Well, today was the big day for Chuck. We arrived at the hospital bright and early (5:20am), and spent the next two and a half hours hanging out doing pre-op things: filling out forms, then filling out more forms, then filling out more forms…you get the idea. Our friend Kyra was there (she’s a nurse) providing moral support and a cool head, asking good questions of all the nurses. Chuck changed into his kimono style surgical gown (translation: it was wrap-around so no accidental viewings of his rear). We took some photos as a variety of nurses and techs connected him to equipment and drew blood (they clearly thought we were crazy). The surgeon and his chief resident came by and said hello, and took last minute questions (like: how do I get out of here?!?). At around 7:45am the anesthesiologist finally arrived and gave him some good stuff and he went from being anxious to really happy. As they wheeled him away he called out to me, “Eileen, Eileen!” I thought he was going to give me a good-bye kiss, or something equally romantic, so I hustled over to him and he raised himself up a bit, looked me in the eye and said, “Get the camera, take a picture of them wheeling me away!” and with that parting shot he was gone. The surgery itself took three hours, and by the time he was out of recovery it was 4pm. He was looking pretty good for a guy who had just had his throat slit (it looks, amazingly enough, like a big scratch).

Here are the images from the day.