He may have surgery

We are not 100% certain yet, but the specialist said everything that the surgeon has been saying. Danny really likes Dr. Newton, but he didn't have much to add. This is really a good thing though. I'd be very concerned about his care if Dr. Newton said that the current physicians were doing many things wrong. He did say that if Danny waited to have elective surgery for diverticulosis 2 months down the road he'd like him to keep the drain tube in for the entire time. None of the other physicians had said that. That way any infection that accumulates would not cause a problem. So then our discussion was should he live with a painful drain tube for 2 months or a temporary colostomy for 2 months.

Then his current surgeon came in and explained that if somebody were to bump into his colostomy it wouldn't hurt, but the drain tube is incredibly painful even when his gown brushes up against it. He saw the current surgeon after he saw the specialist today. After talking with the surgeon this evening he has a few more questions for the specialist. Depending on how that goes I think he'll either have surgery on Saturday or on Tuesday. He wants to get home as soon as possible and we all feel that surgery is the only way for that to happen. His surgeon is out of town until Tuesday. She's been on the case since day 1 and we both really like her and are confident in her decisions. We don't really know Dr. Newton, but he does specialize in this area and we've heard great things about him. So if Danny feels confident after discussing the additional questions tomorrow he may just say do it now. If Danny has any doubt we will wait until Tuesday and have the specialist do the surgery with his current surgeon assisting or possibly the other way around. His current surgeon (Dr. Mossadegh) said that Dr. Newton is one of the best in his field and that she is not at all upset that we called him in. She assured us that it is always wise to have another opinion especially after so long in the hospital. She said that it is completely up to us who does the surgery. She even said that she could assist him if we'd like or just be in the room for the surgery. Or we could just have him do it or have her do it with or without his assistance. This was a big issue for us. We both think Dr. Mossadegh is a fantastic physician and we were really struggling with calling in a specialist and possibly having her leave the case. She put all of our worries at ease. Personally I'd like her assisting with the surgery just because she is so familiar with his case. She's the doctor that spent so much time reviewing his chart with us and figured out that the antibiotics were making him sick. Honestly, we've become emotionally attached to her. Her input and presence each evening is very reassuring to both of us.

I hope all of this makes sense. I know I tend to ramble on, but it is almost 11 and my mind isn't working too well. The time stamp on my blogs are wrong because I haven't fixed my computer since the time change...oh well.

He's still feeling pretty good today. Physical therapy is wearing him out though. Just the little bit of exercises and walking leaves him exhausted. He has a fantastic nurse this evening so I'm sure he will get some rest tonight. His nurse last night was new to the hospital and couldn't figure out how to program his two IV pumps so they kept going off all night. Then when he finally got to sleep after all of that the PCA came in to take his vitals. He was rather frustrated this morning when I called and woke him around 9.

Again, thanks to everyone for all of the cards, emails, e-greetings, and visits as well as the support and prayers.