Monday, May 9th.

Dearest Friends - Thank you for your prayers today. We sensed God's peace throughout the day & knew others were praying for us. Mia held up well and the surgery went off without a hitch. Mia's personality shined through it all, asking everyone for their name, making sure she thanked each one several times, and worrying if she was inconveniencing anyone along the way. That's my Sweet Mia.

She is currently resting, getting over some nausea and was beginning to tolerate sips of apple juice. They are giving muscle relaxers and limited pain killer as soon as she can keep them down. Tonight's entree was chicken broth. She managed a short nap early evening and seemed much brighter when I left.

The prep and anesthesia took about an hour, the surgery itself 90 minutes, followed by 2 hours post-op before I could see her again. The picture you see is NOT her, but shows exactly what was done today. The disk material was removed at C5 and fused to C6, and the disc was replaced with cadaver bone (also visible in the picture between the screws). There were also severe bone spurs that had grown due to poor alignment and they were pinching the nerves that run to the arms. The doctor ground those down.

Everyone was exceptional in their care, and patient with our questions and my slightly over protective behavior. I appreciated the operation assistant visiting Mia's room afterward to chat about the surgery. She affirmed that the surgery was definitely necessary and the disk itself was worse than what could be seen in MRI's. Part of the procedure involved removing the remaining good disk material, which, we were told, usually involves some scraping. Mia's just slid right out, indicating the disk was in bad condition and would only get worse.

Whispering was more comfortable than talking, but she only has light soreness (so far). We anticipate throat pain from the muscles being stretched out of the way by the surgeon, normal pain from the incision itself, and some soreness on the vertebrate. It seems they haven't been properly spaced in so long that it hurts for a while to put them back and keep them there.

If all goes to plan, she'll be released tomorrow. We covet your prayers for continued recovery and especially that the surgery will provide dramatic improvement in neck and arm use. It's just a matter of healing properly now, much like a broken bone. We expected a hard plastic neck brace, but were told she will only need a soft collar. We're thanking God for many blessings today--the skilled hands and modern medicine, and loving friends to carry us through.

Thank you so much for caring! It matters! - Bob