Good News!

Maryan came through the surgery just fine, in fact within about 30 minutes of them wheeling her into the room she was asking what she had to do to go home!

She’s dealing with some post-op discomfort, but, as far as I can tell, (and from what she’s said) the pain now is substantially less than she had before surgery.

As I was waiting for her surgery to be completed, I found myself thinking about medical care today. Ten or fifteen years ago my friend Larry had a cervical fusion similar to the ones I had a couple of years ago. His surgery lasted a couple of hours or more, the bone graft came from his hip, and he was in the hospital for nearly a week.

Today, well yesterday, Maryan was in, and out of the OR in under an hour an a half, up in her room within the next hour, and on her way home within five and a half hours of the start of the surgery!

So, here we are, a complicated neurosurgical procedure now takes less time than the average brake job, and the patient is on their way home about as fast as the owner would be picking up the car!

I’m more than a little amazed. I’ve been giving 1st hand witness to the changes in the computer industry in terms of speed and performance, but had never really thought about the changes and improvements in medicine. I don’t know why this all didn’t strike me after my surgery, but it sure hit me square in the eyes yesterday!

Sure, bringing her home so soon after a procedure like that is a little scary, I found myself worrying about a car accident for the first time in decades, as she was in a pretty delicate condition. However, having her home, where I knew she’d get what ever she needed, was far better than being here and wondering if her needs were being attended to. (After her hysterectomy the night shift folks were a little less than ‘helpful’)

Anyway, that’s my thought this morning, after a late night and early morning… maybe I’ll have more to say later, maybe not!

I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to write a comment letting me know you were thinking of us, and wishing her well. It’s funny, but, in some ways this ‘blogging’ thing makes me feel close to all of you, and knowing you’re out there, and care, is a nice feeling for sure!

So, all in all, we had a successful day yesterday. She’s feeling better this morning than she was last night. She’s able to walk around with less and less pain by the hour…. And… the pain she’s having is from the surgery and distinctly different than what she was feeling before surgery.

So, thanks again for all the thoughts and well wishes… each of them was greatly appreciated!!