Post-Surgery Report

Dad entered surgery at 1 pm CT yesterday. It took only about an hour and a half, and the neurosurgeon says he came through swimmingly.

Unfortunately, although they told us we would see dad within the hour, it took 6 hours for us to see him. They had no beds in their ICU unit for the longest time, and they refused to let us see him in recovery. He was asking for us, but he was still able to rest during this time.

The mass was completely cut out of his brain--and upon further examination, it was already dead tissue, the cancer cells killed from his radiation treatments. The Dr. feels very confident they removed all of the brain cancer.

Within 3-5 days, he should be home from the hospital and adjusting to his "new normal" once again. Nothing has changed significantly, although he seems to have growing pain from his bone cancer. I'm thankful that they seem to be managing the pain well with prescription painkillers.

He is pleasant and at peace. He actually asked the neurosurgeon if he could pray with him before the brain surgery. :)

Hugs to all of you who continue to lift dad and the whole family up in prayer. Cancer seems to "take and take" a lot of things--but it cannot take our hope and excitement for our eventual heavenly home. Dad said yesterday that "maybe he would just go to heaven." We're so glad he hasn't made the trip yet. But our hearts are assured that when he does leave us, all his pain will vanish, and we will see him again--healthy, vibrant, and whole.

I'm headed back to Michigan this morning...