Surgery is a success!

Hi Everyone! Thank you SO much for all the wonderful emails, phone calls, cards, and text messages. You made a big difference!

I'm feeling much better than I ever expected! The pain is completely controlled (Woot for Oxycodone) and my mood has been great. My energy levels are high, but they only last for 10-15 minutes at a time. I get super tired very easily. Not sleepy tired, but just "need to rest my body and brain for an hour" tired. Recovery will take time, to be sure.

I'm tolerating my food intake, which is a maximum of 1oz of water every 30 minutes. Focused 100% on keeping hydrated. I tried 1oz of sugar free Jello in place of my 1oz of water at lunch. Went well. Yum! Flavor!

I wrote up this next part in spurts over the entire day today. It's slow going, but I think some folks are wondering how the hospital was. Thanks again for all your support, prayers, and kind thoughts!! Enjoy!

Surgery went well - or so they tell me.

We got to the hospital at 5:30am and they called me back at 5:45. There must have been two dozen people in the waiting room. I thought: "How can there be this many operations scheduled for this morning??" Turns out, 75% of the folks were family of this one guy getting surgery. The nurses were none-too-happy, but this is York, so it's not completely unexpected to have four generations of "family" accompany a loved one to something as significant as surgery.

The nurses were great. Got my gown on, little sock-booties, then began the endless parade of doctors and nurses, each with their own mission, either giving me something, having me sign something, or just asking how things are going (think of it like the manager coming by near the end of your meal at a resturaunt). I.V. in the back of the hand was next, then anti-biotics, then 1000cc's of fluids to make sure I didn't dehydrate on the operating table. 7:45am they rolled me down the hall into the "kissing zone", where I had a chance to give Alex and Holly kisses before heading into surgery. Hugs! Kisses! Tears! Rinse and Repeat!

The operating room was... well... in a word:  AMAZING! I've heard them called "Operating Theaters" and now I know why. It looked like something out of CSI. There were more computer screens than I could count, four of which were 30" medical resolution monitors mounted on fully articulated swing arms hanging from the ceiling. How do I know the specs? You got it ... I asked the nurses while I was lying there in the Operating Room.  LOL!

After moving from the transport to the operating table the anestitia guy (yeah, I know there's a more appropriate title - just too tired to look it up) leaned in and said: "OK, I need you to take a few deep breaths from this mask so we can get..."

Apparently there was more in that mask than just plain Oxygen.

Next thing I remember I was lying in recovery with three nurses buzzing around me, adjusting my mask, programming the IV machines, and asking if I was cold. As far as I recall, my response to all of this was a stunning display of my verbal accumen: "I'm good."

Well, that's all I have energy for right now. I'll write more tomorrow when I feel up to it.

Hugs!