a silent night

I have been going through my "drafts" posts tonight and have found this gem written on December 22, 2009...

"I need a silent night, a holy night, to hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise. I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here, to end this crazy day with a silent night." from "A Silent Night" by Amy Grant

December 21st, 2009...when the "shortest" day of the year became the longest.

Scott had his heart surgery yesterday. We were at the hospital at 5:30 for pre-op...thinking surgery would start around 6:30 or 7:00 am. And, possibly it would have had there not been an emergency around 4 am which not only took the operating room, but also Dr. Chen, Scott's surgeon. Poor Scott, who hadn't eaten since before midnight, finally went back for pre-op a little after 12 noon and surgery started after 2pm. His surgery ended around 11:30 pm. It became rather comical during each update call during surgery when I would ask for an approximation of how much longer the answer was always 2-3 more hours.

During our first half of waiting together, Pastor Brian was there with us, keeping us company. I was able to take a short nap on Scott's shoulder while they chatted. Very nice for me, being the morning person that I am and all. Ha! We saw alot of people come in for surgery with their family and friends...and I saw them all go, as well, throughout the day. I had a nice lunch in the cafeteria after Scott went back to pre-op and Pastor Brian left. My father-in-law, Doug, came after lunch. I was able to take a nap while Doug walked Eric, Scott's brother, who came for a brief visit, out to his car.

Sitting can wear a person out like nothing else. Strange phenomenon if you ask me, but so true. My whole body hurt by the end of the night...and I took walks throughout the day, too. Craziness. Also, crazy was the fact that in spite of the instruction given verbally about 6 am by the person in charge (official title unknown) to set phones to vibrate, there were ringers going off all day long. Funny thing...I began to recognize the ringers to the owners.

Between the phones and the beepers the family members held, it's surprising that I could get in as much sleep as I did. I do remember jumping a couple of times, only to realize it was another phone or beeper going off near me. I can sleep pretty much anywhere, though, when I've been up since 4:30.

We moved upstairs to the ICU waiting room a bit before 11 pm. Scott was rolled past us headed for his room around 11:30. So happy to finally see an end to our day and we could all rest. Scott was kept asleep by medication all night and they would wake him up at 5:30 am, but I knew that so when I went in to see him I knew what to expect, which was nice. The OR nurse kept us informed all day pretty much every two hours just like she said she would. That was very reassuring. Didn't stay long...didn't need to really. He was fine and being well taken care of.