Pictures

On her way to surgery

Holding Aunt Romaine's hand

Getting fed after surgery. She made that milk disappear so fast!

This is how they transported her to her room from recovery.

Waiting to go to surgery

Her private beach cottage

This morning we arrived at 9am and Bela was asleep. She had to stop eating at 2am so we let her be. She had to receive more plasma this morning before surgery but she was good otherwise. She went into surgery right at 11. We met the surgeon who placed her central line, the nurse practioner who performed the biopsy and spinal tap, the anesthesiologist, and nurse. We checked twice the paperwork and had to repeat verbally twice what procedures she would be having. While she was in surgery we went to eat in the cafeteria. All together she was only in the operating room about an hour and a half and in recovery for about the same amount of time.  I am planning to spend the night at the hospital tonight for the first time and I am nervous...nervous about being alone (except for the nurses) and about how I'll sleep, but at least I took about a 2 hour nap today.

We are so thankful to God for answering prayers and being with her and the doctors during her surgery, and so grateful that she came through so well. She was pretty fussy once she woke up because she was hungry and in a lot of pain.  The nurse could tell by her blood pressure and other vitals, but after she ate and got a bit more morphine, she calmed down and fell asleep. She also received meds for nausea and is getting hydrating fluids.


The hemotologist came to see her and said he'd asked for two tubes to be placed coming out of her central line but perhaps the surgeon only put one because she is so small.  He was happy with the outcome of the surgery and said she may be able to start her round of chemo tomorrow but that she has to have a lot of fluids tonight and pee a lot, so please pray for that and that things keep progressing smoothly and for no setbacks.

What it means to only have one tube coming out of her central line is that they can't administer more than one med at a time so she will have to keep an IV more often, which is more complicated. Please pray that she won't have much pain with the IV's because they tend to fall out a lot and I know it's painful for her when they put a new one in, and after all the IV's she's had her body is running out of places to insert them.

Thanks to all of you readers who we don't even know who have poured out your support in so many ways such as wanting to walk in her name in Relay for Life, wanting to donate blood and bone marrow, and who have brought meals and offered to help in any way. We feel so humbled and are just praising God for how He is being glorified in all of this.