48 hrs in

Ella went to surgery today at 8:30, it was a hard send off, she was crying and repeating " I just don't want to get my belly cut open!" But the ickyness had to come out, so we held it together until she was sedated and in the OR. It was a long surgery, they had told us 2-4 hrs, but being medical professionals we knew they often underestimate OR time so we weren't worried when hr #7 approached, although each time the pager went off with an update my stomach lurched. Being medical professionals also makes us aware of the reality of medical mistakes & complications, praise God we had neither. The surgeon said everything went well, very little blood loss (no need for transfusion.) and the tumor did not rupture while being removed (again, big fear, praise God) The tumor was large 4-5 lbs so separating it from the surrounding tissue took time. They tell us these tumor are always large when found. Ella's guts were all displaced during surgery and she has a very large scar over the right side of her abdomen around towards her back. Unfortunately her epidural does not seem to be working well and

she has intense pain with any movements, they are giving her morphine for this. She has an tube in her nose down to her stomach which suctions out bile, this bothers her throat. They placed a port in her upper chest wall that will be used for chemotherapy. We are glad that they could place this port while she was under anesthesia. We won't find out the pathology reports until Friday or Monday, continued prayer for low grade tumor and good prognosis as well as no lymph node involvement. We've moved rooms 3 times in the last 48hrs, but are now on a surgical floor and I will sleep better knowing she is hooked up to the heart and oxygen monitors.

We have been blessed by the outpouring of love and support. We really have a great community rallying around us. Ella's room is full of balloons, cards and gifts. Greg's aunt brought her motor home over yesterday and made arrangements to have it parked in the hospital parking lot for our use. Greg's parents and the dogs have been staying there and we will take turns sleeping there with Biniyam. She also stalked it with all kinds of food and drinks. Thank you Jackie! My sister lives in Seattle and has been here with us. We have friends who have driven the 1 1/2 hrs from Bellingham to see us, some to stay with relatives "just incase" Ella wants to see her friends, their children. We hope she'll be up to seeing friends soon.

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support. We are blessed.