November 1st, 2002 - 10AM CST:
This morning my Abba woke up just before sunrise and begin the home prep for the surgery. Just before the sun was visible in the sky we met in the living room and did a bit of praying. Three car-loads of people then went to the hospital and checked him in. As my brother and I entered the hospital the folks at the information desk were excited to tell us that our father had been there... and as they put it... he is "quite a character". He was in high spirits this morning and went into the surgery feeling pretty good about everything. My mother, uncle, brother and close friends have all been here at the hospital lending support and waiting. There will probably not be much more to report for at least a couple more hours. Our best estimate will have him out of surgery sometime mid-afternoon... but we don't know the exact time they began so that really is more of a guess. I'll report more later.

November 1st, 2002 - 10:30AM CST:
We've just been informed that my Abba is on bypass and the surgery is going well. Everyone is hanging in there and keeping spirits high. Thank you all for your support and e-mails and messages. As soon as my Abba is able to hear me I'll be reading them to him. In the meantime they've been a great comfort to the rest of us.

November 1st, 2002 - 1:15PM CST:
We've just been informed that the repair of my Abba's Aorta went well and with no complication. He is now in the process of being "warmed" from his deep hypothermic sleep. They will check his heart in about 15 minutes to see if it is ready to work on its own - sans machine - and then they will finish up the surgery. The report at this point is completely positive and the news is of great comfort. I'll report more soon.

November 1st, 2002 - 2:00PM CST:
We've just been informed that my Abba's heart is beating on its own and he's been taken off the heart and lung machine. As I type this they are finishing his surgery - closing him up. They've said that everything went well and that they are pleased with the results. Next step will be that he is moved to Intensive Care for the first part of his inpatient recovery. I'll update more as I know more.

November 1st, 2002 - 2:55PM CST:
We've just been informed that my Abba is out of surgery and is being moved to the ICU. Dr. Olinger tells us that the surgery went well and that the heart and brain returned to normal very quickly. The update on schedules for the next 24 hours is as follows - Dr. Olinger believes that it is possible that he will be awake as early as the middle of the night and extubated as early as sometime tomorrow. After he's extubated he will have a very soar throat for some time... and so talking will not really be much of a possibility at first... so keep the e-mails coming. I'll update more as soon as I hear more but for now the general feeling is things went really well and everything is progressing as expected.

November 1st, 2002 - 4:30PM CST:
We've been in visiting with my Abba. He is awake and we're excited to have a chance to visit with him so quickly. He looks pissed off that he has to be hooked up to all the machines and tubes. He is showing so much determination in recovery that this may prove to be a quick move away from mechanical dependency toward independence. The group of hospital goers is feeling much better now that we've had a chance to see his progress first hand. Keep an eye on the images section. As soon as we have a picture of my Abba in recovery we'll post his smiling face for all of you. Remember, that he's still not ready for visitors. Keep an eye on the website and we'll let you know as soon as you can come visit.

November 1st, 2002 - 5:30PM CST:
My Abba's been extubated and is terribly excited to see all of us. He was awake, alert, and telling jokes. He was impressed that it was only a short time after the surgery - as they had told all of us that they expected him to be out for a lot longer. He is in a lot of pain but as he put it, it's good pain - it reminds him that he's alive and healing from such an ordeal. Tomorrow he'll be up walking around and hopefully that means he'll be able to move into a regular room (out of the Intensive Care Unit) which will mean he will be able to have visitors. I'll post info to the how to get a message to my Abba section of the website as soon as there is more info on when and where you can visit or call.

November 1st, 2002 - 8:15PM CST:
Visiting hours ended at the hospital and we were shooed out so they could wash up and get my Abba ready for bed. My brother's theory is that they need to clean off the yellow of the betadine because it's clashing with the teal of the gown. My Abba's nurse wouldn't comment on what color they were going to paint him next. As may not come as a surprise, my Abba seems to be getting the white glove treatment (well... okay... in hospitals the gloves are now usually blue or green or purple... but you get the idea). In the waiting room during the surgery, it was remarkable how many doctors from all over the hospital came down to check on his progress. When he was done with the surgery and moved to the ICU, the nurse that was assigned to him was the head nurse in the ICU (Paul - who, by the way, was just married last week and begins his honeymoon in a couple of days). Paul is just as much a personal trainer as he is a medical provider. He spends most of his time sitting in the doorway to my Abbas room watching him, occasionally shouting gentle reminders that deep breathes remove the risk of pneumonia and that he's doing really well. Paul seems most concerned with this motivation but seems to see his job as pretty easy with my Abba because my Abba's motivation is quite pronounced to begin with. Tomorrow we won't be able to visit with him until after 11AM CST so don't expect an update until sometime after that. As my Abba said, Shabbat Shalom and love to you all!