This morning we took the subway level and walked (well, I walked and pushed Doug) to the Rochester Methodist Hospital. It is actually quicker to walk across the street from our hotel but then you would have to go outside. So so so convenient!
We checked in at 9:15 and were immediately sent up to the intake area where he had to have......an enema. Oh joy. The nurses were GREAT and oh so sweet. After the usual gazillion questions, enema, iv stick and ekg and Tylenol-Celebrex-and an Pepcid type med, it was time for him to go to pre-op. Normally this is where I would have had to leave him but he asked if I could stay with him. The nurse said that would not be a problem and just got me a visitors badge. That was nice because he was in pre-op for another hour. There he got shaved, another gazillion questions, talked to the anesthesia doctor etc. We told him how Doug usually has a really hard time after surgery with nausea and vomiting. He suggested a spinal block which uses a really small needle in the back. They gave him the loopy medicine first, then asked me to leave as it was a sterile procedure. When I got back he told the young man that did it "it must have been a small needle, I didn't feel a thing, you did good!" They also put the patches behind his ears and said he would get the "cocktail of 3" meds that they use for folks with trouble with anesthesia.
After all that it was time for me to go. They said it would take 3-4 hours and since my Christmas dinner consisted of pepsi and Cheetos from the truck stop, I was hungry! I went to the cafeteria and gorged on roast beef, mashed taters and salad. Then I went to the family waiting area. One thing I really liked is, they put his clothes in the traditional "patient belongings" bag and tag it. Then we he is assigned a room they take it up there so you don't have to lug that bag around. Love that. They had a puzzle going (my favorite "take my mind off my situation" activity.) They called and said his room number is 5224 and if I wanted I could go up there. It is a really nice room with a loveseat that I took a little nap. At 3:30 the or nurse called and said they were about finished and Dr Devine would be up to the room to talk with me. He showed up around 4 and said everything went well and they should be putting the last few stitches in. He should be in recovery for 2-3 hours to make sure the pain was under control. So I am now back at the hotel, (again, across the street) relaxing for a bit before I head back.
Thank you all again for your continued prayers. I will hopefully update a little later to let you know how he is!
Jan, Doug and Eric.
P.S. Thank you Cody for hanging with Eric today, thank you band dudes for checking in with him, thank you Ethan for passing the word with the youth leaders about his dad, just thank you thank you thank you.
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