Ok, so I really need to give props for those people who go to school with children. This studying thing stinks anyways, but you throw kids into the mix and whew... it's a whole new world! I am really having a hard time trying to balance being a wife, mother, homemaker, friend and now a student (just for a week). I don't know how people do school on a full time basis with kids. I've got to hand it to them. I guess you can tell what I've been doing today.

We went and picked up more pain pills for Matt this morning. I guess he is having so much discomfort because he is young. They said that younger people have more intense pain receptors than older people because the older you get the duller the receptors get. (Matt say's "that means that Pat's pain receptors must be dead.- that's my dad.) He is doing really well though. Today he went out front and played baseball with the boys. I had my nephew Reece today so the boys loved it. They rode their bikes intermittently too. (Not Matt, just the kids.) They are so adorable. The big boys were trying to do their own thing and Logan was trying so hard to hang with them. After all, he is a big boy too. In case you haven't seen him, he weighs as much as my 3 year old. He will be a linebacker one day. Noah is tall and skinny. He will be a baseball player or a drummer. Anyways, we are doing really well today and I thank all of you for your continued support and prayers!

Busy Day...

I finally took Matt to get his chest x-ray this morning. We don't know what it says until we have his post-op appointment on next Thursday. After that Matt and I got breakfast together and enjoyed our quiet morning without the kids. I cleaned up the house, did laundry, and studied more for my class next week. Matt went upstairs and got a nap. Our night was not very restful. Logan was up from 2-4am because he wanted to sleep in our bed and we wouldn't let him. Noah woke up about 4am because he wet the bed so we had to change him and change his bed sheets. Our house doesn't sleep very much. It's kind of a zoo. A good one though. Anyways, my sister Jenny came and picked me up around 1245 for her doctors appointment. She is pregnant again and I am SO EXCITED!!! Today, Noah (my oldest) told her she had 2 babies in her belly. A girl baby and a boy baby. We laughed because he is so cute. He really loves babies. (My sister is only 8 weeks pregnant.) Anyways, the doctors appointment went well and then we picked up all of the kids at Claudia's house. When I got home, Joyce and Lisa (dispatchers from the fire department) came over and made us dinner and ate it with us. They were so nice. Joyce brought us a yearbook of the fire department which was really cool. She also brought us food to put in our freezer for later. What an awesome idea! Lisa cooked a killer meal! We ate poppy chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fruit. They left around 630pm after they cleaned up the kitchen. Isn't that sweet. I didn't know what to think. After they left, Matt realized that he didn't have enough pain pills to get him through the night so we went to my mom's house to get some pills we left there for when he stays over there. The boys were "choosing" to have a very disobedient day today (because life is all about the choices) so we came straight home and put them in the bath and then put them to bed. Noah went right down with no problem. Logan... well lets just say he's still battling it out with himself. I guess I should go tend to him. More tomorrow...

This morning we woke up and it was a beautiful day out! Of course the only thing that would have made it even better would have been if we did not hear the neighbor's rooster crowing. Oh well! Our friend John came over today around 9am to hang out with Matt. They had a good time just visiting and cracking jokes about each other. Around 1130 I got a call from my friend Veronica from work and she told me she was in labor and wanted me to come and be there for her delivery and help her. I was so excited for her, so of course I went. I got to the hospital around noon and she delivered at 515pm. She was a champ! In the mean time, Matt toke a long nap and then he read a book until I got home. My mom had the boys so on my way home from the hospital I picked them up. They went swimming and ate pizza over there. When I got home, we all ate pizza that Linda Thompson bought us. After that the boys went for a bike ride around the neighborhood while Matt and I walked with them.They are so cute I can hardly stand it. (No I am not prejudice, they really are cute!) When we got home, Matt's dad Gabe was waiting in our driveway for us. He was in town on business so he decided to stop by for a visit. The boys were very surprised to see him. We had a lot of fun together. Of course the boys were totally wild and he loved every minute of it. Gabe helped me put the boys in bed and then he had to go back to his hotel and do more work. Matt is watching basketball now and relaxing. Which is good for him because I keep catching him trying to do things around the house. Anyways, I need to go and study more for my ACLS class next week. More updates later...

