Well that was interesting

We are living in some very interesting times!  I am sure all of you are dealing with the current COVID-19 situation in your own way each with a unique set of circumstances.

As you may remember, Val’s second surgery was scheduled for today.  We waited yesterday for word from the hospital to see if the plans might be altered.  We waited and then waited some more and finally received a call letting us know that only essential surgeries are being performed and that we should have her at the hospital at 6am.  So we guessed she made the “essential list”.

So 6am arrives pretty soon in the morning….  We arrived at the hospital to a “Disney World” style roped off line that wound a little through the main lobby.  It kind of was like going through airport security actually, even had an armed guard standing by as we all got checked in.  The check in went well and then we headed up to the family waiting area to get called back for surgery prep.  It was pretty quiet as there were only a handful of appointments for them today.

Val got called back and I was actually able to go back with her as they prepped her for surgery, which we were unsure they would allow.  She got all the same stuff as last time, including the nerve block in the tummy.  That little procedure comes with the added benefit of some good drugs to help make you not care they are sticking needles in your belly.  We just had to show them our Platinum Elite membership card to the hospital and they knew to do the rest.  Side note: one of the nurses prepping Val looks through her past history and mentions “you have been through an awful lot”.  That was the understatement of the day……

When the time came for surgery I moved back to the family waiting room to await a message from the Dr. about her progress.  I got all settled in nicely; those of you who have seen me spread out to work know what “settled in” looks like.  It didn’t seem like much time went by when I got a message that they were all done and Val was in recovery.

In meeting with the surgeon he was happy with how the procedure went.  He trimmed off the amount he was planning on and was happy with how things went back together.  Now they send this little trimmed piece to pathology and we await to see how things look from a cancer cell perspective.

The hospital currently has in place a “no visitors” policy, so off premises I had to go once meeting with the surgeon.  The hospital took my number down and said they would call once she was settled into her room.  That call just came in and my guess is she is going to sleep the rest of the afternoon.  I am definitely looking forward to a little FaceTime with her later this evening!

It was great to get all the well wishes and prayers over the past several days.  We continue to be immensely grateful for the support team around us and the love shown to us!  Our continued prayer is that through all these experiences, Jesus would be praised and made much of as He works in our lives and those around us.

Currently, we are expecting her to be in the hospital for a couple of days.  We will keep you posted on test results and recovery.    

Marc