Surgery Prep Day

Today marks the day of final surgery preparation.  Tomorrow morning I'll be admitted to Vancouver General Hospital for the sacral resection surgery.  I will be in the hospital for at least 2 weeks.  It could be longer depending on complications and mobility issues.

The highlight of the preparation day is the bowel cleansing procedure which will start later this morning (never my favourite part!).  New to the pre-admission procedures is the requirement for a full body "skin cleanse" with an anti-biotic soap.  This is to prevent the spread of disease resistant MRSA and other "super-bugs".  I'll do one skin treatment tonight and another tomorrow morning at the hospital.  My diet for the day will be clear fluids only.

New MRI

I had a detailed MRI on Monday so the ortho/neuro surgeons will have an up-to-date picture of my sacrum going into the procedure.  I am most appreciative of this since it means they will be able to refine their approach based on current conditions rather than guessing where the cancer is.  The objective will be to retain as much healthy bone tissue as possible, while ensuring that the cancer is all resected.


Post-Surgery Update

Kelly will write an e-mail note on Saturday or Sunday to let family, friends, and colleagues know how the surgery went.  I'll also ask her to post something to my Facebook wall.  It is a 2-day procedure and I understand that they will keep me asleep through the intervening night.  They will also keep me asleep for sometime after the procedure.  It may be Saturday before I'm revived.

Many Thanks

I am again overwhelmed with the depth of care and support which we have received from family friends and colleagues.  I have received hundreds of notes over the past week.  I have not been able to respond to them all yet but I'll try to finish today.   It truly leaves us with the sense that "we are not alone"!  Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

I will not be posting here until I am out of the hospital.

Peace and blessings... Rob; in Vancouver

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, 

but rather, of playing a bad hand well!" 

Robert Louis Stevenson