Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Successful Surgery


We've displayed a few of Dave's "Get Well" cards on this table in our foyer -- the fish card, from my coworkers, and the dog-and-toilet card, from Dave's sister. They stand in front of some of my old family photos, in the company of a wild-looking skull pub coaster I found while walking Olga, and a badger-themed card we bought in York last summer. The table is covered with a piece of wax cloth from Ghana, and the covered glass bowl with the elephant came from my grandmother.

Now that you've received an unasked-for tour of our foyer table, let me get to the meat of the matter: Dave came through yesterday's surgery just fine. We went to the hospital at 11 a.m. and I sat with him while he registered and changed into one of those flimsy gowns and had his vital stats taken, and while nurses filled out pages and pages of documents, all asking the same questions: Date of birth? Allergic to any medicines? Any religious affiliation? (A disconcerting question in this environment.)

Then, his doctor -- after explaining the procedure -- sent me home. There's no point in waiting at the hospital, he said, because Dave would be in surgery for three to five hours and, adding recovery time, I'd be sitting doing nothing for most of the day. Better to go home and be comfortable, he said. Dave agreed, so after bidding him farewell (in a very temporary sense) at the OR doors, I came home.

I stayed busy all afternoon, mowing the lawn, cleaning the house and sending e-mails to family members. Finally the surgeon called at 6:39 p.m. saying everything had gone well, and I went to the hospital at 8 p.m. to see Dave. After some confusion about which ward he'd be on, and some delays in bringing him up from recovery -- where I was not allowed to go -- I saw him about 10 p.m. Drowsy and on pain meds, he otherwise seemed fine.

So now we begin the process of healing, which will entail several more days in the hospital and then some time off at home. But at least Dave has jumped the biggest hurdle.

11 comments:

  1. Wonderful news! Give Dave my best and take care of yourself, too.

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  2. Great news! I think the person waiting on the flip side of surgery goes through a lot of angst. I least for me I have found that true. Heal quickly Dave and back to the garden!

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  3. It's great that dave came through the surgery successfully. Some hospitals treat family like a nuisance.

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  4. Great news! I can certainly relate to all that paperwork and questions. It seems like you are asked the same questions repeatedly.

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  5. I'm glad the surgery went well! And I'm glad you went home & kept busy instead of sitting around all day. Now I'm wishing great recovery success for Dave AND your dad.

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  6. My goodness - I've fallen behind in my reading. I'm glad you're back home safely, though, and especially that Dave's surgery is successfully behind him. You must have completely forgotten what a normal day feels like.

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  7. I've been thinking of you. So glad to hear Dave came through the surgery well. Now the healing.

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  8. And that part is done! What a relief!

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  9. I don't think that Dave should be jumping any hurdles after major surgery! Hurdling could jeopardise his recuperation.

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  10. I'm glad to hear things went well. Tell Dave to take a page from our animal friends - the sooner he's moving, the better :) No, I'm sure he'll get PROPER instructions from his doctor and other medical people.

    You've changed since the photo on the right, of course, but it's clearly you! Even your card display is artistic. Anytime we get cards, we stack them in a pile!!

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