T-minus 1 day (medical related) 

"Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S." (calebms) 12/14/2016 at 21:54 • Filed to: None

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Hopefully my shitty car meme appeases the buffer image gods. 

As some of you know (mainly those in the FB chat, or those of you that are friends with me on Snapchat) I will be undergoing a fairly significant surgery on Friday. I have a birth defect called “Pectus Excavatum,” basically an indentation in the chest.

The surgery, called the “Nuss Procedure” is technically minimally invasive, but is supposedly quite a painful recovery. The procedure itself (in the video below) calls for 2 incisions, one on each side of the ribcage, then the insertion of a “leader bar” which is pushed through the two incisions, then lifted up to break the sternum and supporting ribs. The leader bar is then removed, and the second bar is inserted, after being specifically made to fit me and my structure. The bar is inserted in a “u” manner, but flipped over into an “n” once in place. The bar is then stitched to my ribs, and left in for 2-4 years.

Recovery-wise, I am expected to spend about a week in the hospital, and then I have a whole slew of “do not’s” I’m supposed to follow for quite some time.

To give you a better idea of what I’ve got, and what’s being done, I’ve whipped up this little graphic for you.

Anyway, your thoughts/prayers/virgin sacrifices are much appreciated, and I’ll see you on the other side, come Saturday.

CB > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 21:58

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Best of luck, bud! I’m pulling for you!

shop-teacher > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 21:58

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Good luck!

TheHondaBro > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 22:03

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AAGH WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HAVE TO POST A VIDEO WTF I DIDN’T POST A VIDEO OF MY SURGICAL PROCEDURE YOU ARE A MASSIVE RAPSCALLION

Flavien Vidal > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 22:06

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Oh good luck man! A friend of mine has the exact same thing as you... It’s cool to do slow motions of street-fighters fights or ripping his heart off during Halloween haha

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > Flavien Vidal 12/14/2016 at 22:12

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Thanks! It’s a fairly common defect (1 in 1000 people). I’ve been making my own fun with it this week, just ask the FB chat...

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > TheHondaBro 12/14/2016 at 22:12

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yer welcome.

Spaceball-Two > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 22:25

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Wishing you a safe procedure and quick recovery. We’re thinking about you.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 22:30

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Aw, man. I’ve broken and dislocated several ribs over the years. You can’t stop breathing, so the parts being mended are always in motion, making it much more painful than when I broke my arm. It was similar to breaking my collar bone, but at least there was some relief when I was lying on my side with that one.

Best of luck to you. It’s going to be a rough road for a while.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 22:55

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Best of luck mate! Not pleasant, but it’s a common procedure, and you’ll get to put up wi.....I mean....hang out with us during your sitting around while you recuperate! :P

smobgirl > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/14/2016 at 23:56

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Best of luck! Even with the pain I sort of prefer the recovery to the anxiety of waiting for hospital procedures. I’m totally cool with the after-effects (not really, anesthesia makes me pretty sick, but I can deal with that) but holy crap do NOT try to give me an IV. Nonononononono. They actually had a woman going around giving foot massages to calm people down the last time I had a scheduled surgery!

I’m sure everything will go great and we’re all here for you. Give a shout if you need anything!

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/15/2016 at 00:51

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Did you ask for the Tony stark package?

IanZ - limited-slip indifferential > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/15/2016 at 01:01

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And that’s why I could never be a surgeon. Squeamish. Good luck on your surgery, hoping for a speedy recovery.

Xyl0c41n3 > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/15/2016 at 01:09

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Good luck! I hope your recovery is swift and as painless as possible.

Baeromez > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/15/2016 at 02:00

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Good luck man

CaptDale - is secretly British > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 12/16/2016 at 16:30

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Good luck with it all. I have a friend with a minor indentation. Yeah, breaking bones I am assuming would mean a painful recovery.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 01/06/2017 at 12:10

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One of my friends has this quite severely. On the plus side, he can tape large bags of chocolate chip cookies into the hole in his chest and sneak them in to theaters under his shirt.

How’d the procedure go?

Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 01/06/2017 at 13:50

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Procedure went really well, the surgeon was quite pleased with the final product. I was able to walk five days earlier that expected, I am off of narcotic painkillers three weeks earlier than expected, and I was able to do two full days of school this week, a week earlier than expected as well.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Caleb "If a rally car can do it, so can my Malibu" M. S. 01/06/2017 at 13:51

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Woot!