The surgery went "very well," in the words of Anthony's surgeon, Dr. Michael LaQuaglia. He originally thought he would have to remove parts of 3 ribs, a piece of the pericardium (the heart lining), and some lung tissue. He only had to remove part of 2 ribs, just one layer of the pericardium (not a section), and about 10% of the upper lobe of his left lung. The ribs were replaced by a foam-like wedge and mesh covering. Dr. LaQuaglia said all of these things will not prohibit Anthony from doing anything he would have normally done. We are extremely grateful to Dr. LaQuaglia and the surgical team at MSKCC for taking such good care of our little boy. We also want to than everyone who was thinking about him and praying for him during his surgery. Every little bit helps.
Now for the human interest section...
The night before the surgery, we took him out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant on the upper east side, near the hospital. He liked eating there. He had his napkin in his lap and used it to wipe his mouth frequently. Halfway through dinner, he said, "I like New York City." After dinner, we went back to the Ronald McDonald House and played some real video games (the big machines) in the basement playroom. The Ronald McDonald House on 73rd street is very nice, and was a great help for us.
The morning of surgery, we finally told Anthony why he was there. He wasn't too happy. We dressed him in the hospital gowns (not easily) and waited, and waited, and waited. We arrived at 6:30 AM, but he wasn't in the OR until about 10 AM. He was very nervous and kept saying "I don't want them to cut me. I want to go back to the Ronald McDonald House." The anesthesiologist gave him "happy" medicine to relax him. He was VERY relaxed. He laughed at me (Tony) when I put on the scrubs, mask, and hat. I went with him into the OR so he wouldn't get nervous, and Maria waited outside the room. He was telling the nurse and Dr. about our cat (Pookie). He insisted that the big light above the operating table was a fan, not a light, and was smiling a lot. The anesthesiologist then gave him something to knock him out, I kissed him, told him I loved him and left after he was asleep.
During surgery, a nurse would relay information from the OR about how things were going and what they were doing. Everyone was very good about keeping us informed and putting us at ease. At about 4 PM, Dr. LaQuaglia came down to tell us how things went while the OR nurse put on his dressing. At about 4:30 PM, we were allowed to see him in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (recovery room). He was awake, and surprisingly lucid for someone who just had his chest wide open about an hour ago. He looked fine, a little puffy from all the fluid, but fine. His had a chest tube and a tube coming out of the incision for drainage, but his chest was not very swollen. He was moved up to the Pediatric Observation Unit in about an hour and a half.
After being moved, he was in a little pain, but was basically himself. In less than 24 hours (yesterday), he was up and walking. He was complaining the whole time. The nurses got a big kick out of him. They kept asking him is he was 4, or 64 because of the things that came out of his mouth. He ate some fruit snacks and goldfish after he got back from his walk.
Today, he did very well. They removed his chest tube, since there wasn't much drainage during the night. He was more comfortable after they removed it and was moving around much more. He ate a little better, too. He had raviolis, some apple sauce, more fruit snacks, and wheat thins. He sat up without help and didn't mind sitting there. He is blowing lots of bubbles to help keep his lung inflated and in good shape. Let's hope he can get out soon and come home.