Successful Surgery!

Pete’s surgery Friday went really well! He went back around 7:30am and was out before noon. The surgeon and team were pleased with everything. The surgeon made a small incision in his lower back to remove a piece of his L3 lamina, which allowed the team to see the sensory nerve roots that go to his lower body. From there they tested each of the individual roots to determine which ones nerve fibers misfire on the signals they send to his muscles (thus causing the stiffness). The surgeon cut between 50% and 75% of those nerve fibers (keeping the healthy fibers intact), seven on each side, then replaced the piece of bone that was removed and closed the incision, which ended up being about 3”. Science!

Most of Friday afternoon and evening was tough as Pete woke up from anesthesia and was in a lot of pain. He spent Friday night through Sunday morning in PICU, there they focused on pain management. He started PT about 24 hours after the surgery finished! PT has consisted of sitting up, standing up with assistance and stretching his leg muscles. 

Yesterday we moved to a step down unit, which means he doesn’t need to be monitored as much, he no longer needs an IV and he was able to sleep through the night with only a handful of checks and meds from the nurses. He’s more comfortable and has been playing a lot more!

We will likely be in Durham until Wednesday, when he’ll be transferred to an inpatient rehab unit in Charlotte for the next several weeks. 

Thank you all for your support and your continued prayers, thoughts, energy, vibes, texts and videos. It has made the start of Pete’s SDR journey much more manageable. 

Much Love,

Danny, Helen, Pete and Rory