Carolyn is out if surgery and doing well. She is wide awake. She’s drinking. An she is able to stand up.

We still haven’t seen the surgeon of the specifics but the bits we have been told from the nursing staff is that everything went fine.

She’s out and doing great!!

Just had our first call the from the operating room. She is in surgery and going great.

13187 is in OR.

13187 is cleared for OR.

Still waiting. But I’m not sitting alone at the bus station anymore. Our friend Esther cane by to keep us company.

Esther is the one with the hair.

Carolyn sent me a picture that showed they did mark which side to perform the surgery on.

so she’s ready.

Let’s do this thing!!!

If you’ve never had to bring someone in for surgery you may be wondering what it’s like here. Well it’s a little like a bus station. Lots of people sitting in their own groups. Everyone grouped together with the friends or family that are taking the trip with them. And naturally a few people chatting on the phone.

Everyone here is waiting for news from someone, watching the board, and just generally passing the time as best they can.

It’s when I look around a room like this I notice all the electronics people have. Just a quick glance and I can see a dozen people passing time on their phones and tablets. Anything we can do to distract ourselves from where we are. There was a time you’d see books, or knitting. Now I see only a two or three people with books and no one knitting.

Oh. And for the individuals talking on their phones. I’m sorry the valet dropped your key fob and broke it. We’re all very sad.

And for the other person. We’re on the Third floor. The person on the other end of your call clearly can’t hear you but the whole room can. Try going outside and calling them back. You’ll get better re emotion and more privacy.

PT in PreOp still.

13187 is in PreOp.

13187 is in the Board.

So, the staff just called for Carolyn. They only allow one person to go back with the patient so Carolyn’s mom, a registered nurse, went back with her.

Good morning. Today you might notice the site has a different feel. Today I take over for a little bit and try to keep everyone updated on what’s happening. For those that don’t know me I’m Dave, Carolyn’s husband.

So if you’ve been following this site you know, today’s the day. It’s been a long road getting here. It all started with the car accident and a simple check to see if Carolyn had a concussion. I won’t rehash it all since Carolyn has already told the story better than I ever could. But today is what it’s all led up to. So let’s dive right in.

Well if you read Carolyn’s post last night you’ll know how the timeline for this morning was planned. I’m happy to say she was pretty close. Everyone was up early, we drove to Conyers, and then to Emory. Where Carolyn was off a little, or saved it for a surprise was her choice of music for the ride. As soon as we got in the car she put on an interesting mix:

John Mulaney – comedian

Bob and Doug McKenzie -The Great White North album

Cheech & Chong – Dave’s not here

So we had a good drive. Waze, my navigation app of choice, helped to make the ride a little better by taking us down every residential lane, back road, and cross street in Decatur. At one point we commented that we’re 2 miles and 10 minutes from the hospital.

Which brings me back to today. We’re hear and checked in. Carolyn’s mom is here with me. And we’re ready.

For those who have never done this sort of thing I’ll try to explain how it goes.

When you check in you give them a cell phone number they can reach you at and they give you the patients number. In the waiting room they’ve set up TV’s with a real time spreadsheet on them. The patients number is shown the screen and a color code tells you where in the process they area. There’s four colors:

Yellow-in Pre-Opp

Red-Cleared for OR

Green-In Surgery

Lavender-In recovery

It’s all very organized and helps those of us waiting to know what’s happening. As we go through the day I’ll try to post some pics so everyone can follow. So keep any eye open for 13187 on the big board. And don’t worry about check the pic below. She’s not on there yet.

For now though we’re just checked in and waiting to be called.