Today has been an interesting day. Matt once again had a difficult time sleeping because he had some pain in his upper left quadrant and chest that came and went last night. (No it is not constipation.) When he woke up I was unsure if I should take him to the doctor's to get checked out. Up until 2 days ago, he had been managing his pain relatively well, that's what is so odd about the whole thing. Anyway, I called the doctor to let them know about this issue and find out what they wanted us to do about it. They said they would call me back after talking to his surgeon. When I got off the phone, I got ready for the day and my cousin, Micah, and his friend, Daniel, came over and washed our dog, Riley. They also fixed the drain in my shower. That was so kind of them!! I don't wash dogs! Honestly, the thought of smelling wet dog makes me nauseous. Anyway, the surgeon's office called back and wants him to get a chest X-ray tomorrow. When I got off the phone, our friends, John and Julius, came by and hung out with Matt for almost 2 hours. Matt went upstairs and took a nap after they left while I studied for my ACLS class this coming week. Fun stuff!! I picked up the boys around 4pm from Claudia's and took them to the play place in the Altamonte Mall. We met up with the Grubb family and we played and ate dinner there together. When I returned home, I notice that Matt had put the recycling bin out by the curb and switched the laundry over for me. He is getting stir-crazy in the house. If anyone sees or talks to him PLEASE remind him to take it easy and not to overdo anything. After all, his weight limit is only 5 lbs for 4 weeks. He forgets that and then he suffers later. The boys are finally bathed and in bed. Hallelujah!! Although the are cute, adorable, and whatever other adjective you want to use, they are still "all boy" and a lot of work. It's well worth it though! Matt is out walking around the block again... after all, he "needs his exercise" and he's "tired of sitting around the house". I say, "Whatever. Have fun!" I need to study anyway. On that note, I guess I will go now and study. Talk to you tomorrow!

Memorial Day...

We had a wonderful fun-filled family day! I took the boys swimming at my parents house and my nephew Reece was there too. We swam all day! Scott (Matt's brother) brought Matt over around lunch time and we all grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs. After that I put all of the boys down for a nap and the adults hung out and talked for a while. At 400pm, my parents left to go to the airport. My dad is flying out to go to California for a week on business. When the kids woke up, they swam for again for about one hour then we went for a bike ride on the Apopka trail. (Can you tell I am trying to completely wear them out?) Anyway, when we got home we ate lasagna that the Grubb's made. It was delicious!! The boys finished watching the movie "The Incredible's" and now it is time for baths!! I am very excited about this because after that comes bed time and Matt and I can be alone at last!!

Matt is having a tough time with pain today. I would like to ask that you pray for him tonight that (1) he would not have pain when he sleeps; (2) that he would be able to get comfortable and sleep tonight. The pain woke him up this morning around 0630am and he has been struggling with it ever since. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate it!!

Who needs TV when you have kids...

Kids are the entertainment! The boys decided to make their own band last night.

Clarification...

I have heard many people say "I am afraid to call or come by because I don't want to be a bother." You are not a bother. If we don't want to talk, we won't answer the phone or we will tell you we don't want to hang out. Let's face it, you can only have so much stimulating conversations with toddler's (although what you do get, is usually pretty cute) and as for me, well he can talk to me anytime. Now that we are clear on that, I can move on to more important things.

Last night, the Poludniak's came over to hang out and eat dinner with us. All of the kids played outside for a while until it started raining. They left around 800pm and the bedtime routine began for the boys. Finally around 845pm (which is late for them) they were in bed and the house was quiet. We watched another movie and I folded laundry for the rest of the evening. Exciting stuff!!

Today we woke up and went to church. Matt even went too! He said he was tired of being in the house and he wanted to go see people. Everything was good until about 10 minutes into church, I felt something warm on my side where I was holding Logan. Low and behold what do I find, he peed on me. Lovely, just lovely I thought. So I took him to the nursery and changed his pullup and realized I had no extra pants for him, so he wore his skimpy's for the duration of the morning. Only kids can get away with that. I cleaned myself up and on with the day I went. Church was really thought provoking. We had a lot to talk about on our way home. When we got home, we ate our lunch and went down for a wonderful nap. Three hours later, here we are and you would think I never have fed my kids in their life. They are starving so I guess I need to feed them. Anyway, God is continually showing us how He loves us and wants to provide for us. It is awesome! Thank you for all of your prayers and willingness to help out in whatever we might need. We really appreciate it!

