8 o’clock, they took Olin in to surgery.
9:15 first incision.
9:40 on the heart/lung bypass machine.
Still waiting, of course.
Edited August 26, 2014 to add some reflections:
After Olin went in to surgery, we were told that the surgery would take 4 to 5 hours, and offered thee service of a nurse who would call with periodic updates. In retrospect, it was a case of “too much information is too much information. The times I posted above were when she called me with updates. There is nothing quite like getting a brief ring to say, “We’re cutting your baby open, now!” and “He’s dead, now!”
I was actually grateful for the housing ‘crisis’ we encountered. We had been counting on staying at the Ronald McDonald house, but you’re not allowed to make reservations, just get put on a list after the hospital calls to confirm that your family member is actually an inpatient. So when our names went on the list, were number 41 in line. The night before, we had one of the worst hotel stays I have ever experienced at the Folksdahl, and I had no idea what we’d do if we couldn’t get in to RMH, because we definitely couldn’t afford a hundred dollars a night for hotel rooms the whole time, and I was way too pregnant to be sleeping in a hospital recliner. Calling around, trying to figure out the situation was an excellent distraction for me. I’m good at crisis – I’m not good at sitting around, waiting and wondering what’s going on.
At about 2 hours in when they called us back to the consult room because “the surgeon wants to talk” to us, I freaked out a little inside. The surgery was supposed to last 4-5 hours! If they were done this soon, it definitely couldn’t be good. Thankfully, it was, but that was a very tense morning.