Surgery Date is set!

Today we met with Dr. Rozzelle in Birmingham. We scheduled Luke's fusion for Tuesday, July 13th at 0730. We have to be at the hospital at 0530, though, for all the prep and waiting around part.

Gary and I plan on going up with Luke, Drew, and Ava on Monday and staying in a hotel room until Luke is released from the hospital. {When Luke is in the ICU, Gary and I will be able to visit him for 2 hour increments, every 2 hours until midnight (10-12, 2-4, 6-8, etc). We are not allowed to spend the night with Luke when he is in the ICU. He will be in ICU for about 1 day, then he will be moved to a regular pediatric room. Once he is in a regular room, Gary and I will be able to spend the night with him; and Drew and Ava will be able to visit him during sibling visiting hours.} Gary and I will take turns spending the night with Luke and the other will stay with Drew and Ava at the hotel. We feel it is important for our family to be together as much as possible during this time. My mom, Marsha, and sister, Lacey, will be coming to B'ham to help us with Drew and Ava. Gary's mom, Joan, may be coming, but isn't sure just yet.

The details of the surgery are:
It will take 4-5 hours.
They will take a bone graft from his rib cage to put in his C1C2 space. This will stimulate the bones (base of skull down to C2) to grow together, thus the FUSION.
Internally, there will be pins and a rod put in to hold everything together as a guide and a stabilizer for the bones to grow towards one another.
Externall, a halo will be put in place around the outside of Luke's skull to hold his neck in a neutral position and prohibit any movement of his neck. (Think of how a cast keeps broken bones together so they can grow back together correctly.)

The risks of the surgery:
His spinal cord could be damaged during the surgery.
There are blood vessels running on either side of the spinal cord; if either of them are damaged, Luke will never wake up.
Possibility of stroke (if there is a blood clot and it goes to his brain).
And, of course, as with all surgeries, there is always the possibility he won't survive the operation (very small possibility).
After the surgery is over, he will be in the recovery room for 1 hr. They will then move him to ICU. He will be in ICU for about 1 day and then he will be moved to a regular pediatric room. We expect to be in the hospital 7-10 days. Dr. Rozzelle wants Luke's pain totally under control (only taking tylenol), wants him walking around, and somewhat back to normal in order for us to be discharged.

We covet your prayers. For Luke, as he is not a very good patient (he gets very angry and sometimes a bit violent), and his acceptance of the halo. For Drew and Ava as they will be interacting with Luke and trying to understand what is going on. For Gary and me: patience, endurance, strength. For the dr's and nurses as they care for Luke and guidance as they perform this surgery on his little body.

I will try to keep everyone updated as we go through this surgery and time in the hospital. Please continue to pray for us, even if I'm not faithful in the updates.