Firsts, Part Two

It seems I'm randomly jumping around, but I think I'll get the hang of this sometime.



Getting back to firsts...

Not only did Tami get married on October 6th, but I also became a Grandma that same day. No, Gordon didn't get the shotgun... Todd brought to our family his beautiful 12 year old daughter Macie who we became attached to immediately. Who wouldn't when she bolts across the yard, as only Macie can, and hugs you so tight she about knocks you over...and that was the first day we met her. A Grandma and a mother-in-law all in one day! Neither Gord nor I could take it all in. It was such an amazing day with family from far away that you love and lots of laughing and hugging and smiles everywhere. You'd have thought we'd stopped in for a shot of sugar before the big event!!!! It was awesome. My first and only and favorite child's wedding and it couldn't have been more perfect.



We knew that Gordon would be having surgery in November to remove a tumor from his Pancreas and we were worried about it. The Dr had told us that it wouldn't be an easy surgery. But he wanted to get it done anyway. It was causing him pain and had taken a lot of Drs appointments and tests to find out what was wrong with him. The Dr said we could just continue to watch it and see what it would do, but since we knew it would eventually turn to cancer and it was painful, we wanted to get that thing out of him so he could get better and go on with life, as we had planned it. Tami & Todd had bought them a home in Colorado that they thought would be their home for a long time. Shortly after they got there, things started to change with Todd's business. They were then looking to relocate to California and decided to do so in early December. Tami was experiencing a whole lot of "firsts" in her life as well.


The Monday after Thanksgiving arrived and Gordon and I headed off to the hospital. I sat with him in the waiting area before they took him to surgery and he seemed extra nervous. The nurse gave him one of those wonderful warm blankets that only hospitals have and he shared it with me. I sat by him, head on his big shoulders, holding his big hands. What I wouldn't give to have that moment back. Gordon had had many surgeries, but this one was different and we both knew it.

It was finally time. Off he went on the stretcher and off I went into the waiting room. That was around Noon and it was supposed to be about a 4-6 hour surgery so I brought my stitching and magazines and stitched and read and waited, stitched, read, waited, got a treat from the free stuff in the waiting room and waited. About 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, in walks my sister, Judy. She had asked if she could come sit with me and I told her no, I would be just fine. Well, I was glad she showed up. About 5 o'clock, when the surgery "should have been" wrapping up, Judy Sanders comes in to check on me. Not too much later Bob Craig, our Home Teacher, came over from working at the Church office building. We all waited. I was starting to get periodic phone calls from the operating room with a current status. The first one said that they had just gotten to the pancreas, that it had taken them all those hours just to get through the layers of scar tissue to where they needed to be. They should have been done by then! Now my heart was starting to beat in my throat. The tumor was much larger than it had appeared in the scan. It seemed to have weaved its way around his pancreas like big long fingers wrapped through a piece of meat. Dr. Vanderwerff called it "a very large tumor in a very angry place". We received a phone call around 6 or 7 o'clock telling us it would be several more hours. At this point Bob C and Judy S left to get some dinner. They both had to work the next day and it was a stormy snowy night. My Sis and I sat there and waited some more. I was so glad she was with me and she wasn't about to leave! Around 10:30 that evening Bob Craig walks through the waiting room doors. He said that he started to get ready for bed and just couldn't sleep knowing that I was there waiting. Sidenote: Bob Craig is on my Top 5 Hero list! He waited with Judy and I through the night. I told him on several occasions to go home and get some sleep, that I would be fine when he finally replied to me "Sally, you aren't the one that sent me here" and I finally realized that my Father in Heaven had sent the Priesthood to be with me during this uncertain time...until 4:a.m., to be exact. That was when they finally completed the surgery and we had a visit from Dr. Vanderwerff. Gordon was in severely critical condition and he wasn't sure what the next hours would be like. Judy asked if we should call Tami and he said he thought that would be a good idea. That's when I fell apart.