SURGERY TRAFFIC CONTROL

Judy and I met Neena and Ron at Park West Hospital this morning just before 8 A.M. and watched while he hugged and kissed his two grandchildren. The children left with their father leaving their mother, Ron’s daughter, to stand (sit) watch with us in the Surgery Waiting Room. About 8:30 they called for Ron and he and Neena disappeared behind the waiting room doors and moved into the inter-sanctum and the hustle and bustle of mysterious places like “pre-op”, “post-op”, “holding”, “recovery”, and, of course, the operating rooms themselves.

At around 9:30 A.M. Neena was asked to leave Ron’s side and so she came back to where we had set housekeeping for about 8 or 9 in one section of the waiting room.

On two of the walls hung 32” wide-screens displaying the doctor and patient lineup for today. It took me a few minutes to figure out the coded information, but I soon learned that the reason I could not find Ron’s name anywhere on the screen was that the abbreviated names with in the gray ovals were the doctor’s names! If you look for BUFKBRAD89, you will see Doctor Bufkin was Ron’s surgeon and Ron himself was given an abbreviated code based on his last name, day of birth, etc (red arrow).

When this shot of the screen was taken, the “Surgery Traffic Controller” had already shown Ron through PREOP, PHA (holding), and finally into the OR. He actually went into surgery at 1 P.M. and came out to PACU (post anesthesia care unit) around 3:30! What a day for Ron, but he at least got some good drugs for most of the time.

Me, and the rest, sat on our duffs for about 10 to 11 hours, killing time by listening to MP3s (Gary and I), or talking about all the other characters in the waiting room (Dragons)!

Charlotte said I looked retarded - bobbing my head, tapping my feet, and playing air-guitar and drums in time to the music no one else could hear! So, there I was, a 61 year old retard with a big happy grin on my face!

Anyway, the news was great! Ron came through just fine, even though they did have to surgically cut a rib, but the surgeon has no doubt that he got all the cancer, he described as being about the size of a quarter, removing the lower lobe of his right lung. Prognosis is: Ron will not have to have chemo or radiation treatments. Apparently if the spot is less than a certain size, no follow up treatments are warranted.

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers from the bottom of my heart.

…and thank you God!