Ken’s BIG surgery was scheduled for March 3, 2003 (03/03/03). They were going to completely remove his stomach and attach the upper part of his small intestine to the lower part of his esophagus. Keep in mind that he already had a feeding tube inserted into his jejunum (second portion of the small intestine), so this was going to be really MAJOR surgery. They would also be “exploring” the surrounding organs (don’t you just love medical terminology?) to see if the cancer had spread. To me, it sounded like they were going to split him open and take out about half of his insides (which is exactly what ended up happening, BTW).
Mama was coming up to take care of the boys for us (God bless you, Mama) again. I typed up a paper authorizing her to make school and medical decisions for them while Ken and I would be at the hospital. Sent notes to the principal and both boys’ teachers, letting them know what was going on and telling them if Jesse or Benjamin got upset or needed something, for them to call Mama. Then I set about trying to decide what I needed to pack for a two-week hospital stay.
One thing I had to do was go and buy Ken some pajamas. Please understand, my husband did NOT sleep in pajamas. . . only underwear. And, he ALWAYS kicked his covers off during the night. I remember after his first surgery, he was still wearing hospital gowns and every time I turned around, there he’d be, sound asleep, “strutting his stuff” with no sheet in sight. A couple of times, visitors almost caught him “nekkid”. He didn’t care, but I told him this time, he would have to wear at least pajama pants. He wasn’t too happy about it, but felt better about it when I got him some flannel sleeping pants and tee shirts instead of “old man pajamas”.
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