to be continued...

Stephen slept very well last night. Probably the best he has slept since this whole ordeal began over a week ago. He attributes his great sleep to Jayna staying the night right beside him and holding his hand. He tells us all that he has peace and is not worried at all. Naturally his family has much more anxiety than he does.

At 4:15 the surgery team came in to get Steve prepped for surgery. He is still laughing and cracking jokes as they shave his chest and legs! The nurses are having him perform some kind of scrub on his chest that smells terrible. -- He just looked at me and winked with a dazzling smile. He sure looks relaxed. My heart screams to protect him from this whole ordeal and keep him safe - but they tell me I can't take him home without having this surgery.

to be continued......

10:15 am - Jason said that the family received word that everything is going well with Steve. The surgeon has completed the major portion of the procedure and they are beginning to prepare to close Steve up.

to be continued.....

10:45 am - The surgeon has came out to say surgery is completed. Everything went great and Steve is in recovery. Jayna will be able to see him in about 10-15 minutes.

to be continued.....

11:30 a.m. - Dad's doing great! The surgeon came out rather quickly after the nurse said they were waiting to warm him up and said he was already closed up, everything went great and we could see him in 10-15 minutes. We were thrilled to know that all of us were able to go back and see daddy for a few minutes.

They had just wheeled him into the Intensive Care Unit when we arrived and were still getting him set up to moniters, etc. He really looked great. Everyone had warned me that when I saw him he would look "like death," but I thought his coloring was great, his hands were warm, and he looked really good. We were able to spend a few minutes with him, ask the doctor a few more questions and then we came back out to the waiting area.

Mom has been so strong through this entire process. We have seen very few tears from her. After seeing dad, though, it was like she realized it was over and that dad was going to be okay. The bishop had arrived to visit with us while we were in seeing dad and mom walked right by him with only a wave and went to the bathroom to have a good cry. She just kept saying, "He's gonna be okay!" We were all very relieved and glad that the worst part was over.

They told us that he would be in recovery for about 4 hours, they'd take the breathing tube out and then we could go in 1 or 2 at a time and sit with him. At that point he'll be able to talk, and the doctor even said that he should be up and sitting in a chair by this evening.

Mom has asked that we not have any visitors until after he's out of Critical Care. We'll let you know when that will be...probably not for 2-3 days.

Thank you all for your prayers. We do count this as a miracle. The doctor said that after the surgery (Quadruple bypass that went around all the stents) his heart is already functioning at near normal levels. Incredible! Praise the Lord.

By the way - I did want to share the sweet relationship my parents share as a side story. This morning as they were wheeling dad down for surgery, mom was walking along by his bed. He had been given medicine to put him out and was feeling pretty good until he got out of the elevator. He asked the nurse to stop for a moment and told mom to come to him. He took her hand, asked her to smile at him. Then he closed his eyes with a sigh and said, "The last thing I want to see before surgery is your beautiful face, and the next time I open my eyes, you'll be there, won't you?" He made us all cry, but it is a beautiful testament to the love he shares with my mom.