Surgery Day (Sat, 11/7) *Update String*

I will post all updates here as they become available. You can also find other updates by reading my Twitter feed on the right hand side of the blog, or on Facebook if you are a member.

7:00 am
Chad was taken into operating room. He was in good spirits; jovial even. He joked with the nurses and anesthesia staff.
Surgery should take about 4 hours, could be longer if any revisions need to be made to other parts of the shunt.
The hospital is very quiet today, which is in stark contrast to the mood and energy level around here yesterday. There were 97 surgeries yesterday, and only 4 scheduled for today.
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8:00 am
Just received a call from the nurse in the OR. Surgery just started.

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9:00 am
Just talked to Dr. Tatter — they are done ALREADY!
There were no issues with the other parts of the shunt, and they moved the tubing to his pleural cavity successfully. Chad is in recovery. No need for ICU, so he’ll be back to his room in about 30 minutes.
Dr. T suggested staying through tomorrow and leaving Monday. Possibly tomorrow. It will depend on Chad’s headaches, mood and energy level.
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10:30 am
Chad just got back in the room – and he looks great!
He has two incisions, one at the base of his clavicle (I think, I haven’t gotten a really good look yet) and then another a few inches down. His voice is hoarse from the breathing tube. But otherwise, nothing to note.
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9:30 pm
Chad has had a pretty good day. He got to eat lunch around 3pm, and then dinner at a normal time.
He isn’t very hungry, but he’s eating anyway – which is good! He has been up and walking around, doing laps around the floor. He’s determined to go home tomorrow (Sunday), but we’ll see how it goes.
Hopefully, we will both rest well tonight since there won’t be as much poking & prodding now that the surgery is complete.
He is still pretty sore, and it hurts when he takes anything more than a shallow breath, but that should get better very soon.
The residents will make their rounds early in the morning, starting at 6am yikes!, so we’ll have more information then.
Goodnight!