FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => Non-FE Discussion Forum => Topic started by: jayb on June 28, 2017, 08:47:47 AM
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I wasn't going to post anything about this but since my wife and son have already put it all over social media, I suppose that it won't hurt. My son Max is affected with a fairly serious back condition called scoliosis. We've been watching his back X-rays for several years now, and according to the back specialists it had gotten to a point this year where a surgical repair was necessary, in order for him to avoid a lifetime of back pain. Max just graduated from high school and will be starting college in the fall, so we decided now was the time to have the surgery.
The surgery was on Monday and went well, thankfully, but I have to admit to being shocked and awed by the X-rays taken afterwards. Here's a "before" X-ray of Max's back:
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/Maxsbackb4.jpg)
And here's a couple "after" shots:
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/Maxsback1.jpg)
(http://fepower.net/Photos/Posts/Maxsback2.jpg)
Holy crap! FYI those 18 screws are 45-50 millimeters long (50 millimeters is 2 inches), and 6 millimeters in diameter (about a quarter inch). The two stainless steel rods are 12 inches in length. Max now has two scars on his back over a foot long. He was almost 6'2" when he went in, but we expect him to be 6'3" to 6'4" when he comes out.
He's in a lot of pain right now of course, but his prognosis is good, and we expect him to be coming home from the hospital on Friday. He should be mostly back to normal in 6 weeks, and fully recovered in 3 months. My wife, who is a physician, is staying with him at the hospital 24/7 and watching the other doctors and nurses like a hawk LOL!
Just thought you guys might like to see some REAL serious hardware. Also, I believe I have now one-upped Bill Conley's skiing accident X-ray ;D ;D
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Wow!
That's a lot of tin.
Self tapping screws or do they install helicoils?
Glad to know he's doing well.
I bet the invoice on that job makes an injected Cammer look like chump change..
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I still am amazed at some of the blending they do of "mechanical" fixes with orthopedics. I'm sure that getting it straightened now will avoid compensation issues down the road, hope the recovery goes as well as planned.
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My daughter has a friend (they grew up together) that had something like 40 surgeries due to this issue between ages 14-18.
He started off pretty bad and appears to be fine now that he's about 20.
Anyway, I know its painful and annoying, so wish the kid luck, and let him know we're all thinking about it.
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Sorry to hear he has to go through this, hope his road to recovery is short and a high trap speed!
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Wow on the news Jay! Glad that went well.
My mom had a 6.5" titanium rod up her right foot to reinforce a shattered ankle. Looked like child's play compared to your son's x-rays! Hope & pray for a speedy and full recovery.
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Wow, that's quite a picture.
Hope Max is doing well.
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Send Max my well wishes, I hope it works out good. Question: is the area of his spine that is screwed to a rod now rigid, or does this rig somehow allow normal movement?
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Glad he had a successful procedure. Hope he has a fast recovery with no complications and minimal discomfort.
What college is he going to and is he planning to go into engineering like his dad or health care like his mom?
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I didn't even know you had kids!
Best of luck to Max on a full and easy recovery.
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I bet the invoice on that job makes an injected Cammer look like chump change..
That's a guarantee!! My best to Max for a speedy recovery. Don't have any idea on the level of pain and mobility issues he faced before but here's to a big of improvement in both areas-
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Well wishes to your son as well as you and your wife. Hope everything goes well with his recovery.
God bless..
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My best to Max and hope it all works out.
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YIKES!!!!! So much for walking through airports undetected...
Best wishes to Max for a speedy recovery... I would not want to be the attending nurses given your wife's watchful eye
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Euuuwww a fistful of 2 inch woodscrews in the spine :o
I bet he can feel that.wiches of Speedy recovery for Max
from Sweden
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He may have enough money from graduation for the copay.Best wishes to a cool kid!
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Glad to hear he came through the surgery ok and hope he has a complication free recovery.
It's good that your wife is a Physician and can keep an eye on him while he is in there. That will
keep them on their toes.
God bless
garyv
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Hard to look at it without hurting myself , yuk , hate to hear of a young fella having to go through this , sure hope he has a speedy recover
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Wow!!! Did they use a Dewalt or Milwaukee drill driver???? :o
I hope for a speedy recover Jay. ;)
A very good friend had back surgery last Nov with two rods installed and couple fusions. Being 65 yrs young he is still in the slow stages of therapy. He can get around, but still a slow road.
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Wow its amazing the things that that modern medicine and surgeries can do. I dont know if this a silly question but after a certian amount of time can that come out or is that a forever thing.
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Thanks for all the good wishes, Max and our family certainly appreciate that. He had a pretty tough night with pain last night, but is doing much better today, even walked a few steps.
No helicoils in there Barry, just some big drywall-like screws ;D The heads on the screws have a hole that the steel rod slides through, and the rods are full floating, so he will have some mobility in his back, but they will still keep his vertebrae in alignment. That hardware is in there for good, it will never come out. He will get a special card to carry with him at the airport to explain why he sets off every metal detector in the place. Cost on the operation plus the day in the ICU and another 4-5 days in the hospital will total well into the six figures. Fortunately we have good medical insurance, out of pocket will be something like $6K.
