Prayer for Jim and Vicki

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: I want to ask you all to keep Vicki and her husband Jim in prayer. He is having spinal surgery on his neck vertebre and it's very serious and stressful for them both, here is part of an e-mail she sent me: : : Regarding Jim's neck .... : We had a whirlwind of appointments the last two weeks getting all of the pre-op bases covered, and today we had out final 'all systems go' appointment with the surgeon. : I'd like to share three things with you; the plan, the benefits, and the risks. : The Plan : August 13: Jim goes in to Tampa General; "halo" will be placed on him and he will be put into traction : August 16: Surgery to fuse the spine in the neck area, and to decompress the pinched spinal cord. Bone graft will be taken from the hip to make the fusion. : 4 to 5 days in hospital; : 2 weeks in rehab; : then home to mend. : Halo will come off after 3 to 4 months. : The Benefits : - 100% certain his head will be up and he will be able to look straight ahead, instead of his head being down and always looking at the ground. : - High probability of pain relief in neck muscles since they won't be straining, trying to hold the head up. : - Spinal cord will no longer be pinched which is preventive maintenance as that would cause problems down the road. : The Risks : - 1 to 3% risk of infection. Could be so bad as to require a 2nd surgery and 6 to 12 weeks of IV antibiotics. : - 4% chance of a puncture that would cause a spinal fluid leak. If that happens they'll see it and fix it right then. 2 to 4 days flat on his back for recovery. : - 1 in 400 chance that spinal cord monitoring equipment will cause burns to the scalp. : - 1 in 10,000 chance of spinal cord damage : - 100% chance of some blood loss; he will have 3 pints banked to cover that. : - 5% chance that the fusion won't hold, but the rods and screws will override that. : - 5% chance of internal hardware complications (bent rods, loose screws, etc.) : Overall the doctors are ready and very optimistic. This team of surgeons is so good, they have doctors coming from all over to learn from them. We met the doctor today who will be observing Jim's surgery. He is actually an orthopedic surgeon who just finished his residency at Genesys Regional Medical Center Hospital in the Flint / Grand Blanc area. : So, that's it for now. Many prayers will be appreciated! : : : Vicki is Joe's mom in case you weren't aware. : I thank you all for your prayers as Vicki and Jim are very much a part of our lives and very dear to me, they are family. : -kat

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