Surgery Day

Today Jonathan had his surgery to repair the broken bones in his skull and face. Everything went great, couldn't have gone better. We were told that the procedure would last two to two & a half hours; however, it ended up lasting about five and a half. The waiting was agonizing but I just kept telling myself that this whole process is teaching me patience so I tried to be patient.
Going into the surgery, even last night, I had a really great peace about it all. The doctor explained everything in detail and reassured us that this was not a dangerous surgery. I felt confident because I really understood all that they were going to do; however, I also felt confident because I knew that God was in control. Jonathan was still afraid that something might go wrong or that his heart would act up since it has had problems in the past. I just knew that nothing like that was going to happen. God has been speaking to me in different ways in the last few months and weeks so I knew that if He was getting me prepared for certain things and setting up for that then He wouldn't be calling my husband home. (I'll explain this more later- that's another story for a different day) I also give credit to my feelings of peace for the, literally, hundreds of people that I knew were praying for Jonathan and I. For those of you who said a prayer for peace, I truly thank you. Your prayers definitely worked and helped me get through this trying time. Because I had peace I was also able to help put Jonathan a little more at ease last night as we were trying to get some sleep. He was still a little nervous, and understandably so, but it at least helped build his confidence a bit.
The details of the surgery itself are a little confusing unless I explain it all and show pictures. But, basically, where the skull fracture was is on the outermost wall of the skull but there was also one behind the empty sinus cavity in the forehead area and that fracture in the innermost wall, close to the brain, was going to be a last minute decision as to whether or not it needed to be repaired. If it had to be repaired they would have to touch the brain a little and it makes the surgery a little more risky. By the grace of God, they didn't have to do that part of the repair. Once they were in there the fracture wasn't as bad and they saw that it was going to be able to heal on its own. The doctor was also going to have to fix some things in the sinus cavity that I mentioned before; however, when he got in there it also wasn't as bad as expected and he didn't have to do as extensive things as he was planning. The thing made the surgery take longer then planned was fixing the broken bones around the eye. Apparently the bones were in a lot of tiny little pieces so it took a while to put them all back together. The thing they were concerned about going in to the surgery is that once they started to move one of the bones they would all start to move. Fortunately, that didn't happen either. So really everything that could have gone well did go well. I'm so grateful for the doctor and, moreover, for God working through the doctor.
Since the inner skull part of the procedure didn't have to be done Jonathan didn't have to stay in ICU as expected he would. We are now back in his normal room and he is getting a lot of rest...and a lot of morphine! He looks so great. I thought he would have swelling around his eye and be heavily bandaged. His eyes look just like they did before the accident, just a little bruised. The cuts on his face look significantly better. I'm not sure how they are sealed but he doesn't have visible stitches. I know that his head is completely shaved "Mr. Clean" style but right now its covered in head dressings. His nose also has a little splint on it. He just looks so great. He didn't get his "Brad Pitt face transplant" like he joked he was going to do but that's ok, I don't care for Brad much anyway!
We will be here for a few more days depending on how he does, the doctor hopes to get us out of here over the weekend. Please continue to keep us in your prayers for a good, quick, and safe recovery. I feel like we are on our way up now and out of the real danger but I realize that there are still things that could go wrong in the recovery time. I truly, truly thank each and every one of you for your prayers and words of encouragement. God certainly heard each prayer and granted it.
I ask that you also keep another guy, Alex, in your prayers. His girlfriend was a good friend of mine in elementary and high school. He was injured in a motorcycle accident as well at the end of last week. From my knowledge he is still in ICU and has more serious injuries than Jonathan had. They have 2 young children so I'm sure this is difficult for them as a family.

All I can really say after today is Gigi's old saying, "God is good all the time, all the time God is good." Thank you, Gigi, for looking over your son today.