If all goes as planned Max will be starting as a computer engineering major at the University of Wisconsin in September.
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Good to hear he is on the mend.
Thanks for the miracles of modern medicine.
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Best wishes to Max and your family. Jim
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Wow, your son Max is also a brave young man! He seems to be getting the best of care though especially with Mom nearby. Best wishes for a full and uneventful recovery to Max and your whole family from southeast Tx. :D
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Wow Max will be a Badger! Instant street cred... On Wisconsin!
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Glad to read that he is doing well.
Like so many others, I didn't know you had a son that old.
Bob
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Best wishes to Max! Don't let the geese chase him for a while. I don't think running would be a good thing about now. Hopefully he will recover very quickly. Joe-JDC
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Best wishes to Max! Do exactly what the physical therapist says ::) It will hurt, but take the medicine now so you enjoy a lifetime with minimal pain.
If he needs some stories, I've got 'em! Oh, and good thing Max didn't wait much longer to get his procedure. Turns out I'm just starting a project with a surgical company to design a line of those exact spinal bone screws. If you think Snap-On stuff is expensive, you should price out the tools they use to install those things! Add two zeroes to anything you can think of :o
Seriously, best wishes for a speedy recovery. He's got bragging rights now. Like me, Max will probably be developing a healthy fear of overly-friendly TSA officers with rubber gloves.
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Glad to hear he is doing better. I have a titanium plate and screws in my neck and it is amazing how the screws look like common drywall screws in an x-ray. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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Like me, Max will probably be developing a healthy fear of overly-friendly TSA officers with rubber gloves.
If they would hire young, good looking agents, they could cut the complaints down by at least half. Of course that would probably be offset by the upset wives ;D ;D
I had a friend in highschool who had scoliosis. Back then they only did the corrective brace thing, which worked for her. Hope Max recovers good and it's a non-issue for him through the years. At his age, he should recover good, or at least much faster than us old guys. I doubt the nurses and doctors are as excited about your wife being present, but that's still a good thing. Having had both parents in and out of the hospital over the last few years (they're getting old), you can believe me when I say...keep an eye on everything they do! Stupid mistakes are much more common than you'd think! One almost cost my Mom her life just a couple months ago. Everything is done by computer communication, and there is very little verbal communication anymore. That is NOT a good thing.
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When the TSA folks tell me I need a pat down, I normally tell them "Well I've been offshore for over a month, so I think it's a GREAT idea."
I also smile, wink, and giggle a lot while this is going down.
I find my security checks are fairly quick.
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May god bless him in his recovery. I have a significant background in anatomy and physiology and having had polio myself I have never seen a back that bad. The doctors did a magnificent job.
Good Luck!!
Byron
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;D Young TFA Agents ;D Well my wife always wear those
vintage lingeries like Corset and so on. And they contain
some serious hardware. Steelsprings, washers,hooks...
One time when she set of the metal detector there was
this young guy 18-19 something that take her aside and
run the handheld detector and it beeped on the thigh
What do you have for metal thing there?
Ohhh its just ...those ehmmm you know
NOOO i dont know....
So she pulled up the skirt and showed the clips that holds
the stockings. The kids face turned tomato red ...tha..tha...
thats okay you ca ..ca..can board tha.... tha....plane ;D ;D
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Jay, my families best wishes to Max and your family. If he shows any of the mental strength and tenacity that you have, he will get through this for the better. My daughter had to have open heart surgery about 4 years ago, just the thought of having one of your kids opened up like that is scary enough. But she got through it okay, and you wouldn't know anything was wrong with her these days. I'm sure it will be the same with Max in a year or so from now. Good luck to you all.
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Jay I just read the post about your son. Best whishes from my family to yours. We are going through a family situation right at the moment. My mother in law fell 9' off the porch at there home and broke both legs. One compound at the left ankle and a broken shin bone at the knee on the right leg. She`s in a lot of pain and will be out of commission for the rest of the summer. Garry
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Best wishes to Max for a speedy recovery. But it will take some time. Also makes me wonder if scoliosis has ever popped up anywhere else in the family tree?
My first ex-wife had scoliosis and a rod in her back. Installed in the early 70's. They didn't have much "give" to them back then. We had four kids together. Was just gonna have 3 kids but had twins the last go around. Went from a son and a daughter to two sons and two daughters! My twin daughter started to show signs of scoliosis at 10yrs. By 13 she had to have the same surgery as Max. It was amazing to me how fast her spine grew crooked. She gained about 2 inches in height with her rod. But her twin brother is still a good foot taller than she is today. Crazy genes in this family tree.
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Jay, just saw this post. Hope all is going well with Max. I'll be praying for him.
Richard
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Best wishes for a quick and full recovery!