Today I went bright and early and signed the boys up for swimming lessons. They are fearless about swimming and they don't want to work with us in the pool so off they go to "swimming school". They are so cute! My mom took them swimming in her pool today to wear them out before nap time and they had a great time. We swam for about an hour and a half and at the end Logan swam over to my mom and she picked him up and he almost fell asleep on her. That's when I decided that it was time to get out, eat lunch, and go home for our nap. All of us needed one. Matt stayed home for the morning so he was happy when we returned home. He sneezed and said he felt like his sternum shifted. It hurt him very bad. He said he definitely doesn't want to do that again. We all slept for about and hour and a half. It was great!! All of the men are watching ratatouille. It is guy bonding. No girls allowed. Anyway, I will blog more later. I am going to do laundry while I have a chance.

Today Matt was able to sleep in until noon. He had a hard time sleeping last night and went a little too long without taking his medicine. With that being said, it was good that he got the extra rest. Our boys were really in rare form today. Logan (our 2 year old) got up at 0615am, which is entirely too early for me. He would not go back to sleep and he was fussing about everything. I know he is overtired when he does that because he is usually a "happy go lucky" kid. Noah (our 3 year old) woke up at 0645am. Again way too early! He was being a good boy though. They usually wake up around 0730-800am which is perfect because on the days I work I am up at 0430am, so on my days off I like to sleep in. I took them to Claudia's house (childcare provider) around 0830am so they could play with the other kids and go swimming. Anything to wear them out. They are full of energy so they need to be outside to run and play it all out so they will nap good and sleep at night. I got most of Matt's follow-up appointments set up. I am still waiting for one doctor's office to call me back. Matt got a shower all by himself which is really good because it is hard to lift his arms and bend over a lot. It made me feel good because at least when I go back to work I know he can handle taking care of himself in this fashion. Rick Schuessler brought us dinner today and hung out with Matt for about an hour. It was really nice for Matt to hang out and talk to someone other than me. He is now hanging out and watching a movie. So far we have had a good day. Now I need to go pick the boys up from Claudia's house. Thanks again for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for our boys as they adjust to their daddy not being able to hold or play with them.

Day 1 continued...

Around 230pm Matt's co-worker from A shift, Kevin Atkinson and his wife brought us dinner. We had a good visit with them, I just hope our dog didn't drive them crazy. All he wanted was to be pet constantly. Matt's parents came over around 330pm from Clearwater to hang out with us. It was the first day we had the kids back because they have been staying with my parents, so as you can imagine, things were kind of wild around here. The kids really missed Matt and I so they were really ecstatic to see us. My parents came over around 530pm and ate dinner with all of us. It was a fun evening. My parents left around 700 and Matt's parents left around 0830pm. We finally were able to get the kids calmed down and in bed for good. What a relief!! Now Matt can watch his basketball in peace and I can finish my blog. Anyways, it has been a great day and it feels good to have our family together again.

Day 1...

Last night was a good night for Matt. He had a hard time getting comfortable at first, but 5 pillows later he was good to go. We set our alarm to go off every 4 hours so he could take a pain pill so the pain wouldn't catch up to him. He did some unusual things during the night and had some crazy dreams. All in all though, it was a restful night until around 4 o'clock in the morning when our neighbor's rooster started crowing. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get rid of that annoying thing, please tell us. He was able to go back to sleep and he slept in until 1030am. He is still a little wobbly on his feet so I watched him get a shower and thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment. Around noon our friend Steve came over and hung out with him so I could run some errands. He left around 130pm and now we are going to watch a movie. Matt is a great patient and I enjoy being with him and having him home! Stay tuned for more updates later...

He's Home!!!!

Today was the day! He was finally discharged around 0630pm. The nurse took him off Morphine around 230pm and put him on Dilaudid around 330pm and life is good. Matt's pain is under control and the thought of being in his own bed with no interruptions is very exciting! Our drive home was uneventful. I was very excited to drive up and for Matt to see the sign that I made welcoming him home. Only when we drove up, it was ripped apart and half of it went somewhere else because it was so windy today. I was so disappointed. Oh well it was the thought that counts. Friends from church brought us dinner and it was waiting for us when we got home. It was awesome! Lt. Anthony Willis came over and ate with us and hung out with us for a while. We had a great time. Lori Sweeney came by as well and dropped off a check that the fire department had raised for us. God is so good and he always provides for our needs. Thank you for your prayers and support. It is great to have Matt home!

It's a new day...

