Surgery Day

The big day is here. This just doesn't seem real. They woke us up at 6:00am EST and wheeled David away to the pre-op area. He was in very good spirits and happy to be moving on with things. I was able to wait with him in the pre-op area until 7:00am. They said surgery would be at 7:30am. So, I was surprised when I received a call out in the waiting room telling me that they had finally started at 8:30am. As I get more information, I will update this page throughout the day.

8:30am - surgery started

12:30pm - still working on him; things are going well

2:30pm - surgery is coming to an end; they are wrapping things up; things are still going well with him. Dr. Friedman will be coming out to talk with me when it's over.

3:15pm - Dr. Friedman came out to talk with me. He feels the surgery went well. He feels the tumor is benign (which an official biopsy will confirm in about a week). He was able to remove almost all of the tumor except for a few residual spots attached to important veins that the doctor didn't want to disturb. This is a good thing, and he thinks radiation will stop those remaining cells from growing further. He said we'll know even more when David wakes up. This is all wonderful news and we are now starting the next positive phase - recovery! I'm excitedly waiting to see him. Thank you for your prayers! More to come....

8:00pm - I've been here in the ICU with David since about 6:15pm. He remembers me and the kids (phew!) and remembers lots of other things. Sometimes he forgets what year it is and when asked who the president is, answered, "Bill Clinton." They think once the anesthesia is fully worn off, his memory will keep getting better. His vision is blurred, but a CT scan didn't show anything unusual. We are just going to think positive and pray that gets better, too, with time. They are allowing me to stay until 10pm. Then I'll try to go home and get some sleep. I'll be back in the morning and let you know the latest.