Day 31... We met with Mom's Surgeon earlier this evening, Robert E. Zane, M.D. After meeting with him we feel better (if you can call it that) about the next part of the journey we are about to embark upon... Now, preceding our meeting Mom was visited the night before by her good friend Corrine and Fr. Bill from St. Philomena Parish. She received the anointing of the sick and took communion, a VERY SMALL piece as she's not supposed to eat or drink ANYTHING!! :-] Earlier today the Sisters from St. Philomena School visited with her, sang and prayed with her. They brought her a HUGE poster signed by all the 8th graders and informed her that Carmelites have been notified of Mom's situation all across the United States... The power of prayer at work! :-)
Sooooooo that brings us to tonight, our meeting with Dr. Zane and this is the basic rundown to our questions:
When will surgery take place? He's hoping to schedule Mom's surgery for this Wednesday 9/29, however we won't know for sure until tomorrow (9/28). If not Wednesday then Sunday 10/03. He has a lecture he's giving at a Medical Conference in Santa Barbara on Saturday, but will return to do it on Sunday if need be. Right now the leak is contained, the pocket of infection is the same size and not draining well which is why we have no other option than to do the surgery. Dr. Zane's main worry after surgery is what mother nature has so far contained, he will have to unleash... Hopefully not bad but unknown. How Mom's body deals with all of this and the risk of sepsis is a part of the laws of nature.
How long will Mom's surgery be? About 2 hours
Is a Colostomy a 'for sure' thing? Yes, but only temporary. If everything goes well with little to no complications, Mom is looking at 6 months before living life back to normal.
Is Mom strong enough to undergo this procedure? Yes, right now she is... If she were to spike fever or show deterioration then surgery would happen immediately. Right now we're trying to clear out as much as possible in the intestinal area.
How big will the incision be and where? Approximately 4-5 inches and will use her existing C-Section scar.
How soon after surgery will they get Mom up and walking around? Right away, the sooner the better. Movement and ambulation is key to recovery.
How long in the hospital after surgery? We're looking at 10 days if all goes perfect. We won't let her go until she's eating food and able to care for herself.
After speaking with Dr. Zane we are feeling better. Along with Internet research and hearing personal recommendations from Physician friends of ours, we appreciated the time he took to meet with us, answer all our questions and gave us visual details of the procedure involved. Though we learned he is only one of two physician/surgeons who would undertake this procedure, he was very humble about his accomplishments but confident in the task at hand.
Now we wait to hear when Mom's surgical procedure will be scheduled and in the words of Dr. Zane, "Once the job is done, it's your Mom's strength and Mother Nature" ... and to quote Jeanette's husband Fred, "May God be with you Doctor, in guiding your hands" ... Amen.
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