Surgery Details

James' surgery lasted 10 hours. Dr. Brock said that he hadn't performed a 10 hour spinal fusion in ten years. It was hard going until about 3:30 p.m., but then, according to Dr. Brock, things started fitting together better and the surgery started going well. James' bones were unexpectedly thin and difficult to manage in inserting the appropriate hardware. But in the end, Dr. Brock was very happy with the amount of correction he was able to achieve. James' blood loss was less than expected and his vitals remained stable throughout the entire surgery. He is currently in Pediatric ICU because he is still intubated due to swelling and will remain under sedation throughout the night. The doctors anticipate that his swelling will decrease overnight, that they will be able to remove the tube in the morning and then transfer him out of ICU. 


The next few days could be rocky due to possible displacement of internal organs and GI issues. We aren't out of the woods so please keep praying for: 
- No respiratory issues
- Reduced swelling 
- Removal of breathing tube
- Effective pain management (He does have an epidural to help with this)
- That James' lower GI track will begin to function without problems (if you know us at all, the GI track has never been James' strong suit). 


We've yet to see James (we are waiting right now for PICU visiting hours). And we expect the pictures to be put on hold for a bit. 


Thanks for your prayers. God has been faithful and guided James through this process so far and we trust he will continue to do so in the coming weeks.