Another Day, Another Surgery

This road we’re on seems to be full of twists, turns and surprises. But then, that’s a pretty apt description of life, isn’t it?

Husband is still in ICU – he seems to be doing fine, but the doctor wants him carefully monitored. We met with that doctor yesterday, and it seems the scan they did the day after surgery showed that he had not gotten that 70% of the tumor he thought he had. Seems the stubborn tumor has buried itself deeply into the brain, and he got only about 50% of it. He is not happy. We are not happy. We are afraid of what we’re going to hear.

Is there a sadness that we feel relief when what we hear is that he wants to go in again? Maybe. But also hope. He feels that since he has already done much of the prep work, he has an incision through which he can work, he should go in again, but take a different approach this time. An approach that he feels will enable him to get that other 40% he wanted to get. He said that during the first surgery, he had the thought that this might end up being a two parter. And a two parter it will be.

This surgery will be done Sunday – tomorrow – a.m. Early, again. Hopefully shorter than the last one. We have experience now. We are prepared. We think. We hope this one will do the trick. I have noticed little difference in husband’s cognitive abilities from before that first surgery, and he appears to have no real improvement in his sight in his right eye. Perhaps it’s just too soon. Perhaps the second surgery is the answer. We hope. We pray.

I have a trail from my motel room to the hospital. At first I followed the crumbs. Now I have it memorized. I know about the hospital. I know where the restrooms are, where to find food, how to access the wifi. I have learned the best place (at least my idea of the best place) to park, and have also learned that unless one arrives at the hospital very early – before ICU lets one in – one will not get the best parking place. But I have not lost my way after the first night. Again, I have my trail. I know the channel lineup for the cable TV here. I have found HGTV, and I found American Idol. The second is a bit of a mixed blessing this year, given the female judges they’ve selected.

I found my way to Bimart yesterday. It seems when I packed I thought we would be here a week or less. I brought all of husband’s medications – I brought only a week’s supply of my blood pressure medication. Whoops! The pharmacy worked with me and provided another refill for me. So I wended my way to the pharmacy yesterday, missing a turn and getting there in a somewhat backwards manner. Leaving, I managed to miss a different turn – because a sense of direction was not given to me and my street got there much faster than I expected – so I took the scenic route back. But I did get back to the hospital, so I viewed it as a successful trip. Having studied the Google map a bit before I made the trip did help – at least I recognized street names leading me to where I needed to be.

I have the love and support of my family and my friends – and my bloggy friends. I have the love of my husband and he has the care of cheerful, helpful medical personnel. I have hope. I have enough.