My Dear Friends,
Your prayers must be working, because I am delighted to report that my Dad’s surgery went well, and so far, he’s doing great. Thank you so much for your concern and kind words.
As most of you probably know, my father, Henry, has been fighting cancer for the last couple of years. It kept coming back, and each time more aggressive. It was limited to his bladder, so the doctors decided the best course of action was to remove his bladder and prostate. That surgery took place yesterday. It was a very long day for all of us, but especially my poor Dad.
I had to have my Dad at the hospital by 7:00 AM, which meant getting up at 5:30 AM, showering and making the drive across town to get him and his long time friend and roommate, Arlene to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital right on time. He was prepped, but his 9:00 AM surgery was delayed till 10:40 AM. He was in good spirits and even joked around a bit with the nurses; a good sign.
The surgery was long, about six hours, ending at 5:00 PM. Man, I don’t know how doctors do it. Wow.
I knew we were in good shape when Doctor Law appeared wearing a big grin. “He did great!” said the doctor. It appears the cancer has not spread, it was indeed contained to the bladder, and now that the bladder has been removed, he should be cancer free. The Doc said Dad’s heart-rate was steady as a rock throughout the surgery, there were no surprises and that everything went textbook smooth.
We didn’t get to see my Dad till about 8:00 PM in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). He was pretty out of it and just slept. I sent Arlene and her son, Mark home around 10:00 PM, there was no reason for all us to stay, and Arlene who has ITP and other problems herself, should not be overdoing it.
I had planned to go home and get some sleep at midnight, but couldn’t bring myself to leave his side. Dad had a fever (to be expected after surgery) and his blood pressure was low (some reason for concern), so I decided I’d spend the night with him in ICU. I just didn’t want him to wake up and not know where he was and not see a friendly face. The nurses were very nice, brought me a pillow, sheet and blanket, and I slept in the chair. I managed to grab an hour’s sleep here and there, and was there to hold his hand and comfort Dad when they had to redo the tube in his nose to his stomach at 3:00 AM.
Dad started to snap out of the grogginess of the anaesthesia and pain medicine this morning around 7:00 AM. His doctor showed up around that time, looked him over, and flashing that grin again, reported that everything looked find and that Dad was doing GREAT and would be with us for years to come. “Great.” I think it’s my new favorite word. Doing great. What a relief.
Of course, my father, Henry, is 79 (he’ll be 80 years old December 14, 2010), so there are some concerns about infection and recovery, but so far so good. Whew. Thank God.
I stayed with my Dad till about 10:00 AM, grabbed breakfast from a fast food place, and went home and grabbed an hour of sleep. Arlene called me to get a progress report and to let me know she would be at the hospital by noon. I got to the office around 1:00 this afternoon (Wednesday. September 1, 2010). I'll be seeing my Dad again later this evening. What a trooper. If all goes well, he should be back home in 7-10 days.
As for me, I realize I must have been running on adrenaline the last few days, because I suddenly feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.
My nap seems to have only made me feel more tired. I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow after a good night of sleep, but right now, I’m moving slow and a little blurry-eyed myself. I want to thank you for all your kind words, warm thoughts and prayers for my Dad and I. They are very much appreciated.
I’ll be riding out to the hospital every afternoon or evening, and will keep you posted. Of course, I’ll be pounding out new books and products too. More product news tomorrow. Game on!
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
© Copyright September 1, 2010 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural, Dead Reign, Warpath, Shemarrian Nation, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.