I am writing for Tracy while he is lying around doing nothing in a hospital bed. I guess this falls under the “in sickness and in health” category of our marriage vows! But here is a rundown of the last couple of days.
We drove as a family to Cleveland Thursday as soon as the kids got out of school for Spring Break. Much to their chagrin, Cleveland is all they can say for their “Where did you go for Spring Break?” stories when they get back to school. Oh well.
Anyway, we arrived at the hotel Thursday night around 9 pm. Tracy’s parents flew to Cleveland Thursday afternoon from Florida and went straight to the hotel. We got all situated with a blow up mattress we brought from Indy and by moving furniture around. Six of us in one room…quite cozy! It was actually a suite with two separate rooms and a big bathroom, so it worked out well. We were only here for two nights.
Friday morning at 8 am, we all trooped over to the hospital and got Tracy admitted. His pre-op stuff (vitals, attractive hospital attire–gown, hat, booties–IV started, etc.) was complete by 9 am. The nurse told us we’d have to wait until 10:30 before they took him into OR. So the kids, parents, and Tracy & I sat and talked and watched Tracy lie on his hospital bed for an hour and a half. Needless to say, the kids were stir crazy (as was I) by the time they took him away.
Tracy’s parents took the kids back to the hotel and I found a spot to camp out. Cleveland Clinic, from a surgical standpoint, is quite the well-oiled machine. I was given a pager and told to also check any monitor located throughout the family waiting area to see Tracy’s status. He finally got to the OR around 11:00. I had been told the surgery would last 1.5-2 hours. At noon, my pager buzzed. I thought, “wow…already?” I went to the desk and they told me he had just gone into surgery at 11:56 a.m. I guess “in O.R.” and “starting surgery” are two different steps.
By 2:30, I was close to a nervous breakdown. Finally, I heard my name called over the loudspeaker and the surgeon (Dr. Schlenk) met me to tell me how the surgery went. He said Tracy did OK. The surgery took longer than expected because the area he was poking around in (not the way he put it), is home to vital structures and arteries, so he has to really be cautious. Thank you Mr. Doctor. He also said he did not want to expose the areas to any more trauma than necessary at this diagnostic phase of Tracy’s treatment. If we have to move forward with more surgeries and other treatments, that area will get enough trauma.
Dr. Schlenk said he looked at several “samples” of the tissue under the microscope during surgery, with a pathologist, and at first glance the material seems fibrous, not necessarily cancerous. I said, “So is that good?” He said, “It’s inconclusive.” Sigh. Here we go again. However, Dr. Schlenk took many samples to send to pathology to get a better representation of the mass. We should get the results of the pathology within a week or so.
Tracy was in recovery for about 1.5 hours before I got to see him. He was pretty out of it when I got there. I was so happy to see him. By this point it was about 4 pm. When he awoke from surgery, he was in severe pain in his arm and shoulder. I think the nerve got all agitated during the surgery so it was pretty riled up. He got lots of “happy juice” and it took a long time before that finally abated.
Around 6 pm, he was transferred to a hospital room. By this point he had progressed from sucking on a water soaked sponge to eating ice chips. He was thrilled. I said, “just think honey, next it will be jello!”
I got him situated and, after a break for dinner with the kids, went back to tuck Tracy in for the night. Am I a good wife or what? I got back to the hotel room around 9:45 last night. I was exhausted, but relieved.
This morning I got up there to see him and he is almost his old self. He looked, sounded, smelled, acted better than the night before. He is up and moving around, doing all the things he needs to do, and was just generally in a better frame of mind. He’s still in some pain, and has been taking various forms of oral pain medications through the night.
They brought him an exciting breakfast of grape juice, broth, hot tea and…you guessed it…JELLO! The nurse said, “I think we’ll get you a solid lunch today.” We looked at each other in askance. Tracy said, “Uh, I’m supposed to go home today.” The nurse looked at him and said, “You’ll still be here by lunch.” I guess it takes a while to get out of the hospital.
So much for an 11 am discharge! The hotel is letting us stay until 2 pm which helps a ton…kids are happier watching TV than sitting in a boring hospital room. So am I! Tracy’s pretty desperate for entertainment. When I arrived this morning, he was watching a Mary Kate & Ashley (those twin girls) movie on TV. I looked at him and said, “Are you SURE you feel ok?”
Now we just wait for discharge orders and we’ll head back to Indy.
We can’t thank you all enough for your outpouring of prayers, love, support and encouragement. I felt encased in love and prayer yesterday as I was going through moments of sheer panic and terror. The things one thinks about while one waits for a loved one to get out of surgery are not the most pleasant.
I will continue to update or Tracy will as we learn more.
I leave you with this passage from the Bible. Thanks to a friend who suggested we substitute the name in the passage with our own name, this passage is now much more personal.
Isaiah 43:1-3
But now, O Tracy, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Tracy, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!