the surgery

Pat's surgery was scheduled for Friday September 3rd super early in the morning. They called us Thursday night and changed the arrival time to 10 am. This made it really nice for us because we were able to spend some time with Jenna and take her to daycare before the hospital. Pat especially appreciated this as he knew it would be many weeks before he could hold her again.

We checked in and they got Pat all prepped, poor guy got poked 3 times before his IV finally worked. Once he was ready, they allowed his parents, Tom and Shelly, and my mom to come back. The whole group was a bundle of nerves. They moved us to another holding area and on our way over we ran into Nonnie. We came to a point on our walk through the hospital that we had to split up. They couldn't allow the whole group back and so my family and Pat's had to head to the waiting room. It was an emotional 'see you later' that was said. I bit my lip and willed myself to keep it together. Pat didn't need me to be a wreck. Once we were in the holding area, the anesthesiologist and the surgeon came by. Once again, seeing and talking with Dr. Cunningham helped ease my fears. Within 5 minutes they came to get Pat and so it was time for me to leave. I really don't remember what we said to each other...just that it was overwhelmingly difficult to walk away as they wheeled my husband back to surgery. As soon as I rounded the corner the tears started flowing.

Surgery was supposed to take about two hours. They gave us a number and in the waiting room was a large TV screen that listed all the patient numbers and their status. It reminded me of an airport where you check the screen for your flight information. So we sat and stared at the screen. Shelly and my mom carried on conversation, nonnie chimed in occasionally, and Tom read the paper. Our close friend Abby arrived shortly after and sat with us. Shelly's sister came and sat as well. My friend Erica stopped by with a jamba juice that I couldn't drink. And then our close friend Brian arrived. The group of us sat and waited. Brian, Abby and my mom talked and laughed, and eventually got me to relax and join their conversation. About 2 hours later, Dr Cunningham appeared in the doorway and motioned for me to join him in the hall.

He told me that the spleen was in fact, huge but that surgery went well. I pressed for more at which point he politely cut me off and gently reminded me what I already knew. We would have to wait for the pathology results which wouldn't be ready until Monday at the earliest. He also informed that a portion of Pat's spleen was being sent out for special studies. Pat had to stay in recovery for about 90 minutes and then a room would be available. Pat's parents left to take care of a few things and my Nonnie left. Abby, Brian, and my mom stayed with me until I could see Pat, which I was so grateful for. The three of them take me as I am. They know my impatience, they accept my moods, and they knew exactly what I needed at every moment throughout this whole experience.