The day started pretty good. We were supposed to report to the hospital at 7:30 a.m. and his surgery was supposed to begin about 11:00. Shannon was Dr. Shanks second surgery and apparently the first surgery ran a little long. They didn't actually take Shannon back to surgery until around 12:45 p.m. I think the added time waiting, made us both a little more anxious. Shannon said he really wanted to be the first patient so he could be in and out and not have to wait. Sometimes, we don't get everything we wish for. Dr. Shanks came by to see us before the surgery and was kind enough to let me know he read my blog. I was a little dumbfounded and impressed that this Dr. had time to sit and read my thoughts. I guess Shannon and I have made a good impression- or at least that's what I'm going to believe.
When they wheeled Shannon back for surgery, one of the nurses asked him what he did for employment. Shannon explained to her that he was a Christian Music Entertainer and she asked him if he knew "Amazing Grace." He quickly replied he definitely knew that and then she asked him if he could sing "Page 370." To which Shannon quickly replied "Victory in Jesus." Anyhow, Shannon never turns down an audience, so he sang for the nurses and staff before surgery. I think they all knew what Shannon did for a living and they were just testing him to see if he was good at what he did. I suppose they figured that out.
This is where the endless day of waiting began. To pass the time, I wrote a blog. After I finished that, I played what felt like about 6,247 games of Solitaire on my phone. I anticipated the surgery to run a little long, but I definitely didn't expect it to last 5 1/2 hours. The only updates I got throughout the whole surgery was that surgery was still in progress and everything was going well. Somewhere around the 5 hour mark, I got antsy, nervous, etc. I think for the most part, I was mentally and physically exhausted at that point.
After the surgery, Dr. Shanks came out to meet me. Sometimes by the look on someones face you can tell when something wasn't exactly quite right. I knew by the look on his face that there was something, I just didn't know what. Shannon is a very complicated person. He is extremely sensitive to the touch, has these crazy responses called "vagal" responses where he will pass out if his body senses anything weird, etc.,and he's been known to have a panic attack or two. Basically, during the surgery process, every single weird body thing that Shannon has, happened. At some point during the surgery, Shannon's blood pressure shot up extremely high and his face drew up. Dr. Shanks was concerned that there could have been a stroke during the surgery. When he came out to talk to me, he let me know that Shannon was down having a CT Scan to rule that out. The brain is very complicated and sometimes things happen that the Dr.'s can't explain. This was basically one of those times. I am grateful to tell you that his face is back to normal, and there was NO stroke. I didn't release this information last night because I didn't want to scare anyone if there was no reason to. But, this explains why we got to stay in ICU last night instead of a regular room. Dr. Shanks wanted Shannon to have a little extra supervision, just because it would make everybody feel better based on the days events.
I will tell everyone that Dr. Shanks said he got great responses from Shannon during surgery. Did I mention he was awake for the whole process? They did numb him where they were working, but he was not under anesthesia. It did take about 4 times more numbing medicine that what it takes a normal person, but what do you expect, it's Shannon we are talking about. So back to the responses, when they put the stimulating probes in yesterday, they do turn on the generator to try to see where is the best placement. Dr. Shanks told me that they did see many positive signs when they turned the generator on. One instance was in Shannon's hands. He said when they turned everything on, his hands relaxed quite a bit. I am so thankful for that.
We had a long night last night, with frequent wake ups, but all in all I feel rested. I know I will definitely want a nap eventually, but I don't feel exhausted like I did last week. It excites me to know that we are 2/3 of the way through with this process. Next week will end the surgical process. We have waited for this day for so long. I am extremely optimistic about Shannon's future in the Dystonia world. I think after it's all said and done Shannon needs a t-shirt that says "I kicked Dystonia to the curb!"
Hopefully, I will only have to update you a few more times regarding this dumb Dystonia and then I can get back to my more fun, entertaining blogs. Until then....
