countdown to surgery: 18 hours out

last update before I’m away a few days. Met with surgeon for final instructions/questions before the procedure[s]. Checked in at the hospital but they let me leave to go do last-day errands.

Estimated discharge Friday the 31st, although could be earlier if I study hard. :-) I should be standing briefly the evening of the surgery and walking a bed-length later that night. The next day walking will get longer/farther. Upon discharge I should be able to walk slowly around the house for a few minutes with a first target being 5 mins.

The instrumentation as I understand it is

• carbon fiber-reinforced polymer centrally-hollow prosthetic to replace C4-C5 disc.
• 3d printed, porous and centrally-hollow titanium prosthetic to replace C6 vertebra (and the C5-C6 / C6-C7 discs)
• Ti plate and screws to hold everything C4-C7 in place

I understand that none of it will set of a metal detector or cause problems in an MRI but the latter will be a spooky trust-fall the first time!¹ The new disc is radiotransparent but the Ti stuff is not.

1. having a prosthetic vertebra ripped out of one’s spine and flung into an MRI one presently inhabits may not be as much fun as it sounds ↩