Time Time and More Time

Ahh time. We are now 14 hours into this, and have at least 2 1/2 hours more to go before we will get to see Nate. I can't even imagine how tired Dr. Lambert must be feeling. She is one amazing woman! 

Dr. Maykel, the colo-rectal surgeon, started his part at 4:00 and finished up at 7:15. I continue to be impressed with this team that Dr. Lambert put together. Dr. Maykel was able to remove all of the big tumor in Nate's lower pelvis that we were so worried about. It was tricky because the tumor had grown so large that it had compromised the vasculature around it. He had to dissect the tumor away from the colon, the rectum, from around the ureters, and a number of necessary blood vessels. This tumor also came out in one piece!

He said that the procedure went as he expected it to, and in his own words, "This is really the best case scenario". I'm starting to feel like things are too good to be true! Knock on wood! They did have to take some colon, but they connected it back together, leak tested it, and everything looked good. He left Dr. Lambert in the O.R. to finish cleaning some other small spots out of Nate's belly, and thought she might be another hour. That was 3 hours ago....

I just received a call from the circulating nurse who informed me that Nate is still doing well, is stable, and that Dr. Lambert was finishing up the de-bulking. Now for the crazy news...Dr. Lambert decided that the procedure went well enough that she felt comfortable administering the HIPEC! What?! They were just getting ready to begin the perfusion. Crazy. I'm so happy that the procedure went so well! I'm a little nervous about this HIPEC thing though. It's scary because I know how hard it was the last time, and all I can do is hope and pray that Nate will heal better this time around so he doesn't have any complications. It also caught me completely off guard because I was not expecting this!

I know he's had angels surrounding him today and that Dr. Lambert must have had heavenly help as well. I'm so grateful that so many of our prayers are being answered! I'll update as soon as I have an update!