Last night Matt was having an aweful time trying to control his pain. Many people called up here and prayed for him over the phone and we really appreciated it. My dad Pat came up around 0830pm and prayed for Matt and when he was praying for him, Matt was able to relax, breath, and have an enormous amount of peace come over him. My dad and I thought he was sleeping he was that peaceful. When we finished praying for him he had such a peace it was incredible to see the difference. After that, his nurse came in and started him back on the Morphine pump and Toradol. He was able to sleep for a few hours, which was a miracle. This morning he slept in until 10am. We got the pathology report back today and it stated that his mass was NOT cancerous. It was a mass of scar tissue from the chemotherapy. So I guess in about 3 weeks he will start his radiation therapy. That will be every day for 3-4 weeks. As far as today goes, he is feeling great compared to yesterday! He is up walking around, talking and cracking jokes. God is awesome and he is in full control of this situation. Thank you for all of your prayers, love and support.

It has been a difficult day...

Today has not been a very good day for Matt. He has been in excruciating pain and has had difficulty breathing all day. They have him on oxygen as a result. Around 430pm, our nurse Christi discontinued his Morphine pump and put him on a Fentanyl patch 1000mcg and gave him Dilaudid 2mg as well as Tylenol 325mg. Nothing has helped the pain and breathing so far. The doctor ordered CT scan because they were concerned about having a collapsed lung or a blood clot somewhere. The test came back that none of the above scenario has happened. There is bruising under the incision areas which is to be expected. Our oncologist, Dr. Castillo, came in to check on Matt and he said that he should not be in pain and he was upset that it has taken all day to try to manage the pain. He ordered more labs and consulted with a pulmonologist. He gave us his cell phone number and stated if they did not come to draw labs or if the pulmonologist had not come to see us in 30 minutes, he wanted us to call him on his cell phone. He also said that the pathology report is not in yet. As you can tell, we are not going home today or anytime soon until this pain gets under control. Please pray for continued guidance for the doctors and nurses and for Matt's pain and labored breathing to get under control. Thank you!!

Set back...

I got a call from Matt this morning and he said he had a set back last night and he is back on oxygen. He said that he is still on Morphine and Percocet but he felt like his "chest is exploding and wanting to cave in". The nurse put him back on oxygen, but he has been in and out of this pain all night and morning and the pain medicine is not touching it. Please pray for wisdom for the medical staff to know how to treat him, peace and healing of the pain for Matt. Thanks!

1 day closer to discharge...

Sorry it took me so long to blog again. We have been very busy trying to check off all of the tasks at hand for Matt to be able to come home. I'll start with yesterday. As you know he was finally moved to PCU. He had his parents, his brother Scott and his girlfriend Michelle, and 3 girls from the fire department come to visit him. He enjoyed getting a chance to visit with everyone and getting most of his tubes and lines discontinued.He looked at the blog for the first time last night and he was overwhelmed by everyone who had already signed up to help us and he. Thank you to everyone who has already volunteered to sacrifice your time and resources for us. On a lighter note, he was able to sleep for about 3 hours last night, but when he woke up he was in excruciating pain because he had no Morphine for that time period. It took him about 1.5 hrs to get caught up on his pain meds before he could tolerate a "reasonable" amount of pain. He was able to sleep in until 8 o'clock this morning and then go back to sleep for a nap around 10am. Around 1130, his friends Kim, Hoa, and Vivian came to visit. They brought him egg rolls (There are no egg rolls that come close to comparing with these. They are awesome!), flowers, a balloon, and snacks for him and the kids. He had a really wonderful visit. After church, I brought him Wendy's and he ate every last bite of it. Afterall, it is much better than hospital food! I hung out until around 9pm. During that time, Linda Thompson from our church came by and brought Matt a balloon that everyone signed at church for him. That was so thoughtful and Matt really enjoyed reading everyone's notes. Later in the afternoon Lt. Anthony Willis stopped by to see how Matt was doing and we had a wonderful time just talking and hanging out. Scott and his crew at the fire station came to visit us at 8pm. Matt has really enjoyed every one's company the past few days and we appreciate all of the love and support that we have been getting. Matt also got his first shower all by himself today!! It was a good thing to. Now he doesn't smell like betadine anymore. Anyways, he is doing really well and we truly appreciate every one's prayers and support. It is still looking like he might be discharged from the hospital tomorrow afternoon. I know if it wasn't for God, we would not have been able to get through this with such grace and peace that He has given us. I don't know how to describe it other than I know His hand is upon us and He will never leave us or forsake us nor will He give us more than we can handle.

We are bessed...

