9:00 pm Friday

Well, another night in ICU....not necessarily because of dad's progress, but because there is not a room in "step down" where he is supposed to go according to Dr. Holmes' orders. So, visiting hours ended at 9 and we said good night to him. The nurse is to call us IF he gets in a room during the night so that we can come see him early. Otherwise, we are not allowed back in ICU until tomorrow morning at 9:30. As our second full day comes to a close, we continue to praise God for all that he has done and lift up prayers for dad's physical and emotional healing. Good night....

Friday afternoon

We are still waiting to be moved to the "step down" room. St. Vincents is a great hospital with great doctors but obviously very full. Although we are growing weary of this waiting room and "visiting hours", we know that ICU is a great place for him to be. Mom and I just left him and he is having a rough day. He doesn't feel well at the moment (he has a really bad headache and is very nauseous) so we requested that the nurse call Dr. Holmes. She did and he sent orders for some different medicine and he is trying to go to sleep. I can't even begin to imagine how miserable all of that must feel. A new nurse came in to give him the meds and she could not believe that his surgery was just yesterday! She asked us if it was true..she thought the papers had the wrong date. She said she had never seen one of those surgeries look so good on the second day! She said, "it must be his skin" and I said..."oh no! It is prayer!". We can see he is feeling pretty yucky right now but we are so happy to know that we obviously have the best case scenario at this point and it could of been a lot worse. Please continue to pray for healing and especially for Papa. He is now realizing what has really just happened and he is feeling a little blue about it. It was to be expected, but he needs our constant prayers and support. I will talk to you all soon.

Love,
Michelle

Friday Morning

Good morning to all. Thank you for all the comments. Every time we see Dad he wants to know who all we have heard from so keep those phone calls and comments coming...they make him feel SO good! (us too!) We all got to sleep last night and we feel good today. Dad was cared for by his own two nurses all night and they promised to call us if they needed us. Of course they didn't (thank goodness!) and we rested well. We saw him this morning and he is making the best of it. His arm is really sore and he complains about it more than the removal/reconstruction site. I think today may be his worse day because he is coming off all the meds and really waking up. You could tell he doesn't feel well but he smiles when we talk to him and he is hanging in there. He told us that when we see Dr. Holmes to please tell him he needs a Mt. Dew! That and an air conditioner! (patients with a neck dissection have to have a room with the temp between 70-75 degrees and it is miserably HOT in there!) The doctor came by and looked at the flap again this morning and all is still well. We have to get through the 72 hour period to be clear and know that it worked. His transport orders have been put in so whenever a room opens up he will be moved to a "step-down" room for the rest of the day and then hopefully to his regular room. Whew...it has been a long day and a half but I have such joy that the surgery is over. We have a long road ahead but we can do it! Your prayers are so evident! The doctors, nurses and even the anesthesiologist are constantly saying how amazing he looks and how good everything went yesterday. They thanked him this morning for being such an easy patient. We are waiting for the nest visiting hours and/or his transport to another room.

7:15 pm

Dad has finally been moved up to ICU. Heather and I are still waiting to see him, but mom has been for just a few minutes. She actually spotted him coming down the hall as he was being taken to the ICU and ran out in the hall. The nurses stopped so she could see him. (Thank goodness!) He SMILED when he saw her and you could tell he was relieved! Mom was so overwhelmed with joy all she could do was and cry. She was super strong! The sweetest nurse came in and told mom how good he had been all day and that he never complained. (It obviously was a zoo here today as many patients are without "rooms".) She told us all about the bandages, etc. so we would know what to expect. Shawn needed to leave because of kids and work so the sweet nurse (sorry, I don't know her name) actually snuck Shawn back there to see him before we were "allowed". He said he was talking and asking Shawn questions about the incision and seemed really curious about what everything looked like. We get to go as soon as he is set up in the ICU room and the shift change is complete.

As I was posting, Dr. Holmes just came by to go and check on him. He is an amazing doctor! He treats us like we are the only people in the world right now and that dad is top priority! It is very comforting. He came in to the waiting room just smiling and said "he looks good!" He said the flap looked good and is doing what it was supposed to be doing.

We have definitely felt the prayers today. God has just wrapped dad in his arms and He has control of this whole situation. We have such joy. It is only through HIM that we could make it through this day laughing and smiling along the way.

I am hoping that we will get in to see him soon and then leave him to rest for the night. We are just staying right here in the Lodge so we can be here in a minute or two if needed and we have the comfort of calling anytime all night to check on him. Good night and thank you!

