The longest day of my life

Our day started with the alarm clock ringing at 4:15 am, after only a few hours of sleep, and it ended just after 11pm when I got home from the hospital.  I am beyond exhausted but know that many people have been praying for Rob and our family all day so wanted to give you a brief update.

We got to the hospital just before 5:45am and went to admitting to check in.  After all the paper work was done we were brought upstairs for Rob to get ready.  We saw a nurse and the plastic surgeon who drew all over Rob's leg and arm with a sharpie.  At about 7am they came and said it was time for him to go and that I couldn't go any further with him.  We said a quick goodbye and he was gone.  Kathy and I were brought to the second floor to a family waiting area.  I scored the most comfy seat in the room which is good because we waited for almost 12 hours!  When I was told the surgery was going to be 8 hours I thought that was long but having it go for almost 12 was torture.  For the most part I felt very calm and I know that it was because of the prayers.  During the 12 hour, wait we had a visit from a couple friends and Rob`s mom Marilyn which helped pass the time.  After finally getting to go in to see Rob after 12 plus hours, I am confident that was the longest wait of my life!

At about 1:30pm, Dr Nason came out to talk to me as he was done his part.  He said there were no surprises and everything went as planned.  He took lymph nodes out of both sides of the neck so Rob has a very large incision across his neck.  He took out the tumor and a clear margin (space around the tumor).  At a quick glance pathology said it was good and he didn`t need to take more  today but we won`t know for sure for a few weeks when we get the full report.  Unfortunately he had to cut into the jaw bone a little to make sure it was all gone.  This means Rob is missing a few teeth on the bottom and some bone but this can be fixed by implants after everything is healed up.  Overall he was pleased with how it went.

After Dr Nason was done, the plastic surgeon went to work on his part.  We were told this would take 3-4 hours but it actually took over 6!  They took skin from his forearm to fix the tongue.  This is better for tongue function versus bulky skin from the thigh.  They then take skin from the thigh and do a skin graft on the arm.  His tongue looks very good as far as I can see and that is why it take so long because it is such fine work.

Finally sometime after 8, I was able to go see him.  He was awake but very groggy due to being out for 12 hours.  It was tough to see him laying there, and seeing everything he had done is overwhelming, however, given everything he had done he looks pretty good.  Not being able to talk has already proven difficult but each day communication will get better.  We waited until he was taken to his room and got him settle then said good night and left.

We are home now and I am not going to lie, it feels terrible not having Rob here.  I know I will sleep tonight because I am so tired but it just doesn't feel right not having Rob here.  I pray that he recovers quickly and/or the time goes by fast so he can come home soon!

I can barely see straight now so I will go to bed and if I missed something I will update tomorrow sometime.  Thank you for surrounding our family with prayer today!
Love Karen