We have been so very blessed over the last 6 months and I just wanted to share with you a few things that have happened. As most of you know, at Christmas time Matt was diagnosed with his cancer. We have had awesome doctors and nurses and other support staff. They have moved quickly and aggressively towards finding the appropriate treatment for Matt. Matt's head nurse at the oncology office "just happened" to be my friend's mother. She was able to get us in to meet with our oncologist the day after Christmas. How great is God that He would provide a way for us to see the doctor less than a week after he was diagnosed .... that's a miracle in itself. The guys at the fire station did not even hesitate to spread the word about Matt and get all of his shifts covered up to date. That's a humongous weight lifted off of our shoulders not to have to worry about the coverage or finances. To the men and women who have sacrificed their time for our families well-being, words could never express how grateful we are by you working for Matt! God has used you to bless us in a huge way! Today I got a call from another friend, Claudia, who watches our children and she informed us that an anonymous source paid-in-full for six weeks of babysitting services! We were overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude to whomever chose to bless us in this fashion. I also found out that our church will be taking offerings to raise enough money for me to take off two weeks of work so I can be Matt's nurse! As you can see we have been blessed in many ways and I have only given you a few examples. Thank you again for all of your prayers, love, and support! To God be the Glory! Great things He has done!!!

PCU here he comes...

As of 0330pm Matt has moved from ICU to PCU in room 3345. Visiting hours are from 0930am-0830pm, no children please.

Message to the kids...

I went to see Matt this morning at the 9 o'clock visiting hour and he was sitting up in a chair, slurping down some sprite and eating pears. He is GREAT!! He was mister chatter box just wanting to know what everyone was doing and had planned for the day, who I have talked to, how the blog was going, etc. He wanted to send a message to the boys to let them know he was ok, so here is the movie. (Sorry about the quality, it is from my camera.) Anyways, the nurse said they would be moving him to the Progressive Care Unit (PCU) sometime this afternoon and he might be discharged from the hospital on Monday. She took out his arterial line and one of his IV's. He still has a catheter (which will come out later this afternoon on PCU) and a swans-gans triple lumen (central line into his collar bone area that allows them to run IV fluids, draw blood, and do any other monitoring), and his chest tube that will also be discontinued today. Later today or tonight, they will have him walking the halls. I am really excited about all of this because it just means that he is doing so well and they are really working on getting him discharged as soon as they can. The chaplain from the fire department called me today and is going to stop by for a visit which is very kind of him. He seems really nice and I appreciate his sincere warmth and caring attitude that he and everyone else at Matt's department have been displaying. I want to thank all of you whom have been diligently praying for Matt and our family because I know without a shadow of doubt that it is truly a God thing that he is doing so well!!

0800 pm Status...

Well I walked into Matt's room only to find him chowing down on some "delicious" red Jello. It was the best Jello he had ever eaten in his life. He has downed 3 Sprite's and by the end of the visit, he was finally full. He wanted to know what everyone was doing and how we were all hanging in there. I told him we were great and he needed to not worry about us. He tried to call the nurse because he wanted a phone to call our kids and tell them good night, but she never came and eventually he forgot the subject. His parents, my sister Jenny and I were the 8 o'clock crew. He did however want to know why Chief Plaugher did not wake him up and talk to him. However, he really appreciated from the bottom of his heart him stopping

by to show his support. The nurse said that he will be moved to the Progressive Care Unit sometime tomorrow where we will have more opportunity to visit with him. The visiting hours on PCU will be 9am-830pm, but no children please. He can't wait until then because they will remove his catheter and take out his chest tube. I am not sure if they will take his arterial line out tomorrow as well, but I hope so for his sake. They will have him sitting in a chair and possibly walking tomorrow. FUN STUFF!!! He just wants to be sure they will still give him lots of Morphine because it helps him sleep through the pain and discomfort. I thank God that he allowed Matt to come through the surgery with flying colors and be so strong. His grace has been sufficient and He is truly faithful. I am very grateful that Matt is doing so remarkably well.

I saw Matt...

We saw Matt and he is doing fabulous!!! He looks good, is talking well, and even cracking jokes!! He is truly amazing! He came out and did not even come out intubated. He is doing awesome!! More updates later...

Surgery's DONE!!!!!

As of 0945am, the surgeon came out and said that everything went well, he was able to get ALL of the mass out. We will not get a preliminary result this time, but the final result of the pathology test will come back in 2-3 days. Matt will be going to recovery for a couple of hours and then to ICU. Thanks for praying and continuing to pray.

The Butschek's Needs

Matt & Stacy are right now at the hospital. Matt should be coming out of surgery soon. Several of you have asked how to help and their biggest needs are meals and "babysitting" Matt when Stacy goes back to work as well as continual prayer.

