last post of surgery day

I am now sitting in the (very empty) hospital cafeteria. I got in to see Mike at 10:15 and stayed until 11. I then found out that the docs are due in at midnight to do a "flap check" (more about that later) and I decided to stay here until that is done, then head out for some shut eye.

Mike actually looks better than I was anticipating (prepared for)! He is completely sedated right now, so unfortunately I still haven't been able to look him in the eyes, but that will come tomorrow. Because of the sedation, his trach tube is connected to a ventilator to do the breathing for him while he rests. His nurse Ray told me that they will likely disconnect the ventilator tomorrow morning as soon as it is clear that Mike can breath through the trach on his own. The surgical scar is amazingly well stapled together, and I know that the team worked hard to make it as cosmetically pleasing as possible. He has a cast on his right arm where they took the graft. He looks remarkably good and is getting very attentive care from his nurse. Most of all it was just great to see him after the long wait!

I will post in the morning once I have had a chance to visit an "awake Mike."

9:40 PM update

I'm sitting in the ICU waiting room and just found out that it has great wireless internet reception (unlike the surgery waiting room), so I'm going to post this note while I have a chance.

Dr. Futran came to speak to me after he finished up with the surgery and said that everything went really well and just as planned.

I still haven't seen Mike yet, but they promise me it will be soon. He got out of surgery a little bit past 9 and is in the ICU now. Once Mike is settled in, they will let me go in to say hello, though they explained that he will be asleep, waking slowly through the night.

I will stay with Mike for a while tonight, and then drive to my sister's house in Wallingford and try to get a couple good hours of sleep. I will be back here tomorrow and just hang out in the ICU with Mike as much as the nurses will let me.

I will try to post again tomorrow once I have actually seen Mike with his eyes open so that he knows I have been there and I can tell him about the great prayers and support being sent his way. Thank you all!

8:00 PM update

Just heard from the OR and they are finishing up! The nurse said Dr. Futran (the surgeon) should be out to see us in 30-40 minutes once he is completely done. Sounds like everything is still going well and according to plan.

Once Dr. Futran gives us the final report, then hopefully I will be able to go see Mike in the ICU, and I will try to post one more time after that.

It's been a long day, but I have had some great visitors (thank you Dianne, Pat, and Dawn) and family (Nancy, Cathy, Tom, and Ann) to help me pass the time. And as you all know me well, you'll not be surprised to hear that I haven't run out of things to talk about yet!

6:30 PM update

No real news right now. I spoke with an OR nurse about 5:30 (an hour ago) and he said everything was still going according to plan, no problems. They were still working on putting in the graft, so lots of fine technical work connecting veins, artery, and nerves. At that point the estimate for when the surgery would end was 7:00 PM, but he warned me that it can take longer. As he put it "it will take as long as it takes, but everything is going well."

Update #2

Got the second update about 11:30. They have finished the neck dissection and are now beginning work on the tumor removal. At the same time a second set of surgeons is working on taking the forearm graft that will be used to repair the defect left where they take out the tumor.

The nurse said Mike is doing well and things are going just as expected.

I expect to hear from the OR again around 1:30.

Until then...

9:00 update

I just got the first update from the OR. The surgery got started about 8:40, and as of 9:00, Mike was doing well, all vital signs stable, and they were beginning the work on his neck. The RN who called with the update said that she would be in touch by phone from the OR every two hours, so I hope to hear something around 11:00.

The connectivity in the waiting room is really spotty, so I may not be able to post much. I’ll just do what I can to keep everybody informed.

Otherwise, the morning is passing slowly but pleasantly. My sister Nancy has been here with me since about 6:30, and is now learning all about Sudoku. :-)

More in a couple of hours...

The day has begun

It's 6:30 am, and they just wheeled Mike up to the main hospital operating where he will meet the anesthesiologist, get his IVs started, and prepare for the 7:30 surgery start time.

We had an early morning, leaving the house at 4:40 for the trip into Seattle. While there wasn't any snow (which had been predicted for this morning), we drove through lots of sleet and freezing rain. But the traffic was blissfully light and we arrived plenty early for the 5:30 check-in. We had about an hour together in the pre-op area where they asked all the same questions Mike's been asked a million times: Do you have diabetes, are you allergic to any medications, and our personal favorite, "Do you have anything in your body that doesn't belong to you?" Say what?? Yes, that's a real question they asked! I guess it has to do with things like access ports, piercings they can't see(!), etc. Thankfully he could answer with a definitive "no!" The chief resident, Dr. Bhrany, came by to review the basics of the surgery again and answer any questions, then they wheeled Mike off to the OR.

So now I am in the Main Hospital Surgery Waiting area (not the Surgery Pavilion as I had originally thought). Dr. Bhrany said the standard ending time for this surgery is about 6:00 PM, but I will post any time I get news from the OR.

Thanks again, everyone, for your good thoughts over the weekend and today.