We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning to begin the long surgery day. Brent and I were able to be in the room with Cade until they wheeled him back to the operating room. They wheeled him back at about 7:30 in the morning. It was definitely a lot harder to watch him be wheeled away than i was expecting it to be. We received our first text update at about 10 in the morning that Cade had went to sleep without any trouble and the actual surgery was now beginning.

Around 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon the surgeon came out to tell us that everything went well and they considered this to be a success. Plastic surgery was still closing up the surgical site so we still had to wait to see Cade. Around 4:15 in the afternoon the plastic surgeon came out to tell us that closure went well. They only placed one drain in and originally we thought they would place two. Cade was being cleaned up and the breathing tube was being removed and then they would wake him up. We still weren’t able to see him.

Finally at about 6 pm we were able to get to see Cade in his ICU room. Cade became chatty after a while and Brent and I were getting some good laughs in. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw him as the original plan was that he would need to be on bi-pap after surgery for a while, but his oxygen levels were so good that he was able to get by with just the nasal cannula!! Sleep is pretty hard to come by in the ICU but Cade had a night nurse that he loved to ask questions to. He was so patient with Cade and answered all his questions. Brent and I tried to sleep as much as possible.

Cade has found a new love for heated blankets. He got one while he was in pre-op and now he just keeps asking for them! I told Brent I was going to be in trouble about that when we go home!

Today we are working on pain management. Cade is being moved from the ICU as soon as there is a bed available on the surgical floor which is great news! His morphine block is wearing off so he is feeling a bit more pain. We will have better pain management when we can get some food in him as we are transitioning to oral pain meds. Overall he is doing amazingly well! We are so proud of him!

I’ve read to him the many cards he has received already and he loves getting them. Thank you to all who have already sent one! The nurse even made a comment on whether or not Cade even knew that many people when I was reading to him! He is definitely feeling the love.

We appreciate all the love and prayers that have been shown our family! We definitely felt comforted by all the prayers. We kept feeling like we should have been more nervous or asking more questions, but we just knew that God had placed us with the right team for this surgery!

We are looking forward to our visit with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kim, to being able to watch Cole’s football game online since we can’t be there in person, and to the start of college football!

Blessings. Lynnette