Surgery 09-11-2006

Everything went well at the doctor's appointment. I was so nervous about it, but things couldn't have gone better. Sweet Ari was with me holding my hand the whole time and that makes anything bearable. : ) My Surgeon agreed that the best thing for me to do is to have the surgery as soon as possible and that he expects that I will be back to as normal as I can be within a year! He even used the words "playing sports"! : ) (that's a REALLY giant grin if you can't tell.) So, he said that he expects me to make a very good recovery and that I should be able to ride horses again! I can hardly believe that it's true...God is sooooooooo good. Thank you Jesus!

So, the actually surgery will be September 11th at 12 p.m. I check in at 10:30, the actual surgery should take around 5 hours and I will be in hospital for four or five days. Post surgically I will need a lot of after care, and a walker for awhile, (pppplllbbtt!) but I really think that I CAN live through this! The Doc said that this surgery won't be as horrendeous as the last one. They won't be harvesting bone from my hip, and they will only be making one incision in my back. Last surgery I had FIVE incisions! One where they took/harvested bone from my left hip, one in my stomach for a front entry to my spine, and one major one on my lower back for entry to my spine, plus two smaller ones on my low back where they put the screws in. This time, I should only have one! Woo Hoo! Maybe three, because he did mention that he will put in two more screws to hold the new fusion in place as it heals. But, some more good news is that he will be able to remove the old pins/screws that are part of why I get so sick with the menengitis. This means that today ALL of my prayers have been answered, thank you Jesus, thank you every one for your prayers. I know that they go a really long way. God's grace is still amazing to me. I am so grateful that His mercies are new every morning, and that His faithfulness is great!

So, that is the news from here for now. I will be sort of busy getting myself prepared to be out of commission for six months and living with my parents for the first few weeks, but I will do my best to stay in touch with you all and keep you posted. Even if I have to bribe my family members to blog my up-dates for me, I will make a way! : )

I love you all and I really do deeply appreciate your prayers, you have blessed me with your care and your concern. I hope that each one of you will be in a position sometime in your life to receive the same kind of blessings. It is a very humbling and amazing thing to accept the gift of other's love and support and service when it's just for you, just because you are you, and you need it.

Thank you for your continued prayers,
Kristen Fairlight