Dad's doctor contacted me earlier today, and let me know how the emergency surgery went: They re-opened 2/3 of his original scar and looked for a possible leaking stomach. They were unable to identify a "hole" (even though they inflated the stomach to be sure) but suspected that one of the suture holes may have been seeping; so, the team re-inforced some of "connections" they made between the new half-stomach and the small intestines.
While the doctor was doing surgery, they noticed a green-ish membrane forming on Dad's organs. Because the doctor scraped many of these organs to rid them of the cancerous mucus, the membrane is most likely the result of his organs trying to heal themselves. But with his low level of white blood cells, Dad is unable to ward off some of these infections alone.
The doctor also installed a few more drainage tubes (for his chest), and another stomach drain. They will keep his stomach deflated for the next couple days until the new sutures heal. Once they do, it'll be a few more days until Dad can drink and eat again--hopefully, this time with no problem.
Scott is back in the ICU, and has been for the past 4 hours, and will be until late Saturday or Sunday (they say). He will remain on a respirator until they level out his vitals (blood O2 levels, blood pressure, pulse, white blood cell and platelet counts)--this may prove the most difficult task at the moment.
The doctor was not concerned with this second surgery. He noted that a lot of the other new "connections" looked healthy and were healing relatively well. We're all relieved that the surgery went without a hitch, and cannot wait until he know more...
Thank you for the many messages you've all sent. It is very inspiring to me to see how my father has touched all of your lives.
Adam
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