Fans of Little House on the Prairie may be wondering what is going on with Melissa Gilbert now. Well, the former TV star who played Laura Ingalls Wilder recently shared on her Instagram that she had her fourth spinal surgery and it went very well!
“Surgery was wildly successful!” she wrote on her Instagram post. “Dr Bray was able to remove all the old hardware, shave off bone spurs causing numbness in my right hand and, and, and, he was able to give me the artificial disc!!!”
Melissa continued, “So now I focus on recovery and remaining Covid free. Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. I send so much love back to you all. Happy Thanksgiving indeed!!!”
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In an earlier post on her Instagram, Melissa shared about how she learned that her third spinal fusion surgery, that she had gotten back in 2016, had failed.
“I found out late last year that the fusion had failed, that the hardware was boring a hole in my C7 vertebra and I would need another surgery. In April of this year, I had a consultation with Dr Robert Bray.”
This was the doctor that did Melissa’s first fusion surgery in her neck in 2001, and he also repaired her back when she broke it in 2010. He said that she had about six months to get the surgery, but the coronavirus pandemic had complicated things.
“So I waited as long as possible,” Melissa wrote. “I’ve now reached the point where the pain is nearly constant and the fingers on my right hand are beginning to tingle.”
Because of this, Melissa scheduled her surgery with her doctor and flew to California to have the surgery done.
“My only job now is to stay free of this horrible virus so I can have my surgery. I’ll share as much of this journey as I can in case any of you out there are facing anything similar,” Melissa wrote. “I’m channeling my inner Halfpint for this one. The one who believes anything is possible. The one with courage and moxie to spare!! Everyone stay safe, stay healthy, stay strong. And if you have an extra prayer or two, please send them my way.”
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Thankfully, the surgery was successful for Melissa. Praise God!
h/t: People
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@melissagilbertofficial