Tuesday was a very hard day starting with a crack of dawn appointment with the doctor, followed by the surgical nurse, an EKG, blood work and a long appointment with an internist to determine if Jack is in good condition for surgery. He also had to do the same full prep he did last week, so while we navigated the various departments Nancy and Dave picked up the items we’d need for that. When we were all done we had to decide whether to go back to EV or stay at a hotel. We got a call from the OR that Jack’s arrival time was moved from 6:30 to 8:00 am and that clinched it. We headed back to the boat, but then on the way the OR called again and moved it back to 6:30. Ugh! It’s a 15-minute dinghy ride, then at least 35 minutes to the hospital depending on traffic. And if we needed to stay overnight at the hospital we didn’t want to leave our dinghy unattended so far from the boat.
Marty from True Colors to the rescue again. He agreed to ferry duty and we were able to have a relaxing afternoon and evening on EV, much better than a hotel.
Five AM came early and we all piled into Marty’s dinghy for the long, quiet ride to the Raw Bar, then drove to the hospital. Once we were checked in we waited a while before Jack was called into Pre-Op and we could easily have all slept another hour at least. Ah well.
This hospital gives the waiting families updates via a tv monitor with patient number and status, so we knew when he was wheeled into surgery, when the procedure began and when he was taken to recovery.
Dr. Maron came out to tell me everything went well and I was so happy I hugged him! They paged me a few hours later and took me in to see Jack. He was a little loopy and feeling no pain, of course.
We waited about three hours for a room to be ready but finally we got settled in and comfortable. I was able to stay all night on a pullout chair and we both got a little sleep. Bright and early the crew came in for rounds.
Dr. Maron reiterated that the surgery went well, but of course we have to wait for the pathology report.
Our nurse Ashly took good care of Jack and he even had a belated flu shot before being released.
A very young pharmacy resident came in to go over the medications Jack would be taking. He told us a side effect of one of them was hallucinations, then for some reason struggled to explain what that meant.
“We’re from the sixties,” I said, kindly. “We know about hallucinations.”
He looked up at me, then at Jack, then completely lost it, laughing. Kids.
Nancy and Dave took us to the hotel and after we got Jack settled the three of us went to an outlet mall for a little retail therapy.
The next two nights were up and down as Jack’s body reacted to the indignities. I played Nurse Ratched, force feeding Jell-O and broth and the various medications. Nancy and Dave continued their support role, running me to the pharmacy and grocery store and generally keeping us comfortable and entertained. I don’t know what we’d have done without them.
Today we plan to go back to the boat. We think a little cat lap therapy is the ticket.
Glad to hear that you are back on EV! Lookin’ good!
Good to hear that the surgery went well as planned, and wish Jack a speedy recovery and a good pathology report – I don’t suppose it is appropriate to wish you “Fair Winds”!!
What a miserable way to get a few hallucinations! Oh, well, an all clear report will make the indignities worthwhile…not sure about that fotce-fed jello, though. Blessed be to all the Ralston-Schultzes, and fuzzy hugs to Izzy.
Sure thinking about you and hoping Jack is feeling stronger and better each day AND of course that he had a good report!