Post-Op Goodies

Alright!

Twelve hours later and Justin is finally in recovery. Unlike the past two big surgeries, they are not keeping him intubated overnight and he will go into a standard room, as opposed to ICU. Yay! The plan is to keep him in Recovery for 4 hours before heading upstairs, so I’m sticking around hoping my perseverance pays off. 

So on to the deets … The largest tumor was on the back side of his stomach, but thankfully far enough from the esophagus that they were able to remove it without affecting the connection or reducing his stomach volume by much. He had a marble’ish sized tumor on his bladder that was also removed, but the doc has zero concerns over healing or residual volume since it’s otherwise healthy. Justin’s large intestine had another marble-sized mass in which they were able to cut out and not resection (another huge win). He also had a section of small intestine that had adhered to his hernia mesh that they freed. I’m guessing this has been a significant source of discomfort for Justin over the past two years. 

Other than a couple of other blemish spots they could “simply” scrape off, this is what the surgeon has been working on all ding-dang day. Again, so thankful for his fortuitousness! Like I told him tonight, “my husband is alive today because of you.” And I mean it. 

After telling the doctor I wanted to “respect his time” … lol … I launched into the discussion of me staying with Justin. (Screw this visiting hours malarky). I simply asked if he would advocate for me to stay and it was a very quick and definite “yes.” Apparently, something has been causing nurses and staff in the medical industry to quit or be fired recently, and according to him, “the level of care is not what it was two years ago” and that he would be more comfortable knowing I was staying with Justin. Boom! May not happen tonight, but since he is still in recovery, I have a pass at least until he is in his room, and the doc said he’d talk with the charge nurse tomorrow. Might go out and buy a lotto ticket while I’m on a role!

And that’s where we are! Doing serious happy dances! Praising God and loving all of you by my side!

Warm hugs!

Christina