Team Bud Update

It was a long day filled with waiting, waiting and more waiting, but Dad's surgery went quicker than the surgeon had anticipated and he's doing great! 

Things got off to a rocky start - the surgeon had an emergency case downtown and was two and a half hours late. Bud kept saying over and over "I'm ready. Let's get this thing over with." He was antsy, but he never got mad; he just wanted it to get over with. Before they took him back, his nurse explained what would happen. They said that they would come to the waiting room three times - the first to tell us when the surgery started, the second to tell us when he went on bypass, the third to tell us when he went off of bypass. They said this whole part would take about four hours. But in typical Bud fashion, he proved them wrong. They started at 3:45, put him on bypass at 4:35. Then the surgeon went to work, and they took him off of bypass at 5:40 and then started to close. So the actual "fixing" part took way less than they anticipated -- a mega good sign. We waited some more and then the surgeon came to talk to us and said things went great, and he commented on how tough Bud was (like that's something we didn't already know). Then we waited some more for them to move him back to his room in the unit, and then we waited some more for them to get to see him. He had great color, and his nurse (who would be there in his room with him all night) said that he even woke up once on his own. Said that she would decrease his sedation and hoped to get him off of the ventilator during the night, and that they would have him up and moving around tomorrow. 

I want to thank the Lord for answering all of the prayers that were said on behalf of my Dad. Prayers made all the difference; that, and his determination to get his garden out this spring. 

I want to thank each and everyone of you for your prayers, emails, phone calls, texts and your support and concern; for most of you, concern for a man you've never even met. Even though the bypass surgery is over, the hard part of the journey begins as he recovers. Please continue to pray - for healing, patience, and strength.