Kat made it through

I picked Kat up at 4:17a.m. I could tell she did not get much sleep and that the boys were extremely upset. Mark and Sebastian did not sleep all night!

We arrived at the hospital at 5:33a.m. and had to wait until 6:00 to have her admitted. The office was not open until then. Once we got up to the pre-op area they gave her a waiting room and she changed into her lovely hospital garment J

I stayed with her right up until they were going to take her to the OR. I doubt she remembers me leaving… she was already sedated. The I.V.'s and other wiring they had her hooked up to were surreal. And I was told that was just the beginning. Her doctor was extremely kind and explained to me how long the procedure would take and that once she was in recovery he would come talk to me.

I was in the waiting room from 8:30-10:00 and the nurse called me at the desk to tell me that her surgery wouldn't start until 10:30 and to expect it to be over around 4:30-5pm. She told me that they had my cell number and to please not wait around all day. I did anyway. I wasn't going to leave until I knew she was ok and also because I had her backpack of stuff.

Dr. M. came in to see me at exactly 4:36pm to tell me how well the surgery went and he went on to say that he was keeping the breathing tube in overnight in case there were any complications. I immediately called her sister, Jo, to let her know the news and that I would wait to see her before going home.

I waited until 8:45pm. When I called the nurse's station to find out her progress, they informed me that she was still in the recovery room and were waiting for a bed to open up in the ICU. I didn't want to leave but I had to get back to my family. So I called Jo and asked her if I should hang on to her stuff or "trust" a nurse to give it to her. We decided that I should keep her wallet and give the backpack to the ICU nurse, which is what I did.

I got home at 9:45pm. My daughter, Katie, was in bed but not asleep. She waited until I got home so I could tuck her in. I said goodnight to Jeff and to Chris and went straight to bed. I don't remember hitting the pillow.

Jo called me at 9:30 this morning to give me an update. Kat is still in the ICU and will be there for the rest of the day today. She did have some complications last night but they would not go into detail with Jo and they told her that she was stable now and seems to be doing well. They advised her to not bring the boys up because her face is extremely swollen, she is still on the breathing tube and they still have her sedated. Jo and the boys will probably visit her tomorrow evening but I plan on going there in the mid morning provided that she can receive visitors. I will do my best to keep everyone updated.