Karlie had her 1st appointment with an Orthopedic's Surgeon yesterday. This one was a DC Children's. Since they did all of Karlie's other surgeries her Oncologist thought it would be good to hear what they say, especially since if she has it done there her Neuro Surgeon would also be in the room helping with the surgery. Yesterday we found out a lot more. Although this surgery is going to be difficult for Karlie it is the ONLY option. Her cervical spine will not get better it will continue to get worse and damage her nerves in her spine and limit her movement. If left untreated, paralysis from the neck down may even result as well as death. That is definitely not an option for her! Karlie has Cervical Kyphosis which is. where the normal curve of the neck begins to straigten, unfortunetaly Karlie's is wosre and has actually started to reverse and is going the opposite direction of the normal, healthy state. It was caused from her tumor reduction and/or radiation. Dr. Blakemore at DC Children's said Karlie's x-ray looks worse then it did a month ago. Her reflex's are becoming very brisk which is not good. It means it is starting to effect her and she may soon start to become weak, making it hard for her to walk. Karlie's surgery is still scheduled for October 1st at John's Hopkins. But right now I am trying to figure out where would be best for her to have the surgery. Surgery to treat Karlie's cervical kyphosis will involve spinal fusion combined with segmental instrumentation. This means that some type of metal (titanium) plate or rod is used to hold the spine in the proper alignment to straighten it. Im not exactly sure how long Karlie will be in the hospital for this surgery but im guessing somewhere around a week. Hopefully not any longer. Karlie will have to wear a halo brace for 6 to 12 weeks and then switch to a normal neck brace. She will also get lots of physical therapy. While Karlie is wearing the halo brace the Doctor informed me yesterday that the only way Karlie will be able to be transported is through ambulance. Although this is going to be a very diffcult surgery I have no doubt in my mind that Karlie will make a wonderful recovery. She is doing absolutely wonderful! She is walking so much! Picking up new words everyday!! She is just absolutely amazing!! Please keep Karlie in your prayers.
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