Dad's Surgery

Well, I know that this is technically Ethan and Emily's journal, but I'm starting this update about my dad. He had surgery on Thursday to get a tissue biopsy of the lung tumor and also to place a port for his chemo treatments. It sounds like this could be just a simple in and out procedure, but that is just not the case. This procedure is done using a new robot technology. The procedure was done at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, and we were very pleased with the hospital and staff. Thankfully they did warn us before going in that this procedure could take a while and to not get panicked if it seemed to be longer than planned. He was taken in a little after 7am and we were given several updates during the surgery. After 6 long hours, we finally got the call that it was over. Dad was taken to the ICU and we headed to speak to the doctor. We found out that the robotic procedure was a success and they got enough of a sample of the tissue to send off. We should have the results within a week. Unfortunately, though, Dad did have a problem with anesthesia and they were not able to get him off of the ventilator. This was one of my dad's biggest fears before they started and it broke my heart to hear this. When dad had his kidney cancer back in 1997 and had to have his kidney removed, he had to be on a ventilator after that surgery. He wasn't expecting it and woke up out of surgery in a complete panic. It was HORRIBLE! He was scared and felt like he couldn't breathe because he was fighting and working against the machine. Thankfully at the time my Uncle Roy (dad's brother) was there next to him and realized what was happening and was able to calm him down and explain to him to relax and let the machine do its job. Because of that, Dad has always been a little fearful of that happening again. He even asked about it before going in for this surgery and they did warn him that it was a possibility if things didn't go well and so at least he was prepared. Well, when the doctor told us that he was on a ventilator, my heart sank. Oh how I wished that Uncle Roy could have been there at that moment! I said a quick prayer that he would be watching down from heaven and looking out for his brother. And I prayed that Dad would not be struggling in any way or in any pain. When Mom and I walked in the room, I could tell that Mom was not handling the situation well at all. I tried to do most of the talking. I didn't know how much Dad knew about the procedure and so I told him that it was successful and that the doctors got the sample that they needed. I also explained to him why he was on the ventilator and that they were going to try and remove it as soon as they could, later that day if possible. Dad was agitated and needing something, but since he couldn't talk it was hard to know what it was. We were able to figure it out because I asked mom to get a towel to wipe off his mouth. It was starting to foam a little bit like Ethan and Emily's used to do when they were on a ventilator and we used to have to constantly keep their mouth cleaned out. As soon as I mentioned to Mom to get something to wipe his mouth, Dad just started nodding his head up and down. That is what he was trying to tell us. Mom was doing her best at holding her emotions in check and talking to Dad, but it was really a struggle for her. I was so proud of her, though.

We eventually had to leave the ICU and let Dad rest. We drove home from Mobile and had a very short time to pick up the kids from school and I gave them some hugs and then Mom and I got Grandma and Gram and we headed back up to the hospital to see Dad again for the next ICU visitation time. By the time we got there, Dad was off of the ventilator and boy was that a sight for sore eyes. Dad was back to being his usual joking self and making the nurses laugh. As soon as they pulled out the ventilator he said, "What took you so long?!" Then he said, "Oh my! What happened to my voice? Why is it so deep?" The nurse thought he was serious and she started explaining about how that can happen after being intubated and that it could be like that for a few days. Dad looked at her and said, "Yeah, but I used to sound like Mickey Mouse. Great! There goes my career!" Ha-ha! Now, for anybody who does not know my dad, he has the deepest and gruffest sounding voice you could ever hear. So this really made the nurse laugh. Then he was trying to trick them into all different kinds of ways that he needed food. Like he said that each night he takes his pills with vanilla milkshakes and she had to really look at him to see if he was serious or not. And then he said, "Well, I do drink a vanilla milkshake every night and I do take my pills every night." :) They were probably wishing they could shove that tube back down his throat after all of that talking he was doing. Ha-ha!!!

Thankfully, Dad is home now. He is sore, but doing okay. We are just glad that this surgery is behind us. For now, we will focus on today being a good day!

Now for a little update on who this blog is intended for...Ethan and Emily. We are starting to plan a birthday party. Since Rob has his Army drill on the weekend of their birthday, we will be having a party the weekend before their birthday. The kids were pretty excited about that! Ethan is having a Harry Potter party and Emily is having a kitten themed party. And when I say "themed", I use that term loosely. I buy just a few themed decorations to make them think they are having a theme and then I fill in with plain stuff. I save money that way and then I'm able to do something special like rent a moonwalk for the occasion. I like that idea better than spending the money and going away somewhere for a party. Having twins and trying to do a double party at one time could get very expensive, but we've always managed to do okay with it.

School is going really well for the kids. I am just so proud of how the kids are doing. When I went in to pick up Ethan from school the other day, I could just see the pride on his teacher's face when she told me about him. She was telling me about his day and she was bragging to me about how he carries his Harry Potter book with him and reads every chance he gets. She said that he even took it with him to lunch and read. She told me that he was on page 120-something. She was amazed at his reading and his math skills. And Emily, of course, is always trying to compete with everybody in her class. She comes home from school and gives me updates on who she is beating in her class on AR points and in Rocket Math. Ha-ha!

I just can't believe that I almost have 8 YEAR OLDS!!!!