The day has come

Well I'm headed to my grandmother's auction soon, but thought I would give a quick update about the exciting news. I was originally scheduled to have the halo removed on Tuesday (6/29). The other day though I got a phone call saying the doctor was taking that day off and my appointment was moved back another day. However, I started having some complications with the 4 screws in my skull. I could feel them shifting in and out of the skull (quite painful). Yesterday, it started getting pretty bad and was happening most of the day. I called the surgeon and they told me that the chances of the pins actually moving in and out were very small and that I should just wait it out and see Dr. Osgood on Wednesday. Unfortunately, this morning I woke up in excruciating pain. Every time I moved at all the pins would shift and I was in terrible pain. My friend, Jeremiah, had stayed the night and thankfully took me into the ER. The doctors there confirmed that the holes where my screws were had gotten bigger, causing bleeding and all sorts of fun stuff. After several phone calls to Dr. Osgood and Hershey Medical Center, the ER doctor decided to take the halo off right there (despite having no experience doing so). After a dose of morphine, the doctor and two nurses disassembled the halo, cleaned me up, put on the new collar and sent me home. I'm a free man!!! No more halo. I'll still meet with Dr. Osgood to find out how long I'll wear this collar and see what restrictions I still have. But I just wanted to let everyone know the great news. The halo is finally gone. Anybody interested in a Frankenstein costume? Thank you once again to everybody for the thoughts, prayers and everything you've all done. It's been a crazy journey and it's been such a blessing to have so much support from everyone.