So This is How It's Supposed to Be!

Well here we are, back in Chicago.  It is so cold outside, as compared to the 70-degree weather we were enjoying yesterday afternoon, and the snow that was falling when we left this city just 72 hours ago still lays thickly on the ground.  Our flight landed around 10:30 last night, and we arrived at our hotel at midnight, just 6 hours before I had to check back into the hospital.

Are we really doing this???

The pre-surgical procedures were no surprise to us, having gone through them just 2 weeks ago.  At 7:30 a.m., the nurses again whisked me away, this time to UNdo what we had done in that previous surgery.  By about 9:00, surgery was complete.

Mom and dad came right back to see me, and in an instant, they could see that something was different.  Different from when they came to see me after my first surgery.  My stats were good, I was not entirely swollen from IV fluids, and, most importantly, I was not crying.

We spent an hour in the recovery room, during most of which time I slept.  When we moved into our post-recovery room, it became strikingly obvious that something had gone wrong with my last procedure that did not go wrong this time. It didn't take long after I woke up for my first smile to appear.  When they gave me a toy, I played with interest.  I took my bottle when they offered it.  And while I did emit the occasional cry, which is to be expected, it was clear that I was nowhere near as uncomfortable as I was last time. I just felt good - or at least as good as one can feel after a dramatic surgical change to his body.

I was doing so well that we were able to leave the hospital by 1:30 p.m. - just 6 hours after surgery began!  I took a good nap right away, and when I woke up, I was almost entirely myself.  Even more than I have been over the last two weeks.  I laughed.  I smiled.  I talked and hugged and kissed.  I was playful.  I even tried to roll and move around.  I was me again.  And I was doing it with very little pain medication.  This is how it was supposed to be the first time around!

Just a few hours after surgery

Not only do we now see why I was so irritable and having trouble recovering for so long after my first surgery, this confirms Dr. Bauer's theory about what happened to defeat it.  I had some kind of infection that could not be detected in advance, and it put the kibosh on the entire first round of expansion.  We know that I had an infection, because they took cultures of the fluid coming from my incision.  We know that the bacteria they found is commonly associated with ear infections.  And we know I had a double ear infection just 2 weeks prior to that surgery.  It all makes sense.  The bacteria from the ear infections was still in my body, and it "infected" the expansion.

So what does this mean?  We pray that it means I will not have these complications when we try again.  But most importantly, it means that we can try again.
  
Ok, now for the best part.....
Even though we were barely able to expand, Dr. Bauer removed two very good size pieces of my nevus!!!!  Take a look for yourself.  Here's a "before" picture followed by one taken tonight.

The bottom line remains the same -- I will, most likely, need two full rounds of expansion (4 surgeries) to complete removal of my nevus.  We are hoping that we can try again in about 4 months, but will be extremely cautious and conscious of the bacteria that caused the downward spiral this time, and all dates from now on will be only tentative until we get to them  without an ear infection or other illness developing right before.  But we are doing our best to stay positive. And rather than call this a setback, we've decided to think of it as a sneak-peak that gave us a great head start.