Matt's surgery was delayed this morning, so although he was scheduled to get started at 8:00 am he didn't go into the operating room until 10:30. He was in good spirits and feeling calm and confident while he waited. An intern anesthesiologist asked Matt if he could practice his scans on him while he waited, so Matt got to see his liver, lungs, heart, kidney, and a very empty bladder.
Once Matt went into surgery I spent the rest of the morning doing classes with some lovely people at Hybrid Fitness Centre then checked into my hotel room, met my sister for a late lunch, then went to the mall to wander around. It felt so wrong to be working out and shopping while Matt was having surgery, but being busy was a great way to make the time go by quickly. I think all surgical waiting rooms should have some fitness equipment on hand.
I got a phone call from the surgeon around 4:30 when I was in the middle of the Levi's store. My sister kindly let the sales clerk know that I wasn't looking for a particular size in the corner, I was just taking an important phone call. Dr. Hebb said that the surgery went without incidence and that Matt was in recovery, responding to commands but still very groggy. He said that he kept working until he had removed everything that he could see and seemed pleased with the end result. They won't be able to check his vision until tomorrow, but right now he appears to be doing very well. He also let me know that they have a bed shortage right now, so it looks like Matt will probably spend the night in recovery and get moved upstairs tomorrow. I don’t know yet if I will be able to go see him in recovery tonight but I did speak to the nurse there around 6:00 and she said that he is doing well and chatting with them.
For those of you who were wondering, we found out late last week that if he really wanted to, Matt would be able to keep his beard this time.
He really wanted to.
So I'm happy to report that the pre-surgery beard pictured below is still intact, much to Matt's delight.
Thank you for all of the kind, encouraging, and funny words that everyone has sent to both Matt and me today. I've been doing my best to reply to everyone, but please accept my apologies if I've somehow missed getting back to you. All of the messages were a great distraction and made us both feel like we are surrounded by so much love.