So we took some more x-rays today, and Benjamin’s surgery has been postponed for a few weeks to March 27th. At that time we will still be vulnerable to further postponement because we will require an ICU bed at Montreal Children’s Hospital, but for now that is our new intended surgery date. Although I am obviously going a little stir crazy here, I absolutely agree with the doctor’s call on this. Last week we did not see much movement in Ben’s spine, despite the fact he had been in traction for 4 weeks. I was pretty disappointed with this news. Nobody wants to hang their child’s head by screws for a month without seeing significant results. However, this week, things changed a bit more, and we are starting to see his muscles and spine relax, so we have decided to extend his traction period in the hope that this will continue. The less rigid the spine is going into surgery, the likelier it will be that we will have a better outcome. Our doctor will have to manipulate Ben’s spine significantly during the surgery, so it’s important that his bones and muscles are limber in a Namaste kind of way (dad – that’s a yoga reference). What seems like forever right now is just a drop in time in our overall lives, so we feel better taking steps to ensure the best future for Ben.
