A shorter one this week. Mainly because it flows better to keep the two topics separated into two chapters, but also because uni assignments have started again.
Sally was so proud of her grandchildren. After yesterday and all the things that had been said, implied and not spoken about at all, she was so pleased that they all turned up to see Scott off to his operation. She could see it wasn't easy on any of them, but the relief in Scott's eyes that they had come was palpable.
It was going to be a long wait. Once they had been informed which procedure Scott would be having both John and Virgil had researched it. Although it was a simple procedure, because there were multiple fractures in a small area they would be taking time to ensure everything would take well.
Usually patient could go home and even have no issues with walking, but because of Scott's other injuries more precautions were being taken. The professionals were also not entirely sure that there was no nerve damage to his spine, so at least four weeks were going to be spent in hospital while his leg and hip healed enough before working though the physio needed to get back on his feet.
Kyphoplasty was the planned procedure, with the option for a short fusion if necessary. With two vertebrae definitely fractured, it was going to be a minimum of four hours before Scott would be out of the operating theatre, and they had warned everyone that if the kyphoplasty looked like it wouldn't be an option, if a fusion had to go ahead, or if more fractures were discovered it would be much longer.
Used to hospital stays and operations, the Tracy family settled down to wait.
It took six hours.
They had managed to perform the kyphoplasty on the lower two lumbar vertebrae and had also completed a lumbar discectomy as the disc between had been damaged and was pressing on Scott's spinal cord. There was still some inflammation around the area and some minor concern about the positioning of the swelling. There had been discussions as to whether a short fusion would be a good idea, but ultimately they decided it wouldn't be necessary, and a possible back-up if a second procedure was needed.
Normally a patient would be kept on their front only for a few hours after recovery, but with Scott's hip and leg injuries along with the swelling, they had decided to keep him on his front for the night. It was very complex, working out the best treatment and ongoing therapy was difficult. Usually for both the back procedures and the broken hip, encouraging walking and movement was normal. But until the swelling reduced enough to see that there wasn't going to be a permanent issue, it had been decided to keep him as immobile as possible.
By the time Scott began to come around it was early evening. It was a crowd of relieved faces he saw when he could eventually open his eyes and keep them open long enough. Scott smiled to see them all, crowding each other so that he could see them all without turning his head. Poor Alan was getting squashed between Gordon and Virgil. John was tall enough to be behind them all, and Grandma was next to Virgil, his arm around her shoulders. She always did favour his middle brother, much as she denied it.
Scott didn't stay awake for long. As he dropped back off his brothers let out a collective sigh. Although there still was some fear for his ability to walk, so far things had gone well. They sat around the bed and quietly discussed how they would go forward. Eventually Sally interrupted them. Reminding them what Scott's original feelings and requests were, she shot down several plans.
Alan wanted to stay. He wanted to be helpful to Scott, and he'd already decided that Scott would change his mind when he woke up. Sally disagreed. It was highly unlikely that he would change his mind that much. Alan pouted. It didn't work.
Gordon, Virgil and John were debating staying the night until Scott was more awake or leaving now. Sally sighed. She totally understood the question, and she was also torn. Scott had been very clear about them getting straight back to work, but he'd been barely conscious long enough to see them properly. She was sure that Scott would be perfectly happy to see them tomorrow if they stayed, but he would be equally as happy if they weren't there and had returned home.
If they were going to go home tonight, then they better set off now as it was already getting late and it would take time to get back. In the end they decided to go. Alan argued, but Sally agreed with them. The longer they stayed the harder it would be to leave, and in some ways leaving while Scott was asleep would make that easier. She was pleased that Scott had asked her to stay.
In total it would take the boys and Two almost two hours to get home if Virgil went at top speed, but not pushing her like he had on the way here. So now seemed a good idea to go. Saying goodbye to their Grandma was also hard, and both Virgil and Gordon promised that they would keep regular contact. Alan had an extra hug. No one was happy, but they were resigned to what was going on.
Sally knew that once they were back to work it would get easier. There was one more obstacle to overcome for the two eldest.
It was time to talk to EOS