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Minneapolis Childrens Hospital, July 1, 1998, the date Michael entered the hospital to prepare for the operation to remove his tumor. July 2, 1998, surgery day. The surgery was supposed to start at 10:00 am, but it was actually closer to noon before it began. The surgery went well, it took somewhere around 5 hours to complete. The time went by quickly, there were plenty of family and friends to keep us busy. Two of Michael's uncles came in from Utah , Guy and Kelly. Michael's grandparents, the Graham's, from Battle Lake Minnesota (Lisa's parents) stayed at the hospital for quite a few days. They were given a room close to the hospital, as were Michael's parents, Tony and Lisa. Michael is lucky to have grandparents like the Graham's, they have made the trip to Minneapolis from Battle Lake numerous times since the diagnosis and have spent many days and nights sitting with Michael, Lisa and Tony. Also present were Lisa's sister Stacy(Stacy I really do like your shoes. Thirty years younger and I'd get a pair of my own), Tony's brother Brett and his girlfriend (mother of one of my favorite little girls, Alyx), Wendy, and Tony's parents,....us.
We all agreed one of the biggest helps in passing the time were the senior volunteers who staffed the waiting room. We were lucky enough to have chosen seats next to the front desk. Every one of the volunteers entered into conversation with our family like they were part of it.
We were kept informed of the progress almost hourly by someone in direct contact with, or who was an actual part of the surgical team. It had been a while since our last update, you can imagine the relief when the surgeon poked his head through the door grinning from ear to ear. He felt like he had removed all of the tumor, but probably what pleased him the most was the fact that Michael was starting to wake up and he was moving all of his arms and legs. His part was done.
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The Beginning