Because they never turn out well.
We went today for another check up and as always the news was not favorable.
It looks as though the second fusion and parts of the first fusion have not taken. Meaning the pieces of her rib and the bones chips that were used did not harden to her spine like they were supposed to. Her doctor thinks this is because she is so young and her bones are still so soft (basically still cartilage) that the piece of rib he used was not strong enough and her body is more or less just absorbing the bone.
Right now the instrumentation that is put in to keep everything in place until the bones fuse is doing the job but over time they will start to wear down and probably break. He said on average they last about two years. At that time, and if her doctor feels her bones are strong enough he will try again.
The only bit of good news we got is that since she is wearing the collar and it is doing most of the work then the instrumentation might last a little longer. However, that does mean that she will be in the collar indefinitely.
So instead of being told I could start taking her collar off some which I was hoping for we found out that her fusion has not worked and she will remain in the collar for probably years.
Needless to say, I am bummed.
And I promise...I will post NY pictures tomorrow!
