My Surgery

(Thursday, August 21)

And the outcome of the surgery was:

My neurosurgeon, Dr. Jobe was very pleased with the surgery.  My C5 vertebra was pretty smashed, with bone fragments all around, but he was able to bolt C4-C5-C6 along the right and left sides with titanium rods.  He also said the nerve to my arm lost its "sheath" but doesn't appear to be damaged, so after several weeks, it should start to grow the sheath back and then I can start re-hab'ing the arm.  On the 3rd day after the surgery, I was allowed to come home, and I'm in great spirits, mostly because I'm thankful for the providence of God by which I narrowly escaped a much more significant negative outcome.

Thanks, everybody, for your thoughts, wishes, and prayers.  I really appreciate the care and concern from my various circles of friends!!

(Monday, August 18)

My wife, Anna and I met with my neurosurgeon, Dr. Jobe for the first time on Monday (August 18) and he explained to me the many mysteries I've been wondering about...

What do I have?

A “broken neck”.  Also, because I lost memory of about 10 minutes immediately following my crash, I had a concussion.

There is only one dislocated vertebra, and the facet (part of the bone that aligns the adjacent vertebrae) on the right side “jumped” out of its correct location and is stuck/jammed in the wrong place.  This also caused the facet of the vertebra to fracture (hence a “broken neck”) and I have bone fragments in my neck.  All of this impacted the nerve that comes out of this juncture, which is why I can’t lift my right arm.  From the CT scan, it appears to me to be about 3/8 inch (1 cm) out of its correct location, so that the adjacent vertebrae above/below are off center and slightly rotated.  All the other vertebrae above/below these two are aligned properly to their neighbors, so it is only off in this one place.

Why didn’t it show up in Pamplona?

They only did an x-ray, so depending on the angle(s) used, it’s not unusual that it would not have been visible.  It’s only on the CT Scan (which is 3-D and can be rotated graphically), that it is visible.  The good thing for me is that if they had seen it in Pamplona, I probably wouldn’t have be allowed to spend the next 3-1/2 weeks touring around Europe.

What will I get?

Two titanium rods plus four screws.  On each side of my neck, three adjacent vertebrae will be joined by a rod, which will be screwed into the top and bottom vertebrae.  Even though only one side is broken and out of alignment, it’s safer to put rods on both sides.  I’ll lose about 25% of my mobility of my neck.  It's likely I'll recover full use and strength in my arm (in 6 months or so).

What could I have had?

He said in about 50% of the cases with damage to this extent, there is partial to full paralysis of up to all four limbs.  He said I was “within millimeters” of that.  I’m thankful that I was chosen to glorify God in the way in which this outcome has been to this point, rather than some other way.  And I pray that the surgery will work as the doctor intends and I will be able to continue with the life I enjoy.

What’s my future risk?

He said the strength of my neck, after recovery, will be the about same as it was before the accident.  In other words, I am not at any increased risk of a neck injury due to any activity.  So I hope to resume flying in “about 6 months”.  But no flat-slope launches until I get better training/skills on that particular technical requirement.