Angie & Jim

Almost Doneby Jim

The status for Angie’s surgery has changed to “FINISHED”, which means the procedure is done and I should hear from the surgeon soon. I will post again when I have more news.

Getting Startedby Jim

I just gave Angie a hug and kiss before she goes back for the surgery. The surgeon is expecting the procedure to be quick — about 45 minutes as long as things go well and not more than 90. She has to be put to sleep and get her anesthesia, so in total, she should be done in under 2 hours.

Another Surgeryby Jim

We just arrived here at Stanford. Angie is scheduled to go in at about 11. We just got Angie’s medical bracelets and we saw that they had barcodes on them, so of course we had to scan them using our new phones to see what they said. Yeah, we’re geeks.

I will be posting on our blog throughout the day, so you can check back here for updates. You can also sign up for email notifications when I post or follow our RSS feed. If you would like me to text you with updates, please call me or send me an email and i will try and keep you up-to-date that way.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Homeby Jim

We just got home and Angie is parked on the couch eating a tunafish sandwich (with Grandma Hoffman’s sweet pickles… yum).  I’m sorry for the brevity of the last post, I was literally walking down the hallway as I typed it on my iPod on my way to bring the car ’round.

After they brought me back to see Angie in the recovery room, the surgeon came in to see us and answer any questions.  He said the surgery went well, but that Angie is going to be sore.  He said it in a way that worried me.  It reminded me of Brian Regan’s line: “If a doctor says you’re gonna feel some pressure, buckle up!”

It turns out that the hernia repair Angie had before didn’t fail after all; instead, there was a new problem.  It made us feel better to know that it wasn’t anything we did that caused the failure;  rather, it was an unavoidable problem exacerbated by the previous repair.  Unfortunately, it meant he had to reattach some muscle tissue to her bone, which means a longer and painful recovery.  Ouch.

We’re glad it is over and that the procedure went well.  Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers, and concern for us.

We’re going home!by Jim

Good news! The procedure went well and we are going home. I’m on my way to go get the car. I’ll post more later.

Stanford Clinics & Spasby Jim

Angie is in the operating room, but the surgery has not begun yet.  While we were in the O.R. waiting room we had a nice man come up to us and ask if Angie wanted a massage.  He introduced himself as a massage therapist while he helped Angie get comfortable by adjusting her pillow and then gave her a little back massage followed by a foot rub.  I didn’t know they had that kind of service here.  Very cool.

We got a visit from the anesthesiologist, whom Angie recognized from last time, who gave a quick briefing.  I believe his name was Chris Hill.  Oh, and Kathy was our nurse.  We were told this should be a quick procedure.  She’s scheduled in the O.R. for about an hour and a half.  I’m still hoping they’ll let us go home tonight; I’m not looking forward to sleeping on a couch.

Surgery, Take 2by Jim

I’m here with Angie, who is on a hospital bed waiting to be taken to the operating room.  We arrive here at Stanford Hospital around 10:35 this morning, and our registration was uneventful.  We’re hoping that this will be a quick procedure and that we’ll be home tonight.  We think this surgery is starting later than the previous attempt, so going home tonight will be less likely.

They have wireless here at the hospital, so I’ll keep posting throughout the day.  You can even subscribe to email updates or an RSS feed if that is more convenient for you.