Phase Three Comlete!

Kristine's doctor just came out to talk to me letting me know everything went extremely well! The team is just closing her up then she will head to the recovey room for a couple of hours. They are going to keep her in ICU for a day or two just for the more intensive monitoring in that area. I'll post more later after I talk to her tonight.

Greg

Phase Two Complete!

Figures, as soon as I sent the last update, the OR called.

That's OK, it was good news. The second phase, Free Tram Flap placement, was completed successfully! Kristine is doing great and the medical team is holding up very well.

So now we enter the final phase - reshaping and wrap-up. Still estimate about 3.5 hours of surgery left, then another couple of hours in the recovery room.

Will let you all know how the last part progresses.

Thanks,

-- Greg

Just Checking In

No update since 1:00pm. Had a nice visit with Pastor Paul from our church around 4:00pm this afternoon. Will post an update later tonight when I have more to share.

--GL

Progress Update

Just spoke to the OR nurse. Everything is progressing as planned and Kristine is doing great! Still have another 6 to 8 hours to go, but we're tracking well.

More updates as I get them.

-- Greg

Phase One Complete!

Kristine's surgical oncologist just came out to report the first phase of the operation, the mastectomy, was successfully completed. She said everything went very well with no indications of anything abnormal. She indicated Kristine is doing well, but will remain in the OR for another 8 to 10 hours as the next two phases of the operation are carried out.

So, 1 phase down (8:45 am to 10:23 am), 2 to go!

-- Greg

The Day Has Started

We got Kristine to the hospital at 6:30am and get her all squared away. She is in good spirits and anxious to get this over with. Had an issue getting her IV started, so after 3 pokes, they decided to install it after they put her under - which she was more than happy to hear them say :)

This will be a marathon session today, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 12 hours in surgery. It's basically divided into 3 parts; a mastectomy of her left breast, microsurgery to reroute veins to get blood flow for the Free TRAM Flap surgery then the actual reconstruction. The good news is that Kristine's oncologist agreed to let the micro surgeons begin work at the same time as she's performing the mastectomy, which we hope will mean less time in surgery. They expect her to be in recovery for 1.5 to 2 hours after the procedures.

There will be a lot of waiting today and likely several hours between updates. I'll keep the blog posts updated in near real-time and send out twitter updates as well.

Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers - it is greatly appreciated!

-- Greg

The Finish Line is in Sight!

Kristine will begin the final leg of her journey this Wednesday as she undergoes her reconstruction surgery. This will be a long surgery, likely 10 to 12 hours.

I will keep this blog updated and place real-time updates on twitter and facebook (my twitter account is http://twitter.com/sharkjet if you want to follow along).

We continue to thank you all for your prayers and best wishes as Kristine prepares to finish this long journey and move on with the next phase of her life.

We're almost there!

-- Greg