Huntsman

Erik is doing well.  He's snoozing away.
We arrived at 6am to check in and do pre-operative tasks.  We spoke with both teams of surgeons... one being Dr. Bentz (doing the resection of the cancer) and the other, Dr. Hunt, doing the reconstruction of the jaw.  After having his IV and all the other stuff they do... we gave each other hugs and said goodbye.   Dennis and I have memorized the waiting room.  They do have wonderful people around. There are those that are waiting who have loved ones that are in surgery and those that work here.  There are volunteers to just be a kind and friendly face to all around and hand out snacks, too.  They are here to assist the receptionists and help answer questions and explain the surgery color coded TV chart.   Erik's column is really really long..... meaning, he's in surgery for a long time.  It changes colors when they are being prepped, in surgery, then post op... then to recovery, and so forth.  It's almost 5pm now and we still get to wait for another 4 or 5 hours... and probably a little bit after he's been in recovery.  They will send him up to the 5th floor where he'll be in intermittent care for a few days.  We're anxious.  But very glad they don't rush things.  They take time for every detail. 

They are taking part of his fibula bone and using the healthy veins and arteries with it to replace part of his jaw bone.  Dr. Bentz was finished with his part about 1:30 or so.  He chatted with us to report about the success that he and his team had with removing the tumors next to his jaw bone along with taking out the cancerous part of his jaw bone.  All the frozen sections they tested at the moment were negative... meaning they removed the cancer and got clear margins.  They know more official results as they send tissue off to the pathology labs in the next few days.  So far so good.

We get an update from the O.R. nurse about every 2 hours. That's helps.  We have been keeping busy with Christmas cards, with the wifi, chatting with others... and enjoying the company of Barbie, Dennis' sister.  She brought us Café Rio lunch.  We have done this before... so we brought a lot of things to do...but it 's hard to really concentrate for very long.  I am reverting back to my early childhood... a short attention span.  haha

We are grateful for lots of prayers and love from everyone.  We feel blessed to have great friends and family who have expressed their love and concern for Erik.  When a tragedy or illness of this magnitude strikes... it makes one focus on the importance of what life is all about.  Family.... the gospel of Jesus Christ, friends and love.   I've especially thinking about all this at Christmas time as I have been busy preparing for the holiday season knowing that I would need to put all my efforts toward my family's needs and especially Erik's.  It has helped me to simplify...to still make our home Christmas atmosphere and full of the holiday spirit, but to not get too carried away.  When unpacking the various nativity sets and setting them out "just right".... I had a peaceful feeling and a love for our Savior.

We will continue to keep updates posted as we know it and have a chance to post them.