Surgery Day Update 1

Hi folks,
This is Alex, John’s buddy from way back. I’ll be here on his website giving the play-by-play today. He wanted to provide updates during this process because there have been so many people providing encouragement and provision over the past month or so. When he spread the word about what was going on with his condition and this surgery, an army of people immediately responded and stepped up to support him in a multitude of ways. I know he is humbled and thankful, and feels compelled to share this journey with you.

First update:
John has surgery hair and it is STYLIN’. The cut is essentially a modern high and tight, so he’s on-trend and looking good this morning!

For real though:
It’s 8:00am and John just went into surgery. Here’s a quick breakdown of what the morning has looked like: John got to Hoag just before 6 and got checked-in and prepped for the big show. John’s parents, Sheryl and Mike are here along with his girlfriend Missi. We all got to check-in on him during pre-op and he was in good spirits. The surgery team appears to be extremely capable and quite pleasant at this early hour.

During the operation (Posterior Foss Decompression surgery), a couple small pieces of his skull will be removed in order to give his cerebellum some space. Once the surgery is complete, the plan is for him to go to the ICU (standard for this type of procedure). We are expecting him to be out of surgery in a few hours and we’ll try to provide an update as soon as it is appropriate.

Last month when I sat in the neurologist’s office with John as he was getting quite a bit of tough information regarding his Chiari 1 Malformation, I watched John try to process those details on the spot and consider what lies ahead. The sense I got was that he felt both anxious and relieved. Anxious about an operation that is pretty invasive though relatively uncomplicated (still… it’s brain surgery), but also relieved to know that there are solutions to some of the medical issues and questions he has been dealing with for years.

We grabbed lunch right after his appointment and got the chance to talk through everything that he was just presented with. John was remarkably optimistic and borderline thankful. Just this past weekend he was describing much of this process as “good” because of the answers provided regarding his condition and also the encouraging conversations and support he has received along the way.

See John’s post on Peace yesterday if you want to know what it looks like to be faithful and unwavering in the face of the unknown. Today John was similarly optimistic and completely himself as he was getting prepped for the operation. His primary concerns were when he would be able to use the restroom, and how he would be able to watch the Seahawks pre-season game on Friday.

Please join us this morning as we continue to pray and send good thoughts for both an uncomplicated procedure and the beginning of a swift recovery.

More to come.