Malachi checked in for surgery at 5:30am this morning and is still in the operating room (3pm). We just met with the spine surgeon while the general surgeon puts him all back together.

Malachi had a successful lumbar spinal fusion (L4 to T12) with screws and rods and a tiny bit of cadaver bone from the anterior side. This surgery was done to prepare his spine for a full fusion in round #2 on April 7th.

Malachi’s body has been so contorted that there was a fear that his skin would not be able to stretch enough to heal should we have done the full fusion now. We are going to do a consult with plastic surgery while we are inpatient and discuss a few more options to get his skin to handle the wounds of round 2 better and decrease infection risk.

The biggest fear right now is something secondary happening post-op, like a pneumonia or GI issue. He will have chest tubes for a few days to help the fluid drain out of his lungs. For this procedure they inflate the lungs separately to allow one to remain deflated enough to get tools behind and do the fusion. His lungs have definitely been through a lot today.

The plan is to spend some time on the regular floor until his pain is well managed and we can get chest tubes out. They will also be drawing labs and watching closely for infection.

He did not require any blood transfusions, which is a praise! There was also talk of doing a knee tendon release and him going into casts so that they could get better positioning for him for the second surgery. But they were able to get enough bend in his knees under anesthesia to avoid the additional work. And we are all praising God over here that he doesn’t require halo traction!

I am still waiting on the full report from the general surgeon and anesthesiologists but overall everyone seems pleased!

I will do my best to continue updating at least once a day. Thank you for the prayers and support!