Wednesday Update

Hello all. As you can see Phil posted his surgery date. It will be next Wednesday, July 22nd, beginning at 7:15 am. As you can imagine, it will be a very long day. The doctor told us it will take them an hour to prepare Phil for surgery (all the iv's, shaving his head, catheter (ouch!) and misc. "stuff"), then it will take an additional hour and a half just to open his head (we've always said he is hard headed), it will take an hour and a half to close his head when they are finished, so if anyone's counting we've already used 4 hours and they haven't done anything related to the tumor. We have been told it is a long surgery (6-8 hours). I'm thinking that Kate will have the computer with her at the hospital and will post periodic updates throughout the day but know it could be late afternoon or early evening before we get the word that surgery was a success and that Dr Phil is ready to begin healing (of course the nursing staff will find out in short order that our Phil is stubborn and determined) It has been difficult for him these past few days to return telephone calls or have visitors. It's physically draining at times to keep up a conversation or even to stay awake. His headaches are still frequent and his energy levels go up and down. Phil has found that if you call his cell phone and leave a message, it's easier to return the call when he has some energy. We appreciate everyone's understanding and patience and are very thankful for this blog as a way to post updates.