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Dear friends and family -
This is your first update on Melody. But before I get to that, I want to offer
my deep gratitude to all 44 of you for being here to support and care for my
beautiful, wonderful wife. Thank you for reaching out to us in this very weird
time.
We arrived on time at Kaiser this morning to get checked in at 10:30. We packed
all our stuff, anticipating that I would be able to stay with her 24/7, only to
find that they are still working COVID protocols, and I (and/or others) will
only be able to visit with her between 11 and 7 once she's in the hospital.
Further, I was not able to stay with her pre-op, as we were hoping I would. We
had about 5 minutes to adjust to this news before they came to take her into
pre-op.
Those of you who know my wife well know that it can be, at times... errrr...
challenging for her when things don't go according to plan (one of the many
idiosyncrasies that make her an interesting and adorable partner), but she was
really centered and though disappointed, very brave and resigned to let the
universe do what the universe is going to do.
In those 5 short minutes, we talked about how surreal this is. We went from zero
to 60 in just under 2 seconds - too little time to really adjust, but with
maximum Gs. She promised to breathe and meditate while she waits, and I assume
they will let me see her tonight. She was in as good of spirits as I could hope
for her to be. Though we are still in shock, we are also optimistic.
She just called me from a nurse's phone to let me know she's going into surgery
now (it was scheduled to start at 12:30, it's 1:20 now). She sounded very strong
and in good spirits. They estimate that surgery could take 4ish hours, followed
by recovery.
I will send updates as it makes sense to do so, but my plan for today is to send
2 more: 1 when she's out of surgery (just to let you know), and another after I
have spoken to the oncologist and have something to report. I assume that could
be much later into the evening, but I have no idea when that will be, so please
be patient.
Please don't take radio silence for bad news - Melody was very clear that I
should share all relevant information with you, so if you don't hear from me,
it's either because I don't have more information yet, I am with her processing,
or I am trying to write things up. Please allow me a bit of slack, and be
assured that you WILL hear from me. She was very clear that she wanted me to be
the conduit of information for her, and this is how we as a family will be
providing it until she indicates otherwise, so please reach out to me if you
need to, or wait for the next update. She will need a lot of rest, so this will
continue at least until she's feeling up to communicating directly, though I am
also concerned about overwhelming her, even with obvious love and care. Your
understanding is very much appreciated!
For now, I am signing off to meditate, lose myself in a little work, and have
dinner with my beautiful children and grandchildren while waiting for the call
to go back to the hospital to be with her for as long as they let me.
Love to you all, and of course to Melody.
Glen
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