Surgery... and an unexpected trip home

Tuesday, November 13
We got up around 6am. Vati was in excellent spirits, jovial, feeling good, clear headed and in the best of moods. A nurse came in to shave his belly, then the attendant brought his transport bed. Vati easily hopped out of his bed and onto the transport one. He joked about the superstition of not taking a patient out of the room feet first, so I quickly turned the transport bed around while the attendant was out of the room, so he would be wheeled out head first.

We accompanied him all the way down to the double doors leading to the OR where we were told we could no longer go. We waived good-bye and kissed him and none of us felt even a small twinge of fear or trepidation. What a difference a month makes!! We all felt Vati was in the best possible conditions to undergo this surgery and we expected positive results that would translate into a better quality of life and a longer life.

We quickly packed up a few things and took a taxi home, since Mutti had secured an awesome parking space at the hospital and did not want to lose it. (?) Throughout the morning her cellular kept ringing with various callers asking about Vati. I quickly showered and Mutti ordered my favorite sandwiches from El Espanol for breakfast. When I emerged from the bathroom I found a delicious tray with eggs, my sandwich (which I had for dinner late that night) and a most refreshing and tasty juice from “tree tomatoes”. We were at home far longer than I expected, making it back to the hospital way after 10am. We sent Jesus to the room with our things while we investigated Vati's status. A very friendly security officer informed us Vati was still in the OR. When I challenged him how he’d know that since he did not even know Vati’s name, he showed me the list of patients who had gone onto ICU. Meanwhile, Mutti found a friendly lady medic who slipped her into the pre-OR room, where she clandestinely found out from a compassionate nurse that the main part of the operation had gone well, Vati’s vitals were great and the doctors were still working on “secondary things”.

While Mutti was on her mission, Cecilia Paz arrived. She was on her way to the dermatologist and wanted to know how things were. Mutti came out of the OR area crying, so we both got scared thinking it was bad news. She was crying out of relief… and she did give us a turn of heart!

Shortly thereafter, Ceci left and we sat in one of the waiting rooms, keeping an eagle eye out for the team of medics. I went to the room to get something for Mutti and ran smack into the surgeon on my way back. I immediately asked him if he had spoken with Mutti; he had been looking for her. I brought him to her and he briefly explained that the operation had been a success. He had performed it considering his age and health status to avoid future operations. The intestinal track had been reconnected and there would be no need for a colostomy bag; he did no see any need for any further treatment, such as chemo or radiation. There had been some adhesions among the organs and he had spent an extra hour or so cleaning them up. Vati was soon to wake up from the anesthesia and he would be watched for a while before being taken to the ICU, where he would be for about 24 hours or more, pending how his recovery would go. Dr. Teran had two relieved and grateful women in his arms. I repeatedly told him I could never express how grateful we were for his work and for the way he had handled my father. It was right about noon when we spoke.

Just as Mutti went somewhere to see if she could see him, Ceci and Juanito Moncayo showed up. Once I spotted them I started jumping up and down giving them the thumbs up signal, so they right away knew we had good news. We sat for over an hour in the waiting room prior to the ICU, talking and hoping to catch a glimpse of Vati as they wheeled him by. After an hour we found out they had taking him the back way and he was already there.

I went upstairs after they left to get something to drink, and, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with it all, promptly fell asleep. Apparently , I slept from about 2 until shy of 6pm. Ceci Paz had returned and she and Mutti sat in room 104 and talked while I napped. A little of their conversation managed to seep into my dreams… she spoke of her oldest son, my first crush. He apparently was doing worse than ever and had resorted to begging for money outside shopping malls, so he’d have cash for drugs. Somehow, someone was begging in my dreams… Jose Ricardo has always been a sad case and the last time I saw him, many years ago, he was actually talking like a dumb person. I guess one’s brain does indeed deteriorate with long term drug use. A pity, for he was a fun, funny and very handsome young boy…

When I awoke, the room was empty and it was shy of 6pm. I felt sleepy still, but was also anxious to see Vati - ICU visiting hours were from 6-7pm and I did not want to miss a visit. Mutti walked in and we headed downstairs to see him. She was allowed to enter. She was inside for over 45 minutes, and I was OK with the possibility of not seeing him if it meant she was helping him feel better. While I was standing outside I spotted my Godfather, Rodrigo and his secretary, Patricio. We sat in the waiting room and Rodrigo gave me a nicely wrapped small gift to give to Vati. Suddenly Mutti showed up and rushed me to go in and see him, telling me to tell him he’s OK and to try and calm him down.

I was walked in by the guard, who asked me to wash my hands with a special soap. He donned a gown over my clothes and led me to stall #3. Vati was laying in a rolling bed, looking tired, a bit pale and wane. He seemed calm enough as his gave me a weak and tired smile and tried to talk. I kept gently rubbing his hand and arms. He had wires and cables and stuff everywhere and was hooked onto at least three different monitors. While I was with him, his cardio guy showed up, briefly talked with him, asking him how he was doing, then gave his indications for overnight care. I guess it was changing of the guard time, because a new guard came by and asked to leave. I did so a few short minutes later, feeling sad to have to leave him alone and praying for him to have a good and restful night.

When I came out, Mutti was still talking with Rodrigo. I ran upstairs to get something from our room when the head nurse informed me of we had to “check out” of the room immediately, because the room was needed for another patient and it was hospital policy to empty a room when the patient was in ICU. So, completely unprepared for it, we rushed and packed up and headed home around 8pm.

We ended up both sleeping in their bedroom; Mutti convinced me to sleep on Vati’s bed. We had a peaceful night, hoping and praying for Vati to have a peaceful and restful night also, and grateful for his surgery having gone so utterly well.