11/03/2008 - First surgery

When Terumi came into the hospital at North Shore, the aorta was already dissecting (starting to open up) and had an opening of 8 cm, however something continued to hold it closed, and it was leaking, but not ruptured.

The surgeon who was going to operate on him, Dr. Krishnasastry wanted to do the less invasive laparoscopic surgery mentioned in the article at the end of this post, but in order to do that, he required a device called a stent to insert in the blood vessel. Terumi's aorta has a curvature, requiring a non-standard stent, and the surgeon tried, but he could not get the right stent. He told me they would have to do it using the standard method (clamp both ends and sew in a new piece of vein) because of the time element. It is a good thing they made that decision. As Terumi was being taken into surgery (and I don't know exactly at what point), the aneurysm completely ruptured (broke), which means he got an abdomen full of blood.

About 3:00 pm, the surgeon beckoned me out of the waiting room. He told me they were able to save him and repair the vein. Terumi was taken into the SICU (Surgical Intensive Care Unit) where he still is. I waited in the SICU waiting room until he came out of recovery. That was Monday evening. I was finally able to see his face. Dr. Krishnasastry warned me that there were many tubes, but said I shouldn't be afraid of them. He also told me that his abdomen was still open, and they would keep it that way until the enormous amount of blood and fluid from the rupture was drained out. If they closed it up, and he continued to collect fluid in his abdomen, the pressure on the new graft (which is a real vein and not a stent) might be too much.

I saw Dr. Feldman in the hall. He said, "Do you know what the odds are??" We both started crying. Terumi was wrapped up except for his face. At least I saw his face. He looked pale, and sleeping, completely wrapped up, and yes, there were a LOT of tubes.

I found my way home, turned on Terumi's Skype, and tried to let his family know through Chie-san's brother what had happened. I saw Skype light up like a Christmas tree.

I had forgotten to let anyone know Terumi is Catholic before he went into surgery, so I tried to get in touch with the priest at the hospital, and failing that, let the people in SICU know that he is Catholic just in case he should need last rites. The person who answered the phone said, "Oh, I know what you mean, but he's not going to need anything like that." It made me feel a little better.

It's those wee hours of the morning that I dread for him. I called my brother, Mikie, and asked him if he could smudge through the night in case Terumi's spirit didn't know where it was and wandered away. This is what he wrote the first night:

"Yes, I smudged all night long. In my meditative state I felt strongly that I had a grasp on Mr. T's hands. I could see them and feel them. It was an odd feeling that I have never before experienced. It actually felt like his hands were in mine. Anyway, I kept telling him "this is Mikie" and "to hold tightly to my hands." I called upon every entity I could and begged for them to surround him with protection and strength. I know it may all sound like crap to anyone else, but I've been doing this for years and have a firm belief in it. I am happy to hear he made it through the night. Whatever I can do will not stop and if in any way it helps, then it's worth trying." Mikie has smudged all through the night, every night since then.