The Day After

We arrived at the hospital at 10:30. Mike was registered and ushered into a room where he was handed a paper gown, instructed to wear that and only that, and then subjected to a barrage of questions and stuck with needles. He said he was fine until they made him put on the paper gown; then reality sunk in... We only had to wait about 20 minutes once the admitting nurse was done with him before the OR tech came to usher him off to surgery. In the elevator, he began to shake and when we got to the doors of the OR suite, he started to tear up. I could go no further with him and kissed him good bye, told him I loved him, and went to wait in the surgical family waiting room.

Now, my family has had a number of surgeries and we have congregated in these waiting rooms together. It is a stark difference to be waiting alone. Don't get me wrong. We still worry and watch the time pass but when you are with others, there are a number of distractions. The females are knitting (I think the last surgery, 3 out of 4 were knitting pumpkin hats), Damian is reading the paper and we all are texting brothers 2 and 3. 15 minutes passes quickly. We are all worried but we are bolstered by family. Yesterday was torture. Minutes seemed like hours and I couldn't knit or read, it took too much to concentrate. Someone foolishly had given Mike a time of 1-2 hours for surgery so that when I hit the 3 hour mark, I began to worry. Friends from the hospital would stop by to check but still time stood still, it seemed. The physician came out after three and a half hours. Surgery went fine, he was able to do everything he wanted but Mike would be sore and off his feet for awhile. I would be able to see him once he was moved out of the recovery room, another hour at least.

When I did finally get to see him, he was groggy and sore but he smiled when I saw him and the first thing he said was, I love you. He is swollen and sore and exhausted. The next two days will be spent sleeping on the couch, he has to sleep upright so no bed for him. He can eat only cold soft liquids- my favorite type, ice cream. As I type, he is asleep next to me on the couch, the dog is asleep at my feet and we have Yo Yo Ma playing in the background. Life is good.

Thank you so much for all your well wishes and prayers. They mean so much. I am honored to be among such lovely people in blogistan...