It seems like it's been a while. I'd like to say that our days have been so action-packed that there hasn't been time to write; however, that's not the case. Our days are dragging and we're going a little stir crazy. Oh, I guess that's not entirely true. As I recap, we have done a few things here and there to help time pass. It's just that we're really missing home right now, especially Toby and Cosmo. And the longest stretch begins today…
We confirmed yesterday that Dr. Gardner and company are going to attempt the surgery again first thing Monday morning. Same time, same place, less paperwork. By my count, that's five full days to wait… too short a time to go back home, too long a time to have it pass quickly. I'm able to keep busy; all I need is my iPad and a wireless connection (which is not necessarily a given at Family House). And I think Mari Ann can relax fairly easily. It's our patient who gets restless and impatient… understandably so.
But that's the future and, even though I just woke up at 4:30 EST with my mind racing, I try not to worry too much. Let me recap what's been going on the last four days. I'll start with Michael's appointments yesterday so that if you're not interested in the non-medical "fluff", you can stop reading.
We first met with Dr. Wang, the ENT surgeon, at 2:00 yesterday afternoon. He was quite candid about what happened during the operation last week. He called Michael's ordeal, "abnormal" and claimed he was quite the topic of conversation in "the halls" all day long. He even went as far to say that they have changed their protocol based on Michael's experience! Apparently, at least part of the delay during the 2:45 time period between pre-op and the start of surgery was because the anesthesiologist could not get Michael fully to sleep. He was poked and prodded, all the time lying exposed and freezing on a gurney. Because of this, they are now going to use heated blankets on the tables for their surgery patients.
After what we thought was going to be a few minutes of social chit-chat, Dr. Wang did remove the packing from Michael's nose. I watched the feed from the scope on a monitor behind his chair and the tiny, rubber-covered plug looked as big as a whale. It seemed to come out easily and Michael felt little discomfort. No more gauze moustache! In fact, for all intents and purposes, Michael is at this point "back to normal": no more antibiotics and no more nasal sprays, but, more importantly, he can now take a shower!
Dr. Wang runs a very efficient office: in and out right on time (and that fits his somewhat… "prissy" personality). However, Dr. Gardner more than makes up for it with time spent in the waiting room. Both tired of playing games on our phones, Michael and I resorted to watching Judge Judy during our two-hour wait. At about 5:30, we got in for our 3:30 appointment. And we didn't even see Dr. Gardner! That was not an issue, though, because he had told us he didn't really need to see Michael. We didn't cancel the appointment, though, because we had wanted to at least touch base with him.
We did get to see one of Dr. Gardner's fellows, Dr. Fernandez-Miranda and the woman with all the power, Juliana Kovac, the "Nurse Coordinator". The brief time with the fellow was pointless on our end; Michael does still know his name and why he's seeing the doctor. But we seized the opportunity to ask Dr. Fernandez-Miranda a couple of important questions. First, they are not approaching the operation any differently than they did the first time. All of Michael's "notes" are in the system and it seems they'll refer to those to make any adjustments along the way. With the clearance of Cardiology, they express no additional concerns.
Second, most patients are fully able to travel within a couple weeks of their operations, whether by land, air and sea. I had asked in reference to the cruise we are hoping to take for my birthday a mere two months after Michael's surgery. We don't know how he will take to his recovery or what lingering side effect he may experience, so we're getting leery about actually going on the cruise. Unfortunately, the doctors can't really discourage us at this point. (It would almost be easier for us if they would say, "No way.")
Dr. Fernandez-Miranda did share some potentially discouraging news: he said that we should plan to be here a full two weeks following the operation. Pull out your calendars… two weeks after the operation is Christmas Eve! And I bet no doctors will be in their offices for follow-ups that week. Thankfully, Juliana spoke more realistically with us and said if all goes well and we can get in on the 18th for a follow-up, we should be able to go home that week. Dare we start humming "I'll Be Home for Christmas"?!? We're halfway there, because we already scheduled Michael's follow-up with Dr. Wang at 9:00 the morning of the 18th, early enough to head out that day, if possible.
I'll miss my duties as nursemaid to Michael the next five days. I've gotten quite adept at cleaning/bandaging his nose and washing his hair in the bathtub without getting his face wet. But hopefully we'll make up for it with some activities such as those we found the last three days…
On Saturday, we went to the Manor Theater in an area called "Squirrel Hill" to see Silver Linings Playbook. I knew virtually nothing about it except that the critics, my brother and my dear friend Greg all loved it. It took me a while to warm to it; I didn't "get it" for most of the movie. But somewhere along the way, everything cumulated into a wonderful result. We all thought it was great.
On Sunday, I took a "me" day and returned to the AMC Lowe's Waterfront to mark another movie off my list, Breaking Dawn Part 2. I know, I know… but I've seen all the other Twilight movies, so I had to see this one. Had Michael or Mari Ann joined me, we would have seen something else. I had heard that they saved the best for last and this final movie in the series was actually pretty good. I heard wrong; it's the same old crap, although Kristen Stewart does show more life as a vampire than she does as a lovestruck high school student. I will admit the final battle is somewhat spectacular; however, it ultimately carries no consequence.
On Monday, temperatures had continued to rise to an unseasonal, but lovely, 66 degrees, so Michael and I checked out the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium. Michael thought it was more rundown than I did, but there were truly a couple of leaks in the glass walls of the aquarium where towels had been laid. Although it was warm, it was a dreary day and most of the animals, especially the entire population of the monkey house, were napping. We got some good pics, though, and the large animals reminded us of Toby, while their children reminded us of Cosmo.
Yesterday was Michael's birthday. Although most of it was spent at the hospital, I did treat him to a mani-pedi beforehand and we gave him a few small gifts last night and had cake. That stranger you see in the final picture is none other than your author, stepping out from behind the camera for the first time this trip. That's the problem with managing the media events; you're always writing and photographing, but barely participating.
I'm not sure when the media coverage will begin again in full, but there's likely to be one or two updates before the full court press begins again Monday morning…
Thanks for the update, and sorry I missed singing "Happy Birthday".
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