First of all, Chuck is fine! Thanks for your prayers, phone calls, emails, and words of love. I feel so incredibly blessed to be surrounded with so much love and support.

Chuck is currently in ICU and is O-U-T. Mom, Dad, and I saw him momentarily, while he was alert ... not pretty. They needed to check his leg function, thus the alert state. Before the surgery, he had no feeling in his legs but could move them ever so slightly. After the surgery, he had no feeling in his legs and could not move them at all. This does not mean that he has lost the use of his legs, however. Shelokov is treating him as a if he has a spinal injury = steroids to reduce swelling in the spinal cord. We will see how everything progresses

As for Chuck's back, Dr. Shelokov said he has beautiful muscle and skin covering it, again, a FIRST. Please offer a prayer of thanksgiving to the following AMAZING doctors: Dr. Huse anesthesiologist extraordinaire, Dr. Shelokov - master mind and gentle soul, Dr. Patty Young - plastic surgeon divine ... and to my sweet and supportive in-laws. God love those two!!!

Second - your comments have given me so much encouragement. You are amazing friends! Thank you, thank you.

Okay, third, may I just say that the New Jersey Picciuti's rock??? How blessed I am to be a member of such a supportive group. Uncle Eddie and Aunt Helen, way to raise a fabulous family. I was so touched by your words of concern and love.

Whew, what an amazing day. Mom, Dad, and I witnessed the miracle of modern medicine. The day was long and intense. It began at 4:30 A.M. and wrapped up about 8:00 P.M. Dr. Shelokov kicked us out at 8:00 ... reminding us that we are running a marathon and need to take things in stride. He made it clear ... there will be NO spending the night at the hospital ... and we all are to be well rested and ready to give Chuck the support he needs during his recovery.

Alright ... let me give you the highlights of this amazing day. First, a reminder of the main lesson of whole ordeal ... nothing is for certain. Those of you who know me well are aware that I like definitives ... if I put something on my calendar ... it damn well better happen. Well, God's been chipping away at that adorable personality quirk, helping me release that whole "control" issue. For the past two years ... absolutely nothing has gone "according to plan." I'm actually getting the hang of this thing called flexibility ... it's still not pretty, but I'm getting there.

So, that outline I provided ... basically very little of that happened! Ha ha - that God's a laugh riot! Turns out that Chuck will need six to eight weeks of bed rest before attempting physical therapy. It is imperative that the "hardware" in Chuck remain securely in place. Any bets on how long this "bed rest" will last??? Serioulsy, if the hardware fails to function properly, he will be in worse shape than before the procedure. Soooo - please pray for this situation. Pray that I don't take a frying pan to his head to keep him on his back.

How does he look? The man was FLAT on his back ... no jutting neck, no head dropping back ... no curve in his back ... this is the first time EVER that I have seen this. Before seeing Chuck in person, Shelokov showed us before and after xrays. Whew! The space below his 12th rib has increased about 33%. His curve is all but gone ... his head is now positioned over his pelvis. He still has his scoliosis curve, but that hump is G-O-N-E. His chest is gorgeous ... lots of room. As is expected, this new shape will be incredibly uncomfortable for him ... bone, muscle, tissue all rearranged, all manipulated. Please pray for quick healing.

Funny thing, when we went in to see Chuck, he had a breathing tube so he could not speak. He used his handy-dandy sign language to communicate with me. Now, my sign kinda stinks ... so he spelled out everything. Either Shelokov tweaked the "spelling" portion of Chuck's brain, or an angel of mercy whispered in Chuck's ear ... because he could actually spell words! You must know, my brilliant husband's spelling in on par with my six-year-old niece's. God, I love that man! After providing directions for me to bark at all the nurses, he signed "I love you." I completely lost it, and Shelokov kicked me out. Damn, I love that Chuck Picciuti. He's in agony ... but still looking out for me.

I do not know if Shelokov is a believer in Jesus as Savior ... but he has a keen understanding of how to handle situations that are out of one's control. His wise advise: you can do nothing to help Chuck. It is out of your hands. The best thing for you to do is to just accept that you cannot make him better, and release control. Little did he know that I already realize that I'm not in control ... and am thankful that THE MAN's got everything going accoring to HIS plan. Oh - ask anyone who knows me, I don't always accept this fact ... you know the whole control issue I have with scheduling everything! However, I recently heard an EXCELLENT definition of sovereinty = God provides the best outcomes through the best means for the highest good. While some things make no sense to me in my finite mind, God can see the whole picture and knows the best way to bring about the best results for the most people.

I recorded abosultely everything that happened yesterday and am debating posting it ... could be quite mind-numbing: example: 8:05 Chuck went under ... 8:45 Debbie called to tell me surgery has started...etc. If you're like me ... you just want to know that the surgery was a success, Chuck is OUT and resting. I will keep you posted on his leg use. Sadly, while he was awake yesterday, he was in a great deal of pain ... mostly muscular... absolutely every muscle in his back and neck has been manipulated and repositioned. Please pray for my baby's comfort!! Please pray that I am a good support and don't cry everytime he winces in pain.

Chuck and I are blessed beyond belief.
XXXOOO