November 7, 2012 - Surgery

Surgery

Well, today was the day. Dad's surgery. Feeding tube. Trach. Waiting. Worrying. Hoping. Praying.

Mom and I went to the hospital this morning before 11:00. Bill and Christy came over shortly afterwards. We didn't know what time they'd take dad back for surgery, but we wanted to spend time with him, none the less.

At 2:00 we were told to go eat some lunch and they'd call my cell phone if they needed us before we got back. So we went downstairs, got our lunch out of the car, and sat in the room where the vending machines are to eat. Mom made pimiento cheese sandwiches, plus we had bananas, apples, pears, chips, and chocolate.

We returned to dad's room just before 3:00 and he was still there, and apparently, the doctors weren't ready for him. At a little before 4:30 they came for him. We each talked to dad beginning with mom, then me, then Bill, then Christy, then me again ... I felt it was important to reinforce our love and need for him by telling him ... Just one more time.

We went into the surgery waiting room where there's a digital info board that lets you know the status of your loved one's surgical process. Pre-op, Surgery, Recovery. The board showed which operating room dad was in, but the status never was updated.

Cindy Shepard came up to see us for a bit. Cindy is like my sister. We have known each other forever, and we know each other almost as well (maybe more, in some ways!) as our spouses! I walked her down to the front door and watched her drive away. She brought forms to us to fill out to get dad's medals. She has done SOOOOOO much to help us get them for dad!

As I walked towards the waiting room door I saw Dr. Reiser walking towards me. We walked in together and he told us about his portion of dad' surgery ... All good. He told us Dr. Adham was in there doing his magic! Once he was finished, he came in to tell us how everything went. We asked a few questions and he gave us answers. He told us we could go see dad, but it would be thirty minutes or so, so we moved into the ICU waiting room so they could find us when it was okay for us to go on back.

Bill and Christy stepped out for a few minutes to make a few phone calls and I looked up and saw a very welcome familiar face ... Rick Carver! Throughout this entire ordeal Rick has been posting on my updates that he's praying for us. I had no idea that he's a respiratory therapist until he sent me a PM a week or so ago. Rick's visit was totally awesome and VERY welcome! He made us all feel so much better about what all dad is going through. His information is priceless!! So many details, gray areas, and unknown territories have been brought into the clear now. Perhaps that's because the surgery was over and now we could concentrate on what's next. Perhaps it's because Rick has a great way of relating to us and sharing his personal experiences with us. Perhaps it's because he sensed fear in my posts. Perhaps it's because he truly knows how being faced with something like this is difficult to deal with and hearing it from an old friend is the best way to handle it. Whatever the case ... Rick, our family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts!

So, the next step was visiting dad. Seeing the new devises that will make his life easier during the upcoming months. We haven't been in dad's room much after the shift changes, so the night nurses were mostly new to us. We learned that dad's nurse tonight will be Brianna. We met her. She talked to us about dad. She showed us the feeding tube and the trach. She explained how they work and what to expect. We alerted her to dad's extreme sensitivity to noise. She said she'd put up a sign so the other nurses would know to be extra quiet. Just because he's 88 years old doesn't mean he's hard of hearing ... Far from it, actually!

So, we all walked out of the hospital, got into our cars and drove home. Dinner. Texts. Phone calls. IPad. The news. Next? Bed!

Throughout the day and into the evening I checked my emails, texts, and Facebook posts. I shared your comments, well wishes, prayers, and love with my family. We are in awe at how much love and support you all have given us! Please know that we notice and appreciate everything! From a simple one word post ...  to "praying" to "thinking of you" to the food and offering to sit with dad to give us a break to the visits ... Every single gesture means the world to us!

Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow is the day my father discovers his life (our lives!!) has changed forever. Mom is worried about how dad will take all of this and I keep telling her, "We are a family. We make decisions together. We made this decision in the best interest of dad. Mom, you are not to blame. We decided to do the absolutely best option available for dad. We will get through this together." Tomorrow morning the Cotton's/Blickenstorfer's new journey begins.

We hope that you all will continue to be a part of our journey. Our lives. Our family. We invite you to celebrate a part of Mercer Cotton's life that you all had a big part in helping make possible. Without your help we never would have made it this far.

Thank you,
Mercer and Effie Cotton
Bill and Christy Cotton
Conrad and Carol Cotton Blickenstorfer