Emergency Surgery

Welcome back to the next Thriving Not Just Surviving Post. (This is written by Maureen).

Greg went in for an appointment with a new Orthopedic Surgeon Wednesday October 31^st to get a second opinion. We were pleased with our first Orthopedic Surgeon but with Greg’s complicated case and not being in the same network as the rest of his ever-growing team, we decided to switch. Greg had been having constant pain since the Oct 9^th &10^th seizures and he was hoping to find relief, as well as plan for the future for his shoulder. I was not planning on going to STL for the appointment and was able to call into the appointment instead. As we started discussing the situation with the doctor, he reiterated everything we already knew. (These include: that Greg’s shoulder was in rough shape, that there were chunks of bone from both the “ball” and “socket” missing from his many dislocations and fractures from each seizure, and that he would need an extensive shoulder surgery when the seizures stopped). He also confirmed that there was not much that could be done until the seizures stopped.

As the conversation went on, he said that Greg’s shoulder was currently dislocated and probably had been since the last seizure, which was 3 weeks ago. This explained Greg’s immense pain. The doctor went on to say that if a shoulder remains dislocated for more than 6 weeks, the ball itself would soften and the shoulder will be completely un-usable.

I don’t have to tell you that all of this was a shock to hear. We knew the shoulder wasn’t in good condition, and we knew there would be a shoulder replacement someday. However, to hear that he needed surgery tomorrow, and that the surgery may or may not even work (due to the extensive damage and the duration for which it’s been dislocated), was a lot to swallow at once.

So, into surgery mode we went. Greg and his mom remained at the doctor’s office the rest of day and went through the pre-op protocol. I was able to get into STL at a reasonable hour and help him follow the at home preparations for surgery the next day (Thursday).

All of this has affirmed our decision to immediately move Greg to STL. He is such a complicated medical case. We really needed to have ALL his care under ONE umbrella of physicians with very high level of care. His surgeon was immediately able to feel, and see in his x-ray, the dislocation. We are thankful for his medical team here as well as his family who are so willing and ready to step in and help!

The surgery went well, although there was more damage than was first thought. The back of Greg’s shoulder is completely gone, although the cartilage is intact. They entered from the front side of the shoulder and “shoe-horned” the dislocation back into place. They also attached the tendons back to the bone where it had separated. All, with the lack of bone structure around the whole ball and socket, if Greg were to move his arm toward his abdomen at all, it would slide back out of socket. He has quite the contraption to keep his arm immobilized and in place for the next 6 weeks. The sling was custom-made overnight just for this procedure and situation. They call it “the gun-slinger”. It is quite the sight and his right arm does looks like he is holding some sort of weaponry and ready at a moment’s notice! Again, for the next 6 weeks, 24/7 he will be in this to ensure that the shoulder heals and remains in place.   

We are so grateful for all the prayers. Our biggest prayer is that the seizures stop, and he is able to heal his shoulder completely from this surgery and look forward to a complete shoulder replacement in the future to gain his full mobility back.