big day, as we're hoping this surgery will make a difference long term. I'll go in early tomorrow to help him shave and wash his hair and freshen up.

NEXT STEPS
Sometime next week, Jonathan will be moved into the rehab center that is adjacent to Greenville Memorial. Dr. Weathers and I did a quick walk through today to scope it out. Here they will begin to put him through the paces! As most of us know, he is fully up to the task. In fact, we were laughing today that we'll have to urge him to slow down and not go so fast.

My parents and sister Nicole are coming out to visit, so we'll see them in the afternoon. Will be great to see them!!

Goodnight, I'm ready for sleep! Tomorrow I hope to upload some pics.
-Kirstin