We just got a call from Shana again at a little after 7:30PM our time that said Ruthie was out of surgery. They talked with the surgeon and he said that the tumor had grown deep into the vertebrae which he knew, but it was also wrapped around the spinal cord, which he did not expect. He felt confident he got all of the tumor! He did a bone graft because he took a lot of the vertebrae which the tumor had grown into. Because of this, he had to take some bone from her hip, which will also be a recovery in itself. At this point, she is wearing a ‘cage’. It is basically a metal contraption to keep her head from moving since so much bone was removed. The family was waiting to see her and will call if they are able to. Not sure at this point if there is any damage done as far as speech, mentation etc…this we will not know until she wakes up a bit. We are hoping they keep her heavily sedated so she does not feel any pain at this point. Please continue to pray for safety and protection from injury during these next couple of days. Pray for rest, peace and limited pain if she does wake up in the next couple of days. The doctor’s will probably try to wake her up to check her mental status. Pray for strength for Earl and the rest of the family.
We will continue to keep you updated. Thank you for your prayers!
The Santiago Partnership