Magec Rod

On April 7th Trinity had a MAGEC Rod put in to replace her old rod. The MAGEC (MAGnetic Expansion Control) System is used in the treatment of severe progressive spinal deformities. MAGEC is an adjustable growing rod that utilizes an External Remote Controller (ERC) to non-invasively distract the implant. Following a surgical procedure to implant the MAGEC rod, the device is distracted using the MAGEC ERC, thereby eliminating the need for additional surgeries to distract the spine, as with traditional growing rods.

We knew when getting the rod there would be risks that her body wouldn't hold the rod due to her small frame and how thin her skin is. Below is a picture of her x-ray to show you the rod. The bottom piece is a screw that is put into her pelvic bone.

On April 27th Trinity was admitted back to Gillette because of a small opening in the bottom part of the incision. They cleaned it out and closed it that day. Then we were admitted for 3 days and discharged on April 30th.
Unfortunately on Friday we found another opening that was much bigger than the last opening (her incision was covered up by bandages, that's why we didn't see it until Friday). Gillette had us watch it over the weekend until Trinity's surgeon got back on Monday from a conference. On Monday we made a trip back up to Gillette to have the opening looked at by Dr. Walker. We knew before leaving that he would need to do surgery, we just didn't know exactly what to expect and what the course of action would be. We got up here at 4:30pm. Dr. Walker examined Trinity and the conclusion was that the opening was for sure infected and that the infection had probably traveled down to the rod. He would go in and clean the incision out and then examine how far the infection had traveled and clean any infected areas.
The biggest concern was if the rod is infected and how bad. Sometimes they can be cleaned and antibiotics will take care of it and then there are times where the infection can not be cleaned off the rod and the device needs to be taken out to allow the body to get rid of the infection.
After going in for surgery he found that the infection had traveled to the lower part of the rod around the screw. He washed it out and also got as far up the rod as he could and washed that area out too. He left the incision open and hooked a wound vac up to it to allow the drainage and infection to get out. Below you can see a picture of that.

On Wednesday, they will go back in and clean the area out again and check for any infection. If there is no signs of infection, then on Friday a plastic surgeon will close the back up. We are still not sure what the plan is for closing it, since that spot will not close with a normal surgery. We hope to know more tomorrow. If there is still evidence of infection, then he will leave it open and continue with the wound vac and relook at it on Friday. The worse case scenario is that he would have to remove the rod and allow her body to heal from the infection for up to 6 months and treat it with antibiotics. As of now we know we will be here for at least a week if not longer. This is hard on all of us, especially Aubree and Trew.
Of course none of this is what we had planned and definitely not what we wanted for Trinity. She's been such a trooper and very positive through all of this. She amazes me with her strength and the way she perseveres through all of this.
We need your prayers!! God knows what is best for Trinity and we want that. "If this rod is meant to stay, then Lord heal it and if it's not, don't put any doubt in Dr. Walker's mind." Please pray for healing, strength and peace for any decisions that need to be made. Also, I'm personally asking for prayers for me. I'm exhausted, emotionally and physically and I miss my family!
We love all of you so much and greatly appreciate the prayers and support!