God is sooo good. Thank you so much for praying ... as a friend of mine commented "Heaven must have been resounding with prayers for Chuck." Thank you, thank you!

As was prayed, the surgery was flawless and better than anyone anticipated! Thank you, God.

The surgery was a two-parter. Part one: removing and replacing the rods. Chuck's spine has three segments of fusion: two rods at the top, two in the middle, and two in the lower back. It was the middle two that caused so much grief. It is the area where Chuck's back curves the most. So, Dr. Shelokov removed the two middle rods and replaced them with one thinner rod.

Part two: cleaning and closing the wound. First of all, thank you wound care team!!!! Dr. Shelokov was certain that the wound would be filled with infection ... NOPE! The wound was very, very clean. In fact, the wound was so clean and the skin so healthy that no grafts were needed! Dr. Young used the left latissmus muscle, (left shoulder blade) and pulled it a little to the right. She was able to cover the wound and stich him up. She was astounded at how easy it was to close Chuck's back. Apparently, it's often a struggle ... pulling and stretching to cover everything inside! Not this time, thank you GOD!

I do not know why I'm so amazed at how well this surgery went . Yea God ... I praise you, I praise you.

Next step, recover from surgery. Chuck will be weak for a while ... and may develop pneumonia. Please pray for a quick and full recovery. I love all of you so much!