Nate’s in a catch 22 now

Ok, it has been nearly 3 yrs since Nate got a flu shot, 2 weeks later had his Gallbladder out and woke up from surgery paralyzed from GBS.
As some of you know, it took nearly 2 weeks to figure out what was wrong with him while he got sicker and sicker.
He was paralyzed from the shoulders down, had Plasmapheresis 12 hrs worth and had to be hospitalized 9 1/2 mos. It was a horrible nightmare for everyone involved having him 100 miles away.
We were told that once he could transfer himself from bed to wheelchair, he could go home. I could hardly wait until I could get him out of there.
He has been home with us now 2 yrs, slowly improving as far as is possible.
During the time he was paralyzed, his right foot turned under, in and his toes dropped……all at the same time.
There was nothing anyone could do about it except tell us that it would go back when he was able to walk again.
Well, when he finally got to walk 8 mos later, it only made his foot worse.
After being fitted with a big 2 piece AFO and a year of PT, he went as far as he could but not able to walk very far without his legs giving out or losing his balance.
When his Orthopedic dr first saw him, he said he would never want to do surgery on him due to the threat of relapse.
His foot straightened some from the AFO but not enough. It has never returned to a workable position and is now causing major problems with every bone in his foot when he walks, even with the AFO. It is also very painful to walk on.
His Orthopedic Dr. referred us to another Orthopedic Dr. that specializes in ankle reconstruction to see if he thought he could help.
He took one look at the x rays and the lump on the side of Nate’s foot and said it was necessary to repair his foot or he would have many more problems if we don’t, including fractures.
He had new Nerve Conduction studies done at Nate’s Neuro to see which of his leg muscles were getting signals. Some don’t and some do. Some never will due to nerve damage.
Now the problem. When we first talked to the Surgeon, he thought he could get by with Nerve blocks and sedation instead of General Anesthesia.
That made all of us feel reassured.
Now when we saw him yesterday, he says that the surgery will take anywhere from 3 hrs to 6 hrs. It will be a very involved, intricate repositioning of muscles that still work. 5 incisions, holes drilled into his foot bones, screws, pins, etc. There is no way that he can do surgery for that long and not put him under.
He will have to be in the Hospital 2 or 3 days, then go to a convalescent hospital for 6 to 8 weeks after that until his foot is ready to stand on.
I know its Nate’s decision and he is ready to go do it. You can’t blame him.
He wants to have his foot work better. He knows it will never be like it used to be but he still wants anything he can get with it.
Needless to say, I am very nervous about the whole thing. I am so afraid he will wake up paralyzed again.
We will be doing a pre admit meeting next week with the hospital and anesthesiologist. I am going to make sure that everyone involved is very aware of what happened last time. No one wants a repeat of that nightmare.
I feel somewhat reassured that at least we know what to look for this time and that if anything does happen, he will get treatment quickly this time before any damage can be done like last time.
I am also very glad that he will be close by this time. Our hospital is 6 min down the fwy and about 5 min to park and walk in the hospital.
I hope the surgery goes well, he is ok with no relapse and there are no problems with all the hardware.
I’m glad I have good family support. This mama bear will need all of them.