April 16, 2013....SURGERY DAY!

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This is how I slept from Saturday until Tuesday

I didn't get that much sleep prior to the morning of Nate's surgery. With the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and street closures, I thought I was going to have to face this alone. But, low and behold, Stephen walked into our room right before 6:00 a.m. Thank God! I don't think I was ever so happy to see him! Nathan was also very excited to see him too!

My Mom arrived soon after. I knew it would take a lot to keep her from the hospital. It was a bit scary for her walking past all of the armed guards (for security after the bombing), but she didn't care; as long as she got there.  We were told that Nate would be taken down right before 10 a.m. The team from Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) came in to tell us that they can't confirm their original news until the pathology comes back, which usually takes about a week. Wow...what a roller coaster. On Saturday, we were told the tumor was benign and wouldn't require treatment. On Monday, we were told that after the surgery, he would begin treatment. Now, they were telling us that they really didn't know what to expect. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. The uncertainty of it all was just beyond overwhelming.

We were quickly becoming impatient; it was already after 10, and we just wanted this done and over with already. The nurses finally came to get us and we started to walk down to the elevator. You think you're strong and then it becomes reality that you're walking your baby into brain surgery. It was such a surreal feeling. We all get into the elevator and the nurse gets a call that the operating room is now unavailable. Are you serious?? Nate's surgery required the surgical suite with the inter-operative MRI (What is it?) and it was being used. Later on, we would find out that a child that was injured in the bombing was having emergency surgery. And just like that, we were slapped back into reality that things could be worse. So, we headed back upstairs to wait some more. Thankfully, it wasn't that much longer. Nate was finally taken back right before noon. They were nice enough to let all of us go back to pre-op with him. It was really helpful to have my Mom there with us. The anesthesiologist was incredible and the nursing staff was awesome. I will never, ever forget that the nurse that took him back took my hand and asked me what Nate's favorite song was. I told her he liked, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." She told me that everything was going to be okay and started to wheel him back, all while singing the song. She probably has no idea what impact that had on us.

We weren't exactly sure how long the surgery was going to be. We went into the waiting room and met up with Stephen's parents and one of his aunts. His cousin, Alaina, also stopped by to be with us. It was such a good feeling that we had so much support. People tend to forget that when something like this happens, it not only affects the immediate family, but also trickles down and affects everyone that loves and supports the family! We were thankful that Stephen's family organized a mass in honor of Nate the Sunday before the surgery. We had countless number of people praying for us. We knew it would get through surgery safely.

Nate was back in his room by 2:30 p.m. While he was in recovery, we met with his neurosurgeon, Dr. Goumnerova. She felt the surgery was successful, despite not being able to take a biopsy. The brain stem tissue had grown over the tumor so it was very dangerous to attempt a biopsy. She felt that it looked as though it was a low grade glioma (What is it?), consistent with what they originally thought. She felt that he wouldn't require any treatment, outside of MRI's every 3 months to be sure that the tumor wasn't growing aggressively. This made us extremely hopeful.

So happy to finally have milk after fasting for 12+ hours!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and letting Nate rest. He responded quite well and was actually active throughout the day. He was definitely happy to not have a drain coming out of his head! He was excited to have visitors as well. We were able to spend time with my Mom, Stephen's parents & aunt, our friend Ashley, and the wonderful Mother Olga (Who is she?). She was such a special part of our time in Boston.