K-Day

Today basically started out like a normal Thursday, so to most it would be hard to tell that it represented the end of a long frustrating battle with insurance paper pushers and the hopeful start to the next phase in our life.

Shortly after 7:30 this morning Al, her mom and I left our home to navigate our way through the workday traffic. A couple hours later we arrived at the hospital with 45 minutes to spare (on time according to Al) before the scheduled check in time of 10:30am. The drive was nothing special except it was filled with the normal poo and butthole jokes that have become a staple to our daily routine.

Al was a picture of grace, composure and strength you would expect from her any day. But today she was facing an unknown journey to never be the same again. Yeah, she was excited to finally move forward but we were all hoping we could just hit the fast forward button (as we like to do to when watching TV) and be past the painful hard parts.

So, fast forward a few hours (filled with more poo jokes and a few funny pictures of us hanging out in the waiting rooms), Al was prepped for surgery with IVs, gowns, layers of blankets and all….on a side note, they have a great warming system (Bair Paws) to keep patients comfortable. Imagine if you will, a hose that gently blows warm air into little tubes that line the inside of your blanket. I’ve never see Al so happy to be in a hospital bed. Anyways, we met with the surgeon and anesthesiologist and reviewed the game plan. Start around 1:15 and finish up around 4:00pm. Sounds good. Its what we expected. And so the waiting begins……

But surprise!!! Shortly after 3:00pm the surgeon came out to the waiting room to give us the good news. There were no complications or surprises and he was able to finish much earlier than anticipated. He was also able to use her existing J-pouch so we hope this will accelerate her recovery (even if only slightly).

Now we start the slow road of recovery. One step at a time right. First the pain, the new plumbing, the new diet….the new life.

Thank you to all our friends and family for your support and prayers. It means so very much to all of us.