We Start on the Path Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day we start moving into the pre-operative activities. I may not get anything posted, because I want to try to give Richard my full attention. With that in mind I thought it best to just summarize now what is coming.

Richard is required to check into St. Luke's Hospital Thursday morning at 7:30 AM.  With a nearly 2 hour drive to the hospital, Richard and I will be going into St. Louis metro-area on Wednesday to stay overnight for a more relaxed morning.  John, Emory, Laura, Peter and Richard’s mother Cathy will be coming to St. Louis from Rolla on Thursday morning with plans to arrive before 9 AM.

On Thursday morning after his 7:30 check-in Richard will have a CT scan at 9 AM so that they can mark certain “landmark” points on his head and then he will proceed to the pre-op holding.  I think we will not get to follow him but will be routed to the surgical waiting room for the duration.  Richard’s surgery is scheduled to begin at 10 AM.  The doctors are scheduled for 3 hours so we will expect some word by 1 or 2 PM.

For his post-operative recovery he will go directly to the Neuro Intensive Care Unit.  Again I am not certain about how much we will get to see him.  The boys and Richard’s mother will be returning to Rolla while Laura will stay with me in St. Louis.  That is about as far as my crystal ball can imagine.  Beyond that we will play it moment-by-moment.

Thank you for your interest, support and intercessory prayers on our behalf.  We rejoice that the Lord is in control of the universe and our destiny. 

I asked Richard for a verse to share that is on his heart -

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” Isaiah 43: 2b

Brain Jokes

Our dinner table conversations have taken a huge change again.  After Richard's colon rupture in 2008 we had a new appreciation for when we jest about someone "busting a gut" or refer to lacking courage by "I don't have the guts for that."  Now we are realizing just how many times we make comments that are brain jokes in average conversation.  "I need to get something off my mind" takes on a new meaning when uttered by a man anticipating brain surgery.

Richard's Last Day... for a while

Today was Richard's last day in the clinical setting on the delivery side of medical care.  Tomorrow, he reports to work for an in-service day, meaning he will be sitting and leisurely learning for his return in a month or so.

His pre-op instructions arrived in the mail today.  Now I can plan if I want to just go to St. Louis to stay or if I should commute 100 miles back and forth. Some motels near the hospital offer special rates, and I need to use the calculator to figure the value.

I was feeling guilty thinking about hanging out in a motel while Richard is isolated and suffering through post-operative recovery.  Don’t get me wrong.  I will be spending the majority of my time sitting at his bedside, but he will need to have times of rest. At those times I will get to check out some St. Louis restaurants and visit with some friends.  Laura is planning on staying with me. She has a couple places to shop that are very near the hospital. If one defines a vacation as “a diversion away from the normal” then from my point of view this is almost sounding like a vacation. I'm pretty certain Richard isn’t planning on frequent flyer miles.
 
Anyhow, back to scheduling… when Richard leaves work tomorrow (Friday) he will be off until he returns after his recovery.  This is his normal weekend off and he routinely has the Wednesday off in the week following his off weekend.  With that he decided to take the two working days off to be able to rest and be ready for his surgery.  Five days off for the price of two was too good a deal to pass up.