@elainerb Welcome! You are among friends here. I had spine surgery at Mayo, and also fixation for a broken ankle (at a different time). I can assure you that you will be in very good hands. The level of care and compassion at Mayo is unmatched. They will do everything they can to help you feel at ease. Just ask. The nurse even held my hand when I went under anesthesia for spine surgery. My surgeon was so kind and he answered all my questions. I had him visit me right before we went into the operating room so I could thank him for helping me. I had been turned down by 5 other surgeons, and this step of expressing my gratitude was important to help me calm my fears. I kind of puts you in the driver's seat in a way.

I had been working on overcoming my fear of surgery. It was a deeply rooted fear related to my childhood experiences of medical and dental procedures and other emotional trauma that was linked into that fear. I did a lot of work to understand my fear and make my peace with it, and doing that freed me. Fear no longer controls me, and I have been tested with other medical procedures. I made it my challenge personally to overcome it and take control of my responses to events like this. You can do it. When time is critical, as in your situation, clinical hypnosis may help. My first surgery was a carpal tunnel operation and I did clinical hypnosis before and it helped get me through it easily. I still felt butterflies in my stomach, but I knew I was OK and safe.

A few other things that may help is being familiar with where you are going. It's all new, but it's better if it feels like a place you've been before, so I created a tour of St. Mary's Hospital which is probably where you would have a procedure with a neurosurgeon. Both my surgeries were there. Here is the tour.

"A Patient-Guided Tour of St. Mary’s at Mayo Clinic, Rochester"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/about-connect/newsfeed-post/a-patient-guided-tour-of-st-marys-at-mayo-clinic-rochester/
I also created this discussion about finding ways to cope with fear. Find something at St/ Mary's that you can connect to perhaps the pretty stained glass that looks like a rainbow at the entrance. You can imagine those beautiful colors stretching over you and embracing you keeping you safe while your there. Visualization is very powerful, and even more powerful when you pair it with music that you love, and it's all about designing an imaginary safe place and you can go there any time you need to do that. That helped me stay in control during some scary appointments (before I got to Mayo) and help to calm myself. By the time I got to Mayo, I had my plan for handling my fear, but when I met my neurosurgeon there, he was the first surgeon whom I didn't fear. He put me at ease and I had done my homework on this. I'll also include my Mayo patient story. It is posted without pictures now, but I have a copy with the pictures online that you could search for.

"How can I defeat my anxiety about medical tests and surgery?"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-can-i-defeat-my-anxiety-about-medical-tests-and-surgery/
"Using the Art of Medicine to Overcome Fear of Surgery"
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/using-the-art-of-medicine-to-overcome-fear-of-surgery/
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/221703/
This may be relaxing to watch. It is the post with painting I did for my Mayo neurosurgeon start to finish as a time lapse set to some nice music. That is how highly I think of him and Mayo clinic. He gave me back my ability that was being lost to a spine condition.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/222044/
Please reach out Elaine, if you need to talk. I know what it is like to have PTSD and panic attacks, and I also know there is hope. Mayo and your team will take very good care of you.

Jennifer