Charity
Let's go racing boys !
This coming Friday morning I will be going for surgery. 
This is something where I really have no choice. The doctors have been watching my cervical spine closely for the last few years and now see the need for surgery. I am beginning to have muscle atrophy from nerve damage to the spinal cord. Without surgery my neurosurgeon says that I would be facing paralysis in the arms and possibly legs and even loss of my ability to breathe if nerve compression continues in that area. The down side is with the surgery there could be some paralysis, damage to the vocal cords and you know the last of the downers, death.
The plan for this surgery is to enter from the anterior (front) side of the throat, pulling the esophagus and the trachea to the side and exposing the spinal cord. Removal of all the tissue that is pressing against the nerves and then since the spine is leaning in the wrong direction then they will insert bone grafts, cement them when they are satisfied with the fit and then use stainless steel plates with stainless steel screws to secure the bone. There are 2 levels to work on c5-6 and c6-7. The surgery is going to be approximately 5-6 hours.
The good part is my neuro surgeon is a doctor that I worked on his neuro team before I had to quit work due to this worsening problem..Most of the people involed are people that I have worked with. That gives me comfort along with the fact that the doctor believes in the power of prayer and it's healing ability.
If you believe in prayer, then please do me the favor of honoring me with them. If you don't believe in prayers just knowing you may even think about me would be an honor also. Special thanks to the person that I consider my inspiration on this forum.....
I really considered putting this in the "jokes" section since I tease and joke around so much, but figured since I was going to have my throat cut I would get a little more serious about it...........Love you all Charity
This is something where I really have no choice. The doctors have been watching my cervical spine closely for the last few years and now see the need for surgery. I am beginning to have muscle atrophy from nerve damage to the spinal cord. Without surgery my neurosurgeon says that I would be facing paralysis in the arms and possibly legs and even loss of my ability to breathe if nerve compression continues in that area. The down side is with the surgery there could be some paralysis, damage to the vocal cords and you know the last of the downers, death.The plan for this surgery is to enter from the anterior (front) side of the throat, pulling the esophagus and the trachea to the side and exposing the spinal cord. Removal of all the tissue that is pressing against the nerves and then since the spine is leaning in the wrong direction then they will insert bone grafts, cement them when they are satisfied with the fit and then use stainless steel plates with stainless steel screws to secure the bone. There are 2 levels to work on c5-6 and c6-7. The surgery is going to be approximately 5-6 hours.
The good part is my neuro surgeon is a doctor that I worked on his neuro team before I had to quit work due to this worsening problem..Most of the people involed are people that I have worked with. That gives me comfort along with the fact that the doctor believes in the power of prayer and it's healing ability.
If you believe in prayer, then please do me the favor of honoring me with them. If you don't believe in prayers just knowing you may even think about me would be an honor also. Special thanks to the person that I consider my inspiration on this forum.....
I really considered putting this in the "jokes" section since I tease and joke around so much, but figured since I was going to have my throat cut I would get a little more serious about it.
..........Love you all Charity
