6:45 update

6:45 update... his surgeon came by. He was impressed that Mike had been up walking. He said most people walk 2nd day post op... We knew he was "special" ;) He is now on his mid-evening nap.

Oh, ps... I asked and the surgeon said that he removed about 18" from his ascending and transverse colon, including his apendix. Oh my!

We shall see how much rest he (we) get tonight.

6pm update

Well, it's been a busy day.  Mike's surgery was over at 10am, and up to his room at about 11:30.  After giving the nurses fits and taking his late morning nap, and morphine, he got up to sit about 2 o'clock.

Brooke came by for a visit and take care of him while I ran for lunch. (Cafeteria is closed in the hospital) :( 

After his mid and late afternoon naps and more pain meds, he had a breathing test. OH THE FUN!!! That was the worst pain yet he said.  Another nap, and more meds, a fire drill, and then he got up for a lap around the 3rd floor.  Now, he's back napping for his early evening nap.

More clear liquids for dinner when he wakes, and another breathing test. Oh boy...

He has a great outlook, and is SO wanting to get out of here, but the Dr. says FIVE days in here. Lord, please make it 3 or 4!

THANKS for all of the prayers, flowers, texts, facebook and well wishes!

HE thanks everyone for them all!!!!  <3

Mel

Update 10:04am

Surgery started late this morning at just after 8 am. 

10:04am
Surgeon just came out and said mike is out of anesthesia. The surgery went well. They will send colon for biopsy, but did not see anything just yet. He said the surgery went well, and Mike will be on pain meds and a "cinch" around his middle to help with the pressure. I will be able to see him in about 45 minutes.

Stay tuned to my facebook or the blog for updates:  http://mikescolon.blogspot.com/

Late Start

Just heard from the OR nurse. They just got started, so it was a late start. Going well so far. 8:07 am

Background... and prep.

I'll share a little background to those who had not heard already... Two years ago, Mike had a routine colonoscopy. Due to family history, his Dr. felt it a good idea to check it out early before the age of 50.  Several polyps (11) were found, removed and tested to be non-cancerous.  Skip forward to Dec 2010. Round 2 colonoscopy. They found about a dozen more this time, removed most and again all were non-cancerous.  We were then referred to a specialist in Dallas. After studying Mike's extensive medical genealogy, the Dr. determined that he is indeed special, and grows polyps like farmers grow crops.  When presented with all the facts, Mike was strongly urged him to remove half of his colon, thus reducing the real estate for the polyps to grow, and facilitate all future colonoscopies. 

We had no sooner returned from a business trip to Germany when an hour later, this Dr. called to confirm that Mike was in fact moving forward with surgery, and also revealing that the genetic studies showed him to be clear of two known gene defects causing the growths. This is good news for our daughters, but continued research will need to be done to discover which gene is responsible for Mike's "special colon".

Tomorrow morning is the day for the Right Hemicolectomy, where the surgeon will remove the ascending and about half of the transverse colon.  He is less than thrilled to be doing the same bowel prep just 2 months after his last one, but very anxious to get past the surgery and start the healing.

We appreciate your concerns, thoughts and prayers. We hope that you tune in to facebook or this blog in order to stay updated on his progress.

You can leave your comments and I will share them with Mike daily. Thank you.

Last Supper

Saturday night... last meal. Mike chose La Playa Maya... our favorite Mexican place!  By luck we ran into 4 friends already there that had just ordered, so they joined us, and we had a blast!  If we'd tried to get 7 people together last minute, it never would have happened...

Mexican Food, margaritas, good old friends... GREAT evening!

Tomorrow... the liquid diet begins. Monday... surgery day.