General schedule for day of and days after surgery

This is when I get scared
As I posted yesterday, here is some more information from my patient coordinator about what to expect.

• day of surgery: I'll be admitted to the hospital two hours prior to my surgery. Once I'm in the surgery room & the real action is about to begin, an OR (operating room...but surely you all knew that at least from Grey's Anatomy, right?) staffer will let my family know it is beginning. (btw, my heart is starting to race as I type this.) The nurse will "call out" (their words, not mine; I guess it means they'll shout my name and if someone is there for me, they'll give them my info) each hour with an update. Dr. Hostin will visit with my family after it is all complete. Then my family will be able to see me. I'll be admitted into the ICU (Intesive Care Unit) for the first night.
• 4-5 days after surgery: I'll be moved to a regular room the next day after surgery, provided that I am doing well. I will stay in the hospital for 4-5 days or longer if it's medically needed.
• after hospital release: I will be transferred to the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas. I'll stay there for 7-10 days. While here, I'll learn how to adjust to my new body position, my brace and life after surgery. I'll learn daily activities like how to get in and out of bed, sit down and up from a chair or potty, out and in of the shower, take off and put on my brace, etc. Visitors will want to check my schedule before coming to my room, as I will be in and out each day.
• Five post-op visits: I will go to Dr. Hostin's office frequently to check how I'm progressing and healing. They'll check my wounds, how my brace is fitting, take x-rays and overall see how I'm moving, sitting, walking and functioning. My first visit will be the day I am discharged from rehab. Then, I'll visit them 2-3 weeks from that, one month after the second appointment, 4-6 weeks after the third appointment and then 6-8 weeks after the fourth one.
• ??? to four months after surgery: I'm not sure when they put the brace on for the first time. Maybe right away. I don't know. I do know that I will be in a brace at all times unless lying completely flat for 4 months. They recommend wearing light, plain t-shirts under the brace to protect my skin and keep the brace clean. After four months, they'll help me wean off wearing it. I hear from my SSO friends that it can be a little scary to stop wearing it because you feel so fragile.
• 8-12 weeks after surgery: I will return to work at least part-time.

While searching for a scoliosis support group (I found SSO), I stumbled across a different forum that had quite a few complainers in it. I'm sure that most of their complaints were very justified. Some people practically shouted "don't do it!" because they knew so & so who died or had their surgery messed up and had to have multiple surgeries or the rods and screws broke through the skin and lots of other wonderful stories. (everyone briefly chant here with me...this will not happen to me, this will not happen to me, this will not happen to me.)

The comment that stuck out the most to me was a woman who described the first few weeks after surgery as, "somewhere between hell and Nazi Germany."

Great.

Sounds fun, right?