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Mon. 4/28/03 - Operation

Monday 4/28/03
Monday morning Les was still sleeping when they came to transfer him to the Operating Room. It went rather smoothly. Grandma Sue arrived to walk down the hall with them to the Warren Surgical Suites at Children’s Hospital. They waited for about 25 minutes in the waiting area and had a chance to talk to the surgeon prior to surgery. He was very professional and arrived in a suit. It was only after the surgery that they saw him in his scrubs.

Cillia and Jason each had their own way of passing the 4-5 hours during the surgery. Jason chose to stay close and wait in the waiting room. Judy Kentish, the assistant pastor at church and a family friend, was with him the entire time and offered a much-needed sounding board as Jason expressed his thoughts. Later, Jason’s mom (Gammie) and another friend, Tammy Wedberg came. Cillia’s cousin walked over during her lunch hour to check on the status. She works across the street from the hospital. Cillia chose to leave and go to Grandma’s house. After a shower, she sat at the computer and did the practical things of life, like pay bills. Jason called periodically with updates and Cillia arrived back at the hospital shortly before the surgeon came out to talk to them.

Dr. Meltzer informed Jason and Cillia that the surgery went exceptionally well. Les performed wonderfully under the anesthesia and there were no complications at all. He was confident that the entire tumor was removed. Another MRI was scheduled the next day to check the brain and make sure the entire tumor was removed.

Les was moved back to the ICU for recovery. Jason and Cillia were able to be with him when he woke up. The doctors and nurses were impressed with how quickly Les recovered from the surgery. He didn’t jump out of bed and run around or anything, but he was able to talk in complete sentences and respond to commands from the doctors and nurses. Les slept the rest of the day and most of the next.

Jason and Cillia took the opportunity to go back to Grandma’s house Monday night. They left Grandma Sue at the hospital to be with Les.