4:00 update

Would you believe it if I said...WE STILL HAVEN'T SEEN HIM! We have been constantly updated and assured that he is doing fine in recovery. The doctor just visited him and said everything is going great. He is now in a holding room waiting on an ICU room. Apparently, it is crowded up there because they won't even let mom up. They are being SOOO nice though..we are all good..just a little tired of waiting. Mom just wants to see him so bad. The nurses keep telling us that he is doing fine. I think it is kind of funny now because they have said it so much and I wonder if we asked him personally how he felt if the answer would be "just fine!" :) Hopefully he is getting lots of sleep and rest which is what he needs to be doing.

Many of you have called and said that you have tried to leave comments on the blog and were not able to do so. I think I have changed the settings so that it is possible to leave them now. I hope so anyway because they make us feel so good! Thanks!

12:20 He's out!

We just came from the family consultation with the doctors. The surgery is over and he did great! We have not seen him yet and probably can't for about another 2 hours but our hearts are praising God. All we could of hoped for so far is happening! No tracheotomy! He is already awake...his breathing tubes are out. Dr. Holmes told us that the cancer was big but he got it out and took some parameter too. The pathologist supervised that as well. He will be in ICU tonight until mid day tomorrow. Dr. Holmes wants very little "action" tonight so dad can rest. The next 72 hours are critical for the success of the flap. After that time, Dr. Holmes will know if it took and the blood is flowing to the new bone and gum line. 98 out of 100 of these surgeries are successful so please continue to pray! God is good and we praise him!! I will let you know more when we get to see him in a couple of hours. Your concerns, phone calls and prayers are awesome!

11:00 Update

The surgery receptionist just called mom up to the desk to tell her that surgery had called down and wanted her to know that "everything is going good". They reassured her that it is long and slow, but going well. We all feel so much better at least for the moment. I am assuming that he has been in there between 3-4 hours and hopefully well in to the entire process. It is good to hear that all is going well.

9:30 Update

The standard update time from the hospital is every two hours. We left him at about 5:45 and hadn't heard yet so I went to ask. They explained to me that he went in the operating room at 6:30 but that did not guarantee that the surgery started right then. The sweet receptionist called to check for me and they sent word that the surgery had started and patient was doing well. We are looking forward to the "official" (more specific) update which should be soon. He was in good spirits this morning, but very nervous as you would expect. He brought in his cell phone, day timer and computer and told us to keep it because he would need it by Sunday! I love it and hope he's right!

6:30am Update

We just gave our hugs and kisses and he is off to surgery. He actually went back about half an hour ago and we are just waiting. Everything is going as we expected and we hope to hear from the doctor after an hour or so. I will let you know. Keep praying!

Backing up....

Wow! You guys are amazing! I have had so many positive comments about the blog..it is so encouraging to know so many people love and care for us! The blog has been forwarded to several people, SS classes, etc. and many have asked me to explain what it is exactly that Papa has been diagnosed with so here goes...(thanks for asking!)

About a month ago after several attempts to clear up what he thought was an infection or some gum problem, Papa was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. This type of cancer arises from the surface lining of the mouth, throat or other areas just as it can arise from the surface of the skin or other parts of the body. If it were to go untreated the tumor would grow and eventually shed cells to other parts of the body and therefore it is a malignant cancer. This cancer tends to spread through the lymph nodes. Dad had a PET scan and the report indicated that the cancer is localized in the spot of the tumor and there was no evidence of spreading. (PRAISE GOD!) Therefore the surgery was scheduled to remove the tumor.

The surgery is very extensive. It will take about 4-6 hours to remove the tumor and reconstruct the defect. Dr. Holmes does both the removal and reconstruction at the same time. He will use tissue and bone from his left arm/wrist to reconstruct the jaw/mouth. Dad is expected to be in ICU overnight on Thursday to recover and have some "one on one" care. We are thankful for that. Hopefully we will be in a room by Friday as planned.

Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes! I will be in touch tomorrow morning!

Pray

Today is Monday and we (the entire family) are making plans and preparing for dad's surgery. I have created this blog in hopes that our family, friends and church family can log on and receive updates while we go through this endeavor. I hope to be able to update it at the very least daily. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. Please pray specifically for dad, our family and the doctors. Dr. Jon Holmes is the surgeon performing the surgery and reconstruction along with Dr. Sheldon Black. While we are all worried and scared, I have a peace and comfort knowing that God is in control. We pray for a successful surgery and complete recovery. Dad seems to have a positive outlook (as positive as could be expected!) and he is ready to be back at work soon. That is good!

We (the family along with mom and dad) are going to Birmingham late Wednesday afternoon and spend the night at the Centennial Lodge located at St. Vincents. Mom and at least one of us will spend the entire week there. I am so thankful that there is such a nice, convenient place for us to stay during the surgery and his hospital stay. As of now, the surgery is planned for 6:30 am Thursday (10/30) morning. Until then...as my husband would say...

In HIS grip,
Michelle