Thursday, November 29, 2007

8 hours later...

John update! - Sorry for the duplicate post - if you read John's blog - you've read this one too :)



Let me first say that John is resting in his room right now and the surgery was a success! The tumor has been removed.

Now - this is not to say it was a perfect day. Let me walk you through the day from my perspective:
3:00 am - wake up - can't fall back to sleep - too nervous
4:00 am - actually get up and shower
5:00 am - leave for hospital
5:30 am - check in at at GBMC hospital
8:00 am - after several attempts to access John's port and a couple thousand papers to sign later (did I mention John forgot his wallet at home!!) he was finally ready for surgery and they wheeled him away.

At this point I retire to the waiting room. My in laws are there with me too. (Their day started out badly after being rear ended on the way to the hospital but they are both fine!).

Soon my friend Jolene and my mom arrive to join the vigil. We hear nothing until about 12:30pm when I get a phone call saying that the tumor has been removed and John is almost done. Yeah!

So I wait...

and wait...

and wait...

...until about 2:30pm when the phone is for me again and it's from the OR - they are still operating on John - but they assure me they are almost done and I should see the doctor in about half an hour. Yeah!

so I wait again...

and wait some more...

...and then another two hours go by - and I get another phone call. They had some complications at the last minute and were just now closing him up. They say Dr Grasso will be up to see me in 2 seconds. I don't believe them anymore by this point, so I prepare myself to wait some more.

But - in about 5 minutes Dr Grasso does indeed come out to see me! he explained to me what happened:

Basically, all was running smoothly until they went to put the staple sutures in his new "J pouch". when he noticed that they had all ripped! Apparently his colon and bowels were still very fragile and damaged from the radiation. So Dr Grasso says he only has two options in this situation:

1. Try to stitch it closed again
2. Put in a PERMANENT ileostomy bag (not a good option)

My breath caught in my throat at this point.... He then explains that he was able to repair the J pouch and save his lower bowels.

THANK GOD!!!!!!

Dr Grasso was able to put in three miracle stitches to save his lower bowels and the day.

By the time Dr Grasso is done talking to us - I am so relieved, that I finally allow myself to fall apart a bit and get in my first cry. More of a release than anything else. He was OK!!!

Next came more waiting.... I wasn't able to see him until 7pm when they finally rolled him into his room. I saw him get settled after a very painful move from the gurney to his bed and then I left for the evening to try to get some sleep before heading back over tomorrow.

I'm sooooo tired and sleepy and slightly delirious at the moment, so I apologize if this didn't make complete sense. But at the end of a very long day - I'm happy to say John is ok and hopefully on his road to recovery.

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers - it means alot.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Praise God for the good report on John. I've been watching for the report ALL day. Now my prayers will be for ALL of you to rest and recover and heal. I'm Steven S's mom. I've followed John's blog from the beginning since Steven told me about it and John, his car-buddy. My 92 yr old mom had colon cancer surgery 6 years ago, so I can relate to a lot of the things John and you have gone thru. I'm inspired by John's attitude and this will sustain him in his recovery. God Bless you All ..... and I'll keep you all in my prayers.

Karen S

Anonymous said...

This is such great news! I'll continue to keep John in my thoughts and prayers.

DPUTiger said...

HOORAY!!! I'm speechless at what you both have been going through, but you certainly have happy thoughts headed in your direction from Pittsburgh. Keep that positive attitude. Good news today means more good news to come! :)

Zonda said...

Great news on John!! I hope for a speedy recovery for him and you take care too!

turtlegirl76 said...

Wow! That's a long time to sit there and wait for good news! Glad to hear it all went well. =)

Stacey said...

whew! that is such a sigh of relief!!!! sounds like he is quite a trooper and you are so strong for all that waiting!!!! healing wishes from all of us here!!!

danielle said...

I'm so glad that John is ok and the surgery was a success. I'll continue to keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

Mira said...

I am so glad to hear the good news. So glad he's doing fine now. Hopefully it'll be a smooth recovery.

Take care

Cari said...

How nerve-wracking--what patience you have. Great news in the end, though! You and he are in my thoughts.