6 Months Post Op

I can't believe it was 6 months ago that Wil had his surgery. Yesterday we went to Landstuhl for his follow up. I must say I had been a touch nervous about this visit because his AWESOME surgeon PCSed soon after his surgery, and now we had to start fresh with someone who sort of walked into a middle of all this. My great distrust in military neurosurgery really started at Womack in North Carolina, where the "doctors" repeatedly told Wil that they would more than likely cripple him than improve his situation had they operated. That bull s**t card was quickly called and debunked by the amazing medical staff at Landstuhl. They were surprised that the stateside doctors let Wil's condition degraded that far without presenting him with a surgery option. I'll try to keep my gripe with Womack crew short, since I'm sure you have already heard this more than once from me. Anyhow, within the first two minutes of meeting with a new PA, whom we came to find that was not new to the staff at all but had been taking a long break in the States while Wil was going through his care last year, I knew my husband was once again in good hands. He had been operating side by side with Wil's surgeon for years and shared much of the same philosophy in military health system. He told Wil that although surgery rid the pain in his lower body and prevented further nerve damage, which was the goal for the procedure, he would continue to experience the pain in his back and Wil needed to learn to manage it with medication and physical therapy. Even though it was not exactly what I wanted to hear, it was still refreshing to get an honest medical opinion that prepared us for the future. Down the line if his condition should get worse, there's another procedure, a disc replacement, that could be considered, but for now, hopefully, physical therapy will make him stronger and eliminate some of his pain. I'm incredibly thankful for this hospital and its staff. They made my husband better and gave me my beautiful baby. Wherever we go, I'll always be singing praises of Landstuhl.

While we are on a happy cloud, I'm happy to report that sleep training is going very well. I'm not going to jinx myself and will wait a week to see if it sticks before sharing the details. Keep your fingers crossed for us!