Big Day

We woke up early to get ready for the big day. Dad was up early making sure he was organized for his hospital stay. He packed his bag and got his important papers together. Dad, obviously, could not have breakfast or have anything to drink because of the surgery. I decided not to eat breakfast in front of him today.

We arrived at Emory and meet Frank. He is such a good friend. He stayed all day and hung out with mom while dad was in surgery, and stayed until dad was settled into his room. It meant so much that he was here with us today, he probably will never know. Linda came to be with us in the afternoon. She and Zach had so much fun playing together.

Dad went into surgery a little bit ahead of schedule. He got dressed up into his hospital gown, socks and hat. He was so brave. He continued to crack jokes which made us all feel more comfortable. He is just that way.

Then we waited. Mom and Frank waited at the hospital. Zach and I went to visit Susan and George. We had some lunch and spent time catching up. It was a great distraction while dad was in surgery.

At 2:30pm, mom called saying that dad was out of surgery and in the recovery room. Mom met with the doctor who gave her the report on how the surgery went. Dr. Grist reported that the surgery went well. He took out part of the parotid gland and the tumor (which involved sacrificing the lower facial nerve). He also took out the cancerous lymph nodes. The cancer was labeled stage 3. They indicated that dad's paralysis would probably not be any worse than it has already been and that because he was in such good shape, his recovery from the surgery looked good. Dad will have a PET scan in a couple weeks and then follow up with daily radiation for at least a couple months.

So, I rushed back to Emory so I would be there when dad could have visitors. We made it in plenty of time. Mom and I went in to see dad at about 4:30pm. He was pretty uncomfortable. He was in some pain and had to go to the bathroom. I stepped out and mom helped him since he did not have a catheter. Dad was in and out of it, but for the most part he looked much better than I expected. He was talking, which I wasn't sure he would be able to do. He was also pretty fiesty, which is always a good sign.

Mom spent some more time with him while he was in recovery. Then he moved to a temporary room while he waited for his room. Mom, Zach, Linda, Frank and I spent time with dad. He was in and out due to the pain meds. He was most alert and responsive when Zach was in visiting him. He talked to him and touched his foot. Zach responded by laughing and babbling. It was probably the best medicine.