Out of Surgery....

Matthew's surgery was a success. His white count was normal today, which is unheard of from him (this one is a miracle in itself...Matthew white count is NEVER normal...praising Jesus for this one) and so surgery went on as scheduled at 5pm. When we arrived at 3pm for surgery, he had just woken up from a nap. We got checked in and as soon as we were able to sit and relax, Matthew started smiling. And while he was in the pre-op area, he had two wet diapers (which he hasn't been able to do for almost a week). He was making a liar out of us :) He looked great this afternoon, but we knew the surgery still needed to be done.

He left preop right at 5pm and around 6:45 Dr. Puccioni came out and told us surgery was successful and that the philum (this is the end of the spinal cord that is tethered or adhered to the bottom of the spine) was very thick and VERY tight. He had a hard time getting his instrument even underneath it to cut the tethering. So definitely the surgery was needed. Because the philum was so thick, this could make his recovery a little more painful, but luckily our doctor believes in giving lots of medicine to keep his patients as comfortable as possible.

We got to see our little man again around 8:15 and he has been sleeping soundly ever since. I guess he was pretty sleepy in recovery, but when we met him up in the room I started talking to him and even though he kept his eyes closed, he smiled at me three times. It was nice to see.

Matthew needs to be on bed rest for the next few days, and not held at all, unless absolutely necessary. They want him to lay on his side and they will turn him every four hours from one side to the other.

We may not know for up to 3-4 months what damage to the nerves from the tethering will be permanent and what he will regain. We are mainly hoping for him to be able to empty his bladder on his own, and to not have leg pain. Anything else that comes from this will be an absolute added blessing.

Okay, off to bed..I better sleep while he is.