‘Little House’ star Melissa Gilbert shares video after ‘life altering’ neck surgery

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, Melissa Gilbert shared how thankful she is to have undergone a surgery that will change her life — and how she’ll celebrate Thanksgiving next year.

The former “Little House on the Prairie” star shared a video from the procedure and her thoughts about it all on Instagram.

“Nothing too gross or gory here but I wanted to share with all of you,” she wrote alongside the clip from DISC Sports & Spine Center. “Especially if anyone out there is dealing with spine issues.”

On Nov. 19, the 56-year-old, who’s been dealing with her own spinal issues for a decade, including a broken back in 2010, underwent her fourth procedure, a neck surgery that involved removing old implants, repairing a failed fusion, installing a new disc and more.

After the surgery, one of the doctors in the video said, “I think we had a great success structurally and a great success neurologically.” And while it’s still early days, Gilbert now believes she’s destined for a pain-free future.

“Though I am only one week out it is clear that this surgery for me has been a life altering experience,” she continued. “On this Thanksgiving day though I am isolated from all of my loved ones, I am so filled with gratitude. I know that this isolation is only temporary and that next Thanksgiving, not only will we all be together again, I will be able to cook, play and enjoy this holiday free from pain and limits.”

As she put it in the video, “It couldn’t have been a more perfect outcome.”

Just hours after that surgery, Gilbert posted a photo of herself sitting up and smiling. She boasted that her surgeon had been 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!!!”

And in yet another post-surgical message, she wrote that the care she received was “nothing short of a miraculous.”

Now she’s looking forward to another feel-good moment — seeing her husband, actor Timothy Busfield, once again. Gilbert had to fly to Newport Beach, California, for her surgery and she’s been keeping her (social) distance since going back home to New York.

After Thanksgiving, she shared the results of her latest COVID-19 test, which was negative, and wrote, “Yeeeeeehaw!!! I can go to our place upstate. Now we just have to be cautious and mindful for ten days, then we are home free! Can’t wait to hug my hubby!”