Day of Surgery Recap — Nick McFadden

I'll start by saying that Nick's RPLND surgery was complicated but successful, and he's recovering now. The next two days will be the most painful for him as he heals.

Below is a rundown of yesterday:

Nick and I drove to Iowa City on Tuesday night since we had to be at the hospital at 5:30 am.

Once we checked in at the surgery lounge, we were ushered back to a prep room where we met with nurses, the chaplain (for a quick prayer), surgical resident, anesthesiologist, and doctor who would be performing the surgery. Each one ran through the risks, which included bleeding, infection, nerve and vessel damage, and the potential loss of a kidney. The complexity of the surgery would be determined by how "sticky" the tumor would be and what vessels it might be attached to, which is why a vascular surgeon was a part of the surgery.

Nick's dad, Gary, and his sister, Christy, joined us at this time too. It was Gary's birthday, so we promised him we'd have a good celebration later.

As 7:30 approached, it was time for hugs and some teary goodbyes. Even though we had full confidence in the doctors and nurses, it has been such an emotional year for us both. This last hurdle in the process has filled us both with anxiety and anticipation.

While Gary, Christy, and I headed down to the cafeteria where we we enjoyed Hibachi-style omelets and weak coffee; Nick was rolled to the OR to have a breathing tube placed and an arterial IV installed in anticipation of needing a potential blood transfusion..

And, then, the waiting game began...

After breakfast, we made our way to the 8th floor surgery lounge near Elevator F "for family." Navigation at the University of Iowa Hospitals is mostly by elevator letter, which is surprisingly confusing as hell. We joked that we needed at least three people to find our way: one to remember the elevator letter, one to remember the floor, and one to remember the actual directions (left, right, turn around).

At 9:00 am we received the first update that the procedure had begun and Nick was doing fine.

The next couple of hours were uneventful. I gave myself little tasks throughout the day to keep my mind occupied. Tracking down pillows and blankets for us was task number one. Grading a few assignments for my online class was next.

The next update came in at 11:00, which was "the doctors are working and he's doing fine."

I asked for more details, but they weren't available; so I went to a cafe near the lounge, bought a seven layer bar, and paced the outdoor patio for a while.

The afternoon went by slowly and updates came in more slowly as well. We walked the halls, checked out the gift shop, and tried to find a comfortable place to wait. By 5:00, I was starting to worry that I hadn't taken the chaplain's prayer seriously enough. My mind raced with all the complications. We all kept checking the status board on the wall, but his number hadn't budged.

By about 5:45 I took Elevator F (F for something I can't write here) down to the main surgery center to ask for an update. They were closing Nick up.

The doctor started his consultation with us by saying, "What a day."

What surprised the doctor is that the tumor was sticking to the ureter and the aorta, which they weren't expecting. The aorta had to be patched in a few places as did the ureter. There was also some damage to the lymph nodes and some veins.

For the next few days, they'll be monitoring the fluid in his abdomen through a drain in his side.

The great news is that the tumor is officially out! According to the doctor, it appeared to be necrotic (dead tissue), but we'll know for certain after labs come back.

We finally saw Nick again at 8:30 p.m. yesterday.

Today, he was able to sit upright and take a few steps.

We both greatly appreciate all the offers to help out while he recovers. Nick and I will be keeping everyone posted in the days to come.

The waiting area

The artwork in Nick's room