We have found a website that allows you to volunteer for the various needs. You sign-up to help right on the site! That saves time and confusion with back-and-forth emails and phone calls. You even get a reminder email as the date gets closer.

Here are instructions on how to access the site:

Go to: www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/604671

On the right-hand side, you will see "Interested in Becoming a Member of this Community?". Type in your email there and hit "Continue". You will then need to at least fill in your name, email & phone.

The site will email the site coordinator for approval for your membership to the site. Once you have been approved, you will get an email with a link. Click on that link and set your password.

Now you are a member and from now on you can go to the website (www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/604671) and sign in (on the left-hand side).

Once you are signed-in, click on the "calendar" tab. From there, you can see what needs have been met and what is still needed. Click on a need, and on the right-hand side you can see where you can sign up.

If this is too much for you (I know it is a bit confusing), please just email Amy Grubb at chefamy1979@aol.com (or you can call her at 407-209-9990) and let her know how you would like to help. She'll check the calendar, let you know where there is a need and sign you up.

Thank you so much for your willingness to help and bless Matt & Stacy during this time. Below is a list of dates that help is needed:

Pray - everyday (May 17th-June 30th) we would like to have at least one person committed to praying for the Butscheks (Matt, Stacy, Noah & Logan), Matt's healing, God's financial provision and His peace.

Dinner - we would like to have meals provided for the Butscheks on the following dates:

May 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 29th & 31st

June 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th & 21st

Babysitting - Matt needs someone to stay with him when Stacy goes back to work to help him with what he needs, keep him company and maybe even get him out of the house when he feels up to it. Stacy is working:

May 28th & 29th; June 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th & 13th

Waiting for Surgery

From last night...

This was from Stacy last night...

First I want to start off this blog by saying how truly grateful I am to everyone for all of your love, support and prayers. This road has not been an easy one, but we have definitely felt God's grace and love throughout the past 6 months. In James, the bible says by testing our faith, it will develop perseverance so that we will be complete. With that said, I can't wait to see how God is going to use this big ANNOYING speed bump in the road of life to further His kingdom and our destiny.

On a different note, I will tell you about our evening before surgery. Tonight we had a wonderful time with our boys. We watched them play at the mall, watched the Bee Movie and put them to bed at my parents house. Matt took an Ambien at 0700 pm, ate pizza and a McDonald's ice cream sundae. We got home and Matt showered with his antiseptic soap and went to bed.

Tomorrow we have to be at the hospital at the butt crack of dawn (aka 0515am). Before we go, Matt has to shower again with the antiseptic soap. His brother Scott is going to go with us. Isn't that kind! I thought so too! He is scheduled for 0730 and it will last for about 1.5 hrs and then he will be in recovery for 2 hrs. After that he will go to ICU for about 2 days then he will go to progressive care. Hopefully he will be discharged between Monday or Tuesday.

Ok, enough for now. I will write again tomorrow with new information. Keep checking in for new details. Thanks again for your support! Stacy

Today is the Day...

Well good morning to all of you!! We have had the pleasure of being awake since 0345 am while all of you were tucked nicely in your cozy beds. Just a little bit jealous, but it's ok. Matt's brother Scott picked us up on time at 0450am to take us to the hospital for our 0515am check in. I am very grateful to him for sacrificing his sleep to support Matt and I. We arrived at the hospital on time only to do the "hurry up and wait" thing that hospitals make you do. He was wheeled up to the second floor surgery suite and we are now currently stationed in the CVICU waiting room. Surgery is scheduled to begin at 0730am so I will keep you posted. Thank you for your prayers in advance.

Still waiting...

While we were waiting for Matt to go back to surgery, the nurses in the pre-op holding area allowed myself, my dad Pat , and Matt's brother Scott to go and see Matt to say our "final goodbye" before he went in for surgery. Matt had already had his "happy juice" so he was feeling good. The official time they rolled him back was 0804am. Just a little late! The education nurse came out to give us an update and stated that he went under the anesthesia well and they are currently performing his surgery. Around 0830am, Lt. Anthony Willis came to hang out for the party in the waiting room. He has updated us on all of the love and support everyone at the fire department has given us. He brought a 50 ft roll of paper signed by a ton of people from the department wishing him a quick recovery. I feel so overwhelmed by every one's kindness and generosity. Words can't express how thankful I am to have all of you in our life. We feel very blessed and loved. Thanks again for your continued prayers and support.