[Sportsandrec] Greg Update

[Cervenka, Stacy (Brownback)]

Hey, everyone,
    Thank you all so much for your prayers and good wishes! Greg got out
of surgery yesterday evening around 7:30 Eastern Time (4:30 Pacific).
The doctors had predicted the surgery taking between 3 to 5 hours and,
because of a few complications, it ended up taking about 9. As the day
wore on, it was only all of your words of encouragement, offers of
support, and knowing that Greg had many people praying for him both
locally and across the country that kept me afloat!
    Up until a few days ago, the doctors had been planning on taking a
bone from Greg's leg and using it to reconstruct his jaw and mouth.
However, at the last minute, the oral surgeon that was helping Greg's
plastic surgeon out with the operation said that he didn't feel that
Greg was ready for this surgery and that Greg needed a few preliminary
things done first to build the structure and support they would need to
reconstruct his mouth and jaw area. Hence, this was supposed to be a
smaller surgery than what we had originally thought.
    The best news first: the doctors were able to build up the structure
on the right side of Greg's face that he needed. They had to go about
this in a slightly different way than planned, since there was a kink in
the metal rod that was holding his eye socket together, but the end
results are the same, so it's all good.
    The doctors did run into some problems finishing the reconstruction
of his nose, but they ended up going about it from the bottom instead of
the top like they had planned. Because they went in from the bottom of
his nose, they had to reconstruct his nostrils again, which took some
time. Again, though, it all worked out in the end, so good times. (Oh,
and on another nose related note, Greg broke his nose at judo back in
February, so he's been walking around with a broken nose for several
months. That's just how my Greggo rolls; he's tough like that! :) The
doctor said he'd fix it during this surgery and he did, so no more
broken nose.)
    Finally, Greg needed to have a plate removed from his jaw, so that
the doctors can go in next time and reconstruct his jaw and mouth area.
They were unable to remove the plate by way of his mouth as they had
hoped, so they consulted with his mother and decided to open up the
underside of his chin and remove it that way. The good news is that they
were able to remove most of the plate. The slightly less good news is
that the plate was so enmeshed in his bone that they weren't able to get
about one third of it out, so the doctors will have to reevaluate how
they'll be able to do the next surgery, which would be the building of
his chin and mouth. On a not so fun note, in their efforts to remove the
plate through the underside of his chin, the doctors had to remove
Greg's upper and lower jaw (don't worry! they put it back on!), so Greg
woke up with a rather unpleasant surprise and in a lot more jaw pain
than expected. He also has to have these hoses connected to his lower
jaw to remove fluids from the excess swelling. The hoses make it
uncomfortable for him to get out of bed much, but they should be taken
out sometime today. He's Greg though, so he's taking it like a champ.
They offered him some chicken broth this morning and he was like, "I
don't want the broth; I want the chicken!" haha!
    Again, thank you to everyone for your messages of encouragement and
support yesterday. As the surgery got longer and longer, it did help me
get through the day knowing that Greg had so many friends in Chico, in
DC, and across the country praying for him, thinking about him, and
sending him good wishes! I have conveyed to him all the good vibes and
best wishes that people have sent his way. He wants me to tell you all
"Thank you for having me in your prayers and in your thoughts! Even
though there's a little discomfort right now, I'm healing quickly and
the swelling will go down soon."
 
Stacy Leigh Cervenka
Legislative Assistant
Office of Senator Sam Brownback (KS)
303 Hart Senate Office Building
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Email: stacy_cervenka at brownback.senate.gov