One week away...

One week from today I will be having surgery to correct my scoliosis. As you can see by the oh so lovely picture above, I have a double curvature of 50 degrees lumbar and 55 degrees thoracic. I will be having rods put on each side of my spine, screwed in with pedicle implants. Then they are using bone morphotgenetic protein to stimulate growth and solidify five of my vertebrae into one bone. For those of you who know much about the spine, I am having T12-L4 fused.

Next Monday (January 3rd), I'm going into the hospital to get my central line placed. I have a couple of pre-operation things to take care of, and then I head back home for the night. No solid foods afterward, and only clear liquids until midnight. Starting at midnight into the morning of January 4th, I can't eat or drink anything in preparation for the operation. I go into Barnes Hospital at 5:30 in the morning on January 4th, with the surgery scheduled for 7:30.

Basically, I started this blog for a few reasons:

1. I want to help people who are going to have the surgery. I have gotten peace from hearing about other people's experiences, and I want to provide that reassurance for other people.
2. Journaling is a cathartic experience for me, helping me articulate what I'm feeling and how I cope. I want to make sure I document how I've grown throughout this entire process.
3. I hope to keep people updated who are interested in my healing process.

Anywho, I just wanted to get this blog up and running a week ahead of time. Maybe I can look back on this in a year and see how it all came to fruition. All will go according to His plan, and I am resting in the fact that He never leaves or forsakes. :) Such a blessing!