11/04/2008 - Michael arrives; Second surgery

I wanted to explain to Terumi that he is sedated asleep for a good reason; he is NOT in a coma. He has always feared being in a coma or becoming a vegetable, and made me promise to disconnect life support.

Early Tuesday morning I voted, and then Michael arrived, with a rental car to drive us back and forth to the hospital in Manhasset. I had originally discouraged him from coming, but I'm really glad he did.

We went to the hospital. Terumi's color was good and his vital signs were stabilized with medication. I told the nurse Terumi's feet seemed slightly swollen, and she said, "EVERYTHING is swollen, even his eyes." She explained this is because they are keeping a lot of fluids going through him. We thought our visit disturbed him a little, and we also thought he blew us a kiss, even with the breathing tube in his mouth. The technician told me he was overbreathing the ventilator, meaning he's breathing well on his own, and his blood pressure is good. His heart monitor was very regular and strong when we went in to see him. He's still sleeping. I think they are not going to let him wake up until after the "tummy tuck" is completed.

Dr. Blau explained that -- just like a bowl of apples -- when a lot of fluids were added the organs floated upward. The reason Dr. Blau was explaining this was because they decided to do a second surgery. A small portion of bowel was poking out and the mesh covering Terumi's open abdomen was slightly dislodged. Also,they could try to get rid of some more fluid and clean the wound.

As they wheeled him past Michael and me into surgery, we both noticed that his hands and feet seemed less swollen, and looked almost normal. We yelled "gambatte!" as they wheeled him past. Terumi came out of surgery at the same time Obama was officially elected President, so you can gauge the time. I don't remember the time other than that. Dr. Blau was the surgeon, and he was very pleased with the result. They also replaced the net over his abdomen. After the operation, they kept Terumi paralyzed until about 9 am Wednesday morning.

Thank you all for your prayers. Friends, and people we don't even know all over the world are saying prayers in almost every faith for him. I'm encouraged that they are working! He has no idea how much and how many people love him!!!

My brother Mikie wrote this about 3 am: "It is now 3:00 A.M. and in case you are still up, I just want to assure you that I am deeply engaged in my smudging ritual, again holding tightly to our beloved Mr. T's hands. He is ever so strong and I have faith that he will survive this horrible ordeal."