My CRT friends and brothers... thank you so very much for all your words of encouragement and get well wishes.
The surgery was a success. Thursday afternoon the Neurosurgeon took the C6-C7 disc out through an incision in my throat while the Orthopaedic Surgeon cut out an 8mm piece of bone from my right side pelvic bone. Once the bone chip was shaved and shaped, it was wedged in between the two vertebraes and kept in place with a Titanium strip which was screwed to C6 and C7.
The whole process, although it began a bit slow, went along without a hitch. Went in to the OR at around 2:30PM and that was the last thing I remembered when I was woken up by a gorgeous (married w/3 K*ds) dark haired nurse named Christie. It surely made the initial pain subside a lot quicker. I was given quite a few shots of morphine at the beginning but within an hour I was on my way to my room. Slowly but surely the pain went away and in no time I was ready to get out of bed and walk around the hallway.
Being in a strange bed and forced to lay face up, I did not get much sleep. Had breakfast and shortly afterwards the Ortho Doc came in and told me everything was perfect but that I may have some temporary pain and discomfort while the bone and the incision healed. Then about 11:00AM the Neurosurgeon came by and said "Go home; no driving, no showers, take it real easy at home and I want to see you in two weeks"
By noon I was on my way home and I felt pretty good about the whole thing. Although the incisions will be sore for a while, the neck and back pain are gone and I am positive I will be in great shape within three or four months at the most.
Again, thanks to all of you who have chimed in with your sincere get well wishes and encouragement.
There were no "fortunate" errors committed by neither Doctor so Lil' Muff remains the standard average size and girth. Thankfully, now that the Spinal Cord is free of any obstruction, there will be much more enjoyment due to a better and stronger performance... but fear not! The "Muffdiver" moniker will not lose its fame and glorious talent.
Look forward to seeing all of you at the Anniversary Party, if not before. And again, the first round is on me!
You guys are the BEST!
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Respectfully,
Muff

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