Dad's Surgery

Thursday, May 30th my dad went in for surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. My mom and dad had to be at the hospital by 8:00 am, and spent until about 1:30 (central time) waiting to get back for pre-op. I finally got an e-mail at about 2:45 mountain time that said he just went back for surgery. The Doctors expected the surgery to last about 4-6 hours and they would call my mom when they were about half way done to let her know how things were going. About 5:45 my time, Mom called to let me know Dad was out of surgery, the doctors had removed an arachnoid cyst from his spinal cord and they believe that they got all of the cyst. Mom said when the nurses called so early and said the doctors needed to talk to her she imagined the worst. When she called, he still hadn't woken up yet and they didn't expect him to for several hours. I was thrilled, but nervous because he wasn't in the clear yet. Finally, a little after 10 we got another e-mail saying Dad was up, really groggy, happy to be eating ice chips, and asking to have the catheter removed. A huge wave of relief spread over me. Surgery went as well as we could have possibly hoped for!

He spent the night in ICU and was moved up to a recovery room Friday afternoon. He was able to stand with the help of 2 others supporting him, but not able to take steps yet. Although he was able to feel his legs and arms, his right leg has been numb, and it was making him nervous. The doctors said that the numbness is common with spine surgery and could last for months.

I was able to call him on Saturday afternoon. He was sitting up by himself and waiting for the Physical Therapists to come in with a walker. The doctors had done an MRI because the numbness in his leg was bothering him but they didn't have the results back yet. He sounded optimistic and determined. For the first time that I can ever remember, he was the one that said "I love you" first.

Today, Sunday June 3rd, Dad said he was able to walk down to the cafeteria with the walker! He will most likely be released from the Hospital on Monday, then he and my mom will stay in Minnesota for the next 5 or 6 days to work on rehab and make sure there's no problems with infections or other problems before they come back to Boise on Saturday.  He's very weak, but well on his way to recovery. My heart is full of gratitude right now. I wish we were closer and able to help my mom a little more, but I guess there will be plenty of time for that when they're back in Boise.