All Is Well
.
We got to the hospital around 5:15 am. The next 2 hours were spent waiting, getting a room, waiting, meeting the very kind anesthesiologist, meeting someone with paperwork, meeting the surgeon, meeting the pain management team, meeting the spinal cord specialist who's sole job was to spend today monitoring for damage or paralysis, and meeting somebody else, who I forgot.
It was a long day.

The anesthesiologist made a deal with L. She said, "I'll stick you twice. Once with a shot that will feel like a pinch that numbs the area, and once to put in you IV. I won't stick you again while you're awake." L's rejoinder was "I can do that. If I can have an ice pack to cover my eyes with."
An ice pack was procured and the shot and IV were given. She covered the IV with a gauze bandage so he wouldn't have to look at it, and covered the whole thing with a cloth until she was done. After we met doctor after doctor and were reassured that they were all competent and ready for the day, she injected some happy drugs into the IV and they took him away and sent us off to the Surgery Waiting Room with a thingie that rings and flashes when they have an update for us. Just like a restaurant coaster pager, without the coaster. It flashed and chimed at 8:30 and we were told surgery had begun. It flashed and chimed at 9:30 and we were told everything was going well. From there on, every hour it flashed and chimed and we were updated that everything was going well. Except it didn't go off at 12:30. We got a little nervous, but figured the surgery team was busy. Around 1 o'clock, we stopped by the desk and said we were heading off to eat lunch, and got another update. Everything was going well. After lunch, we were told that the rods were being put in. Good. The most dangerous part was over. About an hour later, our pager flashed and chimed and we found out they were closing him up and Dr. Anderson would be out to talk with us soon.
And he was!
The surgery went very very smoothly. He did not need a blood transfusion during surgery. They were able to recover 500ml of L's blood and give it back to him. They were able to straighten his spine more than they had hoped, although we won't know the degrees until they get an x-ray. They did not need to wake him during surgery to check for damage or paralysis. All was good.
When L was in recovery, he could have one person with him. He asked for me. Win for Mom! so I got to see him with his face all puffy and his eyes gummed shut, and asking a million questions and doing things he shouldn't have been able to do
Like lifting his head and turning his neck to look at his IV's. He kept asking what was on him, then forgetting what it was. And there was a lot of stuff on him. He's got 3 separate IV's. Two vein IV's and one that's pretty much the same thing, except it's in an artery. He's also got an epidural in his spine and a blood pressure cuff, and squeezy things on his legs, and a heart monitor, and a monitor attached to a finger.
He's responsive and self aware and doing wonderfully. I think the 4 kinds of pain meds they're giving him help with that.
And... His morphene drip is in a clear box with two kinds of locks on it. But it has a handy carry strap.
More news after I've had some sleep.