UPDATE #2: Cranioplasty is scheduled: March 6th

Date: Friday, March 6, 2009, 4:12 PM

Update: I went back to see Wayne at about 1 PM in the Recovery Room area and he was groggy from the anesthesia but looked really good. He was extubated (breathing tube out of his throat) and I'll say it again... he was looking really great!

The original plan communicated by the surgeon was to have him moved to an ICU floor for 'close watching' until tomorrow (Saturday) morning. At that time the plan was to move him to an acute care floor, where patients move when they are more stable.

So, what actually happened was, while I was in the Recovery Room talking to the nurse, he said that Wayne was moving to the 6th floor in the Norm Maleng building which in an acute care floor. I said, "Really? They said he'd go to ICU." And the nurse confirmed that he was doing so well that he was being moved straight to the acute care floor. YAY!!!

I have gone in to see him twice at 2:00 and at 3:00 and he is just looking so great! Three friends have also seen him now and they are AMAZED! They said they couldn't believe how great he looked.

I'll send another update when I can. Morgan is napping right now, so "all is good". ;)

Sincerely,
Julie Bacon

UPDATE: Cranioplasty is scheduled: March 6th

Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 10:55:50 -0800

So, Wayne was taken back at 7:40 from the admitting room.

And now I just got an update that "they are closing". So that seems to be GREAT news that it's done seemingly "early" (and the fact that no one came out to tell me of any complicatoins during the surgery).

Soooo... YAY!!!!

I was also told that it will be anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour before I get to go back to see him. But, Dr. Kim, our surgeon, will be coming to talk to me shortly and telling me more about the surgery, how it went, etc., etc.

I will be in touch more in a bit (or when I can). I met some great ladies in the waiting room, so they have been talking with me to pass the time, telling me their story, and me telling ours. Right now one of the gals is walking around with Morgan so I can type this.

Also, I'd like to say THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU for all of the positive energy you have been sending us, your hopes and dreams for us, helping us to succeed with the hurdles we've encountered this year, and for your continued support and love.

Sincerely,
Julie Bacon

Cranioplasty is scheduled: March 6th @ ~8 AM

Subject: Cranioplasty is scheduled: March 6th @ ~8 AM
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 10:39:06 -0800

Hello there, everyone.

Well, I am very excited to be emailing this news--we are scheduled for surgery this Friday, March 6th.

This surgery is called a "cranioplasty", which in Wayne's case is the replacing of the left half of Wayne's skull. That plate has been frozen at Harborview since April 2nd, 2008 and they cultured it and there is no bacteria, so it's "a go" in terms of using that original piece of bone (if the bone wasn't going to work, they would have created a titanium or plastic plate with his original bone as the "mold").

The check-in time is at 6 AM on Friday, March 6th and the nurse said that Wayne will be taken back to get prepped for surgery around 7:00 or 7:30 AM. So, he'll likely go into surgery around 8 AM, and although they haven't given me a time-frame, I would think the actual surgery will take about 2 to 3 hours, and then he'll be in a recovery room for about another hour. At that point (about 11 AM or 12:00 PM?), from what a nurse told us, he'll be taken to the 2nd floor ICU and then we will be allowed to go back and see him. He'll spend the night in ICU and will be transferred to an "acute" floor on Saturday morning (probably 3W, where he was from April 10th-April 24th, 2008). Then, if all goes well, he'll be discharged on Saturday afternoon. (I want to say, "Are you joking?!" to the doctors. Ack!) No, but seriously, we'll be fine--it'll be good to get him out of the hospital (where infections like MRSA and sicknesses run rampant) and home with us. Plus he'll have his noggin back together--all will be GREAT! ;)

Please feel free to come by on Friday and hang with me and Morgan in the waiting room, or on Saturday to say "hi" to us and take a walk with me and Morgan, or take Morgan for a walk--I will have my cell phone on and feel free to text us as well. We were told that we'll be in one of two surgery waiting rooms; one is on the Ground floor in the new Norm Maleng building, or the other one, which a few of us know far-too-well, is in the back of the cafeteria (where we all spent that 2nd night of this whole journey waiting to hear if Wayne survived the craniotomy).

Also, feel free to send positive energy into the universe under Wayne, my, and/or Morgan's name. Even if it's just remembering a funny story about him/us/me/Morgan, or visualizing his brain healing and staying intact and not bleeding during this surgery, or visualizing him smiling and hugging me & Morgan afterwards, or thinking about him talking again one day... as I said that 2nd night when they were doing the craniotomy, "Just remember him like he was... visualize him walking, talking, and being Wayne..." send that out into the universe... We will get him back!

I believe with all of my heart, soul, and being that everything will go well and that there will be no complications (easy peasy, as Wayne would say).

Alrighty--I better get back to work. Just wanted to let you all know this information.

One note for international friends and family: we can't receive internationally-sent texts to our phones, but I found out that we can receive emails to our phones, which are counted like a text--my phone is 2064787127@vtext.com or Wayne's phone at 2064780258@vtext.com. We only receive the first 160 characters, so type the email like it's a txt.

Sincerely and with Much Love,
Julie Bacon