Surgery complete!

At 4:45 Dad was out of surgery.  Things did not go 100% according to plan.  The cancer had spread into the lung itself, it was no longer just in the lining.  The whole left lung had to be removed.  The surgeon said that while not ideal, that was the best option to remove all of the cancer.  As of now, Dad is "disease free"...meaning they got everything they could see.
Recovery will actually be easier for him with just one lung, since his affected lung won't have to heal.  His remaining lung will compensate for the missing one, and he probably won't notice a huge difference, seeing as how that lung was only working at 40% with the cancer in it. 
Latest news is that he is still in recovery.  Dr. Sugarbaker says he feel really good about how things went, and that Dad may not need to be on a ventilator.  That will be determined as soon as he wakes up enough to see if he can breath correctly on his own.  I will post as soon as I know more!  I know all of you are worried, so I wanted to give you something!

Asking for prayers!!

Tomorrow is the big day!  Dad is all checked in and awaiting surgery....He got a little sick from all of the medications they had him on for pre-surgery, but from the looks of this photo, I think they gave him something to sleep it off! ;)

 He is being quite a trooper!  Just one more HUGE hurdle, and we got this!  The doctor is very confident, so that gives us a little peace!

Surgery is at 11:30 Boston time, so 9:30 our time.  Please send some prayers his way!   I will update as soon as I know anything tomorrow!  Thank you all so much!

We love you Dad!!

Update from Boston

Dad has been having his pre-surgical workups the last two days, and today he met with the surgeon.  Dr. Sugarbaker says that things still look good for the surgery to go according to plan.  They will be operating on Thursday morning at 11:30, which is 9:30 mountain time.  The surgery will take between 5 and 7 hours, depending on the severity of the tumors.  Dr. Sugarbaker plans to take out all of the cancer that is visible, and then they will do a heated chemotherapy treatment poured directly onto the affected areas. 

He will then be in the ICU on a ventilator for 2 days, and 2 more days in ICU without the breathing machine.  He will then be moved to another floor for 10-12 days.  Once he is discharged from the hospital, he has to stay in the Boston area for 2 weeks to be monitored. 

There is a "mesothelioma house" across the street from the hospital where families and patients are able to stay at a discount.  Barbara will be there for the first 3 weeks, and then I will go out and stay the last few weeks and bring him home. 

I will try and keep updates available as I get them!  Thanks for all of your love and support!