Another Day of Surgery - April 1, 2011

Today began early for Jason, as he was taken into surgery early toady. He typically goes early, as they consider him a priority, which I'm grateful for. The remaining bone in his left leg was removed, and they looked around the wound and found no other damaged/bad tissue, so they didn't have to take away any additional tissue. This was a good news moment, followed by... we need to take him in to surgery again, tomorrow, as we were not able to get him turned on the O.R. table to work on his back. Because of the support structure they are using to stabilize his pelvic area it is difficult to turn Jason over, and it takes extra time. They don't like leaving patients under anesthesia any longer than they have to, and this would have added too much time. Therefore they felt it was better for Jason to go back in for surgery again tomorrow.

This is when they will be able to tell if they were able to remove all the bad stuff that has been embedded in Jason's tissues. They are hopeful that they will find little or no bad tissue, and if that is the case they might even be able to begin some of the close up of his wounds. Jason's doctor spoke with Bridgette, Linda and I today, after she was out of the O.R. and did her best to give us a positive picture of what needs to be done, and she seemed quite positive that all was getting better, so you have to feel that things may be going in the right direction now. She also told us about a conversation she had had with Jason, where he said he was sort of glad that the leg bone was being removed. Because it was as short as it was it was actually causing him some discomfort when he leaned to his left, where on the other side (the right side) he didn't feel that same discomfort when he leaned to his right.

This has been a very difficult journey for all of us, and especially for Bridgette, as she has two little girls to take care of, while trying to provide support to Jason. This has been a difficult journey, and Jason seems to be mentally and emotionally taking it better than anyone else. He doesn't want pity, however, he does recognize that he is going to need help going forward. Please keep him and his family in your prayers, and remember the other guys as they continue to fight over in Afghanistan, and other parts of the world. Pray for a swift end to this conflict so that people can peacefully get back to their regular lives. And, thank you, for your continued support.