"The Waiting is the hardest part." ~Tom Petty

This morning I drove to the hospital.  What normally is a 40 minute ride took about an hour and a half.  The weather was foggy and a bit wet so traffic in Dallas is bad.  I think the weather fit the mood I was in.  I will stay near the hospital with the rest of the family tonight.

Heidi, Daddy and I got to see Mom this morning.  She was heavily sedated when we saw her, but she opened her eyes.  She even smiled a couple of times.  They did some things this morning like a CAT scan to prepare for surgery.  We were even able to visit with her doctor before the surgery.  

Some of you may be wondering about what is going to happen during the surgery.  I know your thoughts are with mom.  So - let me give you more of a visual image.  First, they will shave part of her head (maybe the whole thing, I am not sure. Hair has been the least of my worries.) Next, they will drill a hole at the top of her head and put in a shunt that will drain fluid from her skull during and after surgery.  The doctor said swelling from surgery can be severe enough to cause death in some patients, but the shunt should relieve pressure and will help mom.  They will cut her head in a zig-zag pattern from ear to ear.  Then they will pull her forehead down.  They will drill many holes  in the top.  They will pull her skull bone away and set it aside.  Then they will cut into the membrane around the brain.  They are going in from the right side mostly.  I am going to skip a few details now and then tell you about the tumor.  They will attack the tumor like an apple.  They will take out the core of it first.  Then, they will take out the outside skin of it.  During surgery they will have to make some decisions about how much they can take without giving mom strokes.  If they cannot get all of the tumor they will radiate it away with focused radiation after the surgery.  Below the brain, the tumor went into the bone of the skull.  It caused a hole by the sinus cavity.  The doctor will use muscle and other tissues from her body to repair the hole so that the spinal fluid doesn't leak into her nose and mouth and cause other problems.  She will have another shunt or tube that will let the spinal fluid drain until her hole has healed enough to have liquid in it.  Then they will put her back together again with bone cement and stitches.  

The doctor is worried about stroke, heart attack, possible vision problems, and maybe movement in one or both legs.  The surgery is a tricky one.  He did let me know that he had a good weekend.  He got plenty of rest and he had been thinking about this surgery even on his off time.  I am confident that he is ready and prepared.  

Mom went down to surgery around 9:30 this morning.  We will not know anything until sometime this evening.  The most critical time is the first 24 to 48 hours after surgery.  We will not know for sure about all complications until probably Wednesday or later this week.  

When I am sitting here waiting I am looking around at visitors and thinking of all of the wonderful blessings we have around us.  There are not really words to express how thankful we are for your calls, food, visits and most of all prayers.  We are very humbled by this experience.  Thank you.  

She is in God's hands.  All we can do is pray and wait.