Surgery Went As Planned

They took Papa down around 6 a.m. yesterday and he got back to his room a few minutes before 10 p.m. I got to the hospital about 1 p.m. as my sister and I were taking shifts. Charlie was able to come home at lunch to take care of Miss S. My sister had a doctor's appt. that afternoon that she really needed to get to, so it worked out for at least one of us to be there with Mom the whole time. Over the course of the day, one of Mom's friends was there, Lisa's husband came, and some of Charlie's family came by as well. We also waited the whole time with two sisters whose Dad was having major surgery for cancer. Please remember John L. in your prayers for Papa as well. Mr. L. had a lot of his throat, voicebox, lymph nodes and something else removed. He has been fighting this for several months now. He came out of surgery just about an hour before my Dad.

So the orthopaedic doctor came out about 1 p.m. to let us know that they had finished with Dad's wrists. Some great news here: the right wrist had to only be casted with no pins! He said the break was clean and not nearly as bad as the left. Dad is right-handed so this is a huge praise. On his left wrist, they put in plates and pins but they felt like it went very well. It is casted as well. Both are past the elbow, so that is going to be tough on Mom and Dad. My Dad likes to stay busy, and he always has projects going on. I think his blog may just be a "light" for him during this recovery once he figures out how to type. His fingers are sticking out of his casts and he can move them just fine.

As the afternoon progressed, we got a couple of updates that his face surgery was going well. About 6:30 p.m., the doctors (he had 3 working on his face!), came out to say they had finished and he did well. They were pleased and found no surprises. They put in 6 plates in all: his chin, his right cheekbone, his right eye socket, and maybe his forehead I think. His left cheekbone and eye socket were not broken, so that was a praise. They also reset his nose and found the missing teeth—up in his gums. Ouch!

We had to wait some more b/c he was slow to wake up but not abnormally so. About 9:30, they came out and let my Mom go back. Before long, she came out and got me and went back out as only one at a time could go in. I was talking to Dad and the nurse said, Your Mom can come back and anyone else that wants as he is the only one left back here! So, I went back out and got my Mom and BIL Wayne and we were able to visit with Dad for a little while. He was very groggy and in a lot of pain, but he was still himself. He is feisty (wonder where I get it :) and has a bit of a bulldog persona (hmmm) and it was coming out even through his mouth that was wired shut! It was good to see, and we know these personality traits will help speed up his recovery. We are prepared for a long one, but knowing my Dad he'll surprise everyone. Last night, Wayne and I left, but my Mom was able to stay in the room with Dad which was good because she had not gotten to see him yesterday morning before his surgery due to a little miscommunication and hospital snafu. It was good that they "bent" the rules to let her stay in the room with him last night. I just hope they both got some much-needed rest.

On a lighter note, please think about Miss S. today too as she got 3 shots yesterday and is running a fever and was up most of the night. I just worry a bit more about her b/c of her heart. I know she has to get the shots, but we will be going every month for awhile to get caught up. Though she is not going to have to have all of them, she still needs some of the series b/c they either didn't take or she didn't get the right ones. She also had to have blood drawn and she was not happy with Mommy!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and notes of encouragement. I can promise you that as soon as he is able, Papa will be sitting up at a computer checking out his blog and all the posts and comments. Blessings to you all