The Next Mountain to Climb

Just a quick update as I sit in the backyard enjoying the morning sunshine: I’ve been home for a few days now. We were both shocked when they discharged me earlier than expected, but also thankful. It’s much nicer to recover at home. As for that, I think I’m doing well. I’m able to (slowly) get up and down the stairs on my own, although Jim is still keeping a close watch in case I need help. I take short walks around the backyard and I sit A LOT. I can make it through a few hours in this way, and then I hit a wall: my body just screams “No more energy!” and I take a 3 hour nap. 😊 Everyone that’s worried that I will “overdue” currently has nothing to worry about. My body won’t let me! This surgery was definitely more involved than my splenectomy two years ago. The incision is longer! Since they had to rebuild those blood vessels, I’ve been told that I can’t lift much for two months. Right now, with the pain and fatigue, that’s easy to handle. In a couple weeks when the incision site is...

This lady got discharged today ... 5 days ahead of schedule! She’s still moving slow and napping, but she’s going to be doing it at home. You know what she told me on the way home ... “I can’t believe how blessed I am.”  How do I deserve a great life companion like her??? She was quite excited and got gussied-up a little for the ride home ... She said she tried to smile with her mouth but she’s defiantly smiling in her heart. 

As is usual with our bad ass friend/wife/mother/daughter, Kristi continues to do extremely well. Of course she still has several pain medications that are flowing continuously, but this is allowing her to get through the worst of the healing process. Nurses both yesterday and today have commented about how well she’s doing. Today she went in two long walks. The first time she went around her unit three times and then later today she went on a walk a few laps around the atrium of the brand new hospital.  Sorry, I forgot to get a picture of the walking. We have and will continue to gush about the level of expertise and care that she receives at Stanford. But yesterday and today we encountered a situation that we think is helpful for people who might be in a hospital in the future. Unfortunately, Kristi has had her share of hospital stays and of course, I’ve been with her during those times. Through experience we’ve learned that while most of the time you need to listen to doctors and...

We can’t say enough about medical professionals in general, but the folks at Stanford Hospital are so great (remember, we have lots of experience).  Of course Kristi had two of the best doctors for what needed to be done (see below), but every nurse, medical assistant, and other staff member have been so great. Her room has a nice view too! Kristi is doing quite well considering the digging around they had to do to get to, remove the tumor, and graft the arteries. She’s on a concoction of pain meds which are going to get her through the next few days and weeks. She’s been able to talk with the kids and is watching Emma play softball between short naps.  No one wants to need the services of the best doctors one can find, but when you need them, it’s such a blessing. These two gentlemen are amazing at what they do, and such nice guys. Big shout-out to them! Dr. Poultcides Dr. Harris Kristi is definitely able to check and respond to texts. Feel free to communicate with her that w...

Surgeon just called me. He said everything "went flawlessly."  They removed the mass and reconstructed both arteries as planned. I have to wait for text but he said I should expect to be able to see her at about 5:30pm ... three hours from now. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and encouragement. 

Surgery is set for  this Friday at 7:30am . Jim and I will drive up Thursday, spend the night and report to the hospital  at 5:15am .  It will be about 7-8 hours if everything goes as planned.  We have met with the two surgeons who will take care of things. One will remove the mass and the other will reconstruct (graft, like a heart bypass) the two arteries. It’s always nice when a doctor is both talented and easy to talk to. Both of these surgeons are the best in their particular speciality at Stanford and they both were pleasant, reassuring, honest, and just plain nice.  Both explained that this is a fairly risky surgery, and the vascular surgeon even said today that ten years ago they wouldn’t even do this surgery. Thank God it’s 2021.  Despite the risks, each was very confident in their ability to get the job done.  Side note: As many of you know, we also recently put our house up for sale. We accepted an offer over the weekend and should go into e...