Surgery Update from Mayo: Day 1

Yesterday was a long day. We needed to be at the hospital at 6:00am to check in for the surgery. We saw Suzy at 7:30am after she was all changed and ready. She was looking good and was ready to get going.

The surgery started at 8:35am and they called us with an update around 10am to let us know they had removed the tumor and the surgery was moving along well. They had previously estimated the surgery to last from 4–6 hours, so we were excited to hear they were ahead of their schedule. The surgery finished at 12:00pm, and we met with Dr. Lyons who let us know that everything had gone exactly as expected.

Suzy spent a few more hours in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and then was brought over to the ICU. We saw her here at 3:30pm. She was still rather groggy, so we sat by the bed and let her wake a bit more. An hour later, she was more awake, and we chatted a bit. She had some pain at the surgery site, which was expected. They gave her a bit more pain medication, and it worked like a charm. She was feeling much better, so we had a little visit and then headed home to let her get some rest.

We returned to the ICU in the evening around 9:00pm, and Suzy was much more awake. We could tell she was feeling better; the sedatives were wearing off, and she was quizzing us to be sure we had taken care of everything. It was great to see her feeling so good just a few hours after surgery. We spent more than an hour talking with her, and she was even able to eat a little soup. We left her in the excellent care of her nurse, Jenn, and went home to pass out.

Thanks to all the family and friends who have sent their good wishes to Suzy and our family. It is wonderful to have so many amazing people in our lives; you have helped Suzy pull through surgery successfully and we are forever grateful for your kindness and generosity. We are sorry we did not have time to call and talk with each of you yesterday, but Rob completely drained the battery on his phone time times just calling our family with updates.

We’ll keep writing periodic updates on Suzy’s status here, so please check back.

If you would like to send a note to Suzy, please leave a comment on this site. We will be printing your comments and sharing them with Suzy at the hospital—we’re hoping to decorate her room with them!

Thanks again to everyone for your support!