Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Sacred Heart- Consultations

Posted by Lieutenant Hannah Lori Asimina (Asst. Chief Medical Officer) in Sacred Heart- Consultations

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Sacred Heart- Consultations
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Hannah tapped a couple controls on the table and the lights in the room dimmed and a holographic display appeared over the table. It showed the section of Dasca’s spine that was fused. “First we would start by detaching the blood vessels that feed into those vertebrae. Then we would cut away the fused bone, but cutting here and here.” the display showed the cuts. “Now here is delicate. we may have to cut the pieces smaller to release nerve endings. I won’t know exactly where until I go in. But we will be very careful and precise. We’ll map the pathways so they are reattached the same place. The prosthetic will go around the spine like this. We’ll actually use bone marrow from your bones to inject into the prosthetic. That will accelerate your body’s integration of the replacement bone and discs. Then we’ll use a tissue migrator to seal the two halves together and reattach the nerves, blood vessels, and muscle and tissue around it.” Hannah paused here to see if Dasca had any questions.

It seemed rather straight-forward all told and she could follow it, but she was too stunned to do anything more than just nod her understanding.

“There are the standard risks, any time you have surgery. Reactions to anesthesia, risk of clots afterwards. There is risk of rejection with a prosthetic, and complications if your body doesn’t integrate it completely. But your circulatory and nervous system scores make you a prime candidate for this. I won’t sugar coat it, Ms Dasca. Working near the spine always carries risk of permanent to nerves or the spinal cord. The risk is very low, we have an excellent team. The most likely side effect is a slight numb spot in your back where the incision will be. Caused by multiple incisions in the area.”

Asimina, SFAMO

She wasn’t here as the Lieutenant Governor, nor as Captain Dasca. Right now she was just Eela, trying to wrap her mind around the life this procedure could give her. Eela was deeply emotional. The story of her back wasn’t just about her injury, it was the events that led up to it and what it cost her afterwards. “Are you saying that I’d have full mobility? What about the recovery. I know the rehab last time was complicated and lengthened by my brain injury and the subsequent coma, but surely I’m not just going to wake up from surgery and hop out bed.” She was skeptical, yes, but it was also her making sure she didn’t get her hopes up.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Hannah smiled gently in understanding. “No you won’t hop right out of bed. You’ll be flat for the first 18 hours, at least. Any time dealing with surgeries there is swelling and irritation at the sight. The risk with spinal surgeries is that swelling can cause the spine and nerves to become pinched if you move too soon. So you’ll stay on your back for those hours and allow the swelling to go down. Somewhere between there and the 36 hour mark we’ll have you sitting up and you should be standing and walking with assistance by 48 hours. You’ll continue to wear your brace for the extra support as your body heals, and then as your body relearns how to move and use those muscles. You’re looking at 2 weeks at home. I know you are busy, but your back needs rest and to heal completely. You can’t be running all over the colony. You’ll need help during that time. I can’t give you an exact for rehab, your PT…” Hannah glanced at her chart, “oh good you see Jal’na. She will do a full evaluation and be able to give you an idea of how long that will be. Average PT lasts 6 to 18 months. You’ve been doing a lot of PT for years, so that will help.”

Dasca snorted. “You would think so, but it’s Jal’na, so all bets are off,” she said dryly, though her hazel eyes glittered. “And the bonus is I have a home office and workout room. It’s strangely handy.”

Hannah leaned forward slightly. “I can’t tell you that you will be like you were before. It’s been many years and your body will have to relearn how to flex and move and hold you up. You may not get to 100% movement, the cost of aging, but it will relieve the compression and the pain caused by that.”

Asimina, SFAMO

She picked up the prosthetic spine again and leaned back, gazing at it as the miraculous thing it was. Tears blurred her vision and she had to focus on her breathing for a moment. “Everyday after I woke up from that coma I vacillated between not wanting to continue the life I now had or wanting to go back to that moment before and try and change something. It took everything I had within me to keep going, to choose to find something worthwhile to do with my life after everything quite literally blew up. I’ve changed, and I’ve found a lot of acceptance for where I’m at now, but I’m not going to sit here and say that this option isn’t very enticing,” she said, setting the prosthetic down on the table. “But it’s not something I can rush into, nor is right now a good time. After things with the Vren are more clear, perhaps, but it gives us time to think things through. Is there any pre-surgery things that need to be done or that would need to keep in mind?”

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Hannah nodded in understanding. She had her own personal experiences with prosthetics and multiple surgeries. “It is a huge decision, and one you should take the time to fully consider. There is no time limit on this.” Hannah gathered her thoughts, “First and foremost, keep up with your physical therapy. I see you’ve greatly improved the compression that you presented with when you first arrived. It is important to keep working on that. Any compression or swelling can increase the risk of damage. You are up to date on your immunizations, but with all the refugees coming in, we are always updating that list. Any boosters you might need would need to be given 6 weeks before surgery.”

Asimina, SFAMO