It's hard not to giggle....just a little....

So my mom and I are sitting in the family waiting room at the UMMC in Baltimore. What an amazing facility and what an amazing staff of people. Ironically, Mom was just here on August 13th for a surgery of her own. Little did we know that more than a month later we would be back, but the patients would have traded places. We have made a "new friend," about a dozen chairs down from us, who has a set of headphones on and, who I believe, plans to audition for American Idol. As Sam would say, she is "rocking out" and singing as loudly as she can.  I believe she was placed here to lighten the hearts of us waiting to hear about our loved ones. We have bonded. Funny how you bond with strangers at emotional times. However, I still wish Simon Cowell were here. As stressed as we are, it is hard not to giggle....just a little.

The procedure being performed today is an upper endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound test. Dr. Peter Darwin, who has performed 3,000-4,000 of these, indicated that he will take a look around (I believe he's really looking at staging), do a fine needle aspiration (biopsy), and put in a stent in the bile duct. The bile duct is being blocked by a 4cm mass on the pancreas. The stent will relieve the jaundice. After the procedure, he indicated that we would all have a "sit down" and talk about what today's procedure has revealed. I'm praying for the 15% chance that this thing is benign.

Dad is dealing well considering the man hasn't been a hospital patient since he had his tonsils out at the age of 5. So far, he is being very cooperative. For those of you who know my dad, you know what I mean:)  It was interesting to listen to the long list of questions asked and his responses. He really doesn't know if he's allergic to anything or how he reacts to anesthesia or how he typically heals/responds to surgery b/c he's 70 (almost 71) and he's not ever had a hospital stay. He's always been on the other side. He looks pretty good, but it was evident this morning that the jaundice was in the whites of his eyes had set in. Dr. Darwin noticed immediately.

For my prayer warriors, keep praying. Love to all....Jen.