Dad's Update XVI-b - 3/2/10
Dear friends and family:
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. (John 1:16)
The actual surgery was highly successful and lasted about 7 hours without complications. Upon un-tethering of the spinal cord (freeing it from being stuck to the sidewall by the scar tissue), the large cyst collapsed, thereby freeing up cord movement. This precluded the need for a more intensive shunt tube drainage process. The spinal cord normally moves up and down with each heartbeat so this development really made a big difference and gives us strong hope for some new functional improvement.
Bryce returned to his Craig room last night, well attended by tech assistants and nurses and supported by various ICU-like monitoring equipment. Almost felt like being home, rather than being in an ICU. While he didn’t sleep much because of neck pain, we were greeted by great news this morning! As I was itching his arms, he noticed that his left shoulder and arm hypersensitivity had disappeared and he was actually feeling sensations in his fingers. The left biceps seemed stronger too. Such rapid recovery is really exciting and encouraging.
Bryce will be in bed for the next 5-7 days to help with post-surgical spinal cord healing. By this weekend, he will be more communicable. He has been tough through the initial recovery, battling through without much complaining. With 5 serious surgeries over the past year, Bryce now has earned a Varsity letter in Pain Management – Tough!
In the meantime, we ask for those who are praying to continue doing so as his healing progresses. Thank you for all that coverage! We are still hoping for more complete left arm recovery and now perhaps even some fingers and/or other capabilities? More feedback from doctors will come as we move into next week. Time will tell as we wait on the Lord’s grace…..
I have a very busy calendar out here in Denver through next week, so forgive me for delayed communications.
Bryce’s webpage: http://www.ntafund.org/find-a-patient/profile/index.cfm/patient/815E84D4-9B4D-12A9-3B8B55A769EC3F1C
In Him,
John
