Question
My boss had surgery on his spine about 7 years ago. The surgery was in the lumbar region of his spine to repair a blown out disk and to enlarge a hole in the vertebra to accommodate the sciatic nerve. After the surgery he developed a staph infection in his spine because of dirty tools being used. He suffers with frequent chronic back pain.

He wants to find out what a prognoses would be in a situation like that, and what he can do now to prevent becoming confined to a wheel chair as he ages.  

Answer
First off Mary, is he considering a lawsuit? If he ever gets to the point of living life ''in a wheelchair'' he may find he needs a whole lot of money to pay for everything. Granted it hasn't come to that, but what if it does?

And I would recommend he talk with a neurologist. They would know better than I with regards to a prognoses. The following website has information on spinal infections, I hope it helps.
http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/pain/osteomyelitis-a-spinal-infection
I'm sorry I couldn't tell you more.

Sincerely,
       Ken