Greg's Surgery

[Joanna]

Hello everyone! Nice to speak with you all againSo it's offically began. At 7:15 they called me back to kiss him goodbye and the Certified Registered Nurse Anestheist (CRNA) came in and injected Greg's IV with Versed in order to sedate him and begin putting him under. He's all marked up and ready to go and excited to get a new start to life (hopefully without so much pain):thumpup:. He wanted me to make sure that you all knew how much he appreciates the good wishes and all of the support you have given to him, as I feel the exact same way. It has been a long hard road that has taken us to this point and hopefully this will be the answer to both of our prayers.

As all of you know, he proposed to me in November 2009 around thanksgiving which is the same time that I lost my grandmother 2 years ago. I am so lucky and thankful to have someone so special that loves me and takes care of me and has such a kind heart. It's amazing to me that he has no fears at all for today as i'm overwhelmed with fear. To me this seems like a major surgery (maybe it's just the Surg Tech Training that i've had) and i'm just hoping for the best outcome possible. I appreciate everyones good wishes for me and I look forward to speaking with each and every one of you not only through Greg's surgery, but your own. I think all of you are so lucky to have one another during these troubling times in your lives, and I wish you all good luck in finding that magical cure for your pain and suffering. It's too bad they didn't have one of these support groups for my foot problem as it's been a long road for me as well.

He's been in surgery now for 35 minutes and I promise to keep you all updated as soon as I hear some news... it should be a LONNGG day though so i'll be needing some caffeine soon :thumpup:. Thanks again for all of your wishes and support through this difficult time for Greg.. we truly appreciate it.

[KBear]

Joanna- Thanks for keeping us in the 'know'. I said a prayer for his surgery to go wonderfully and his post op pain to be controlled well. I'm sure Greg knows it is a major operation, but I think we all try to not think about that or we would chicken out or worry more, plus we hurt so bad we just need an out. Greg is lucky to have such a strong support as you! You guys are going to make a great married couple, as you are already going through the 'for worse' and 'sickness' parts and making it (thriving at that)! A few bits of advice for you, be Greg's advocate while he is in the hospital. If he is in pain and it is not being treated good enough, talk to the nurse and find out what all he can have, if that doesn't work, go to the head nurse and surgeon. If any of the nurses aren't treating him as you feel he should be treated, request another nurse... don't just take it. Hopefully he won't have either of these problems; but good to know either way.
Can't wait to hear his success story,
Kathy

[Katie]

I second, third and fourth that advice, Joanna. And I am so happy that Greg has you as a huge part of his support system. Like Greg, I never would have found my way to a successful surgery without this forum.

I'll be hovering near the computer today, waiting for an update, and am sending huge healing thoughts your way.

[Rob]

Hi Joanna,

Congrats! As you may see in the signature line I had the same surgery on 3/15. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. The anterior approach sounds invasive but they're only moving things aside as apposed to taking them out or cutting them so I felt pretty comfortable. My surgeon said if it was him having the surgery and he had a choice of the two approaches he would absolutely want the anterior approach. It gives them the best access so they could do their best work.

I also had some posterior work at the same time only to add rods and screws for support. Is Greg also having posterior work?

FYI, my surgery was ~5-hours. I didn't feel that bad when I woke up as I was pretty sedated.

What time do you expect him to be out of surgery?
Thinking of you guys,
Rob