Surgery Has Been Rescheduled

I guess our frequent phone messages have sparked a response from Toronto.  The neurosurgeon just phoned with information about surgery.  There are a few factors effecting the scheduling of the date. The doctors need to make sure dad's infection is completely gone from his blood stream before they even consider operating.  Mom will be taking samples to their family doctor tomorrow so that Toronto can get that information ASAP.  The neurosurgeon is on holidays next week, as is the E.N.T. that are working together to perform various parts of the surgery.  The E.N.T. will need to give dad a tracheotomy prior to the neurosurgeon doing the "scraping" part of the surgery.  The E.N.T. will also finish up the surgery and work around dad's esophagus (as well as the radiation that needs to immediately follow).  There is concern about dad's fibre optic nerve collapsing, so the tracheotomy will ensure dad has an airway in the event that this happens.  If an emergency tracheotomy is required prior to surgery, we are to bring dad to Toronto immediately for the team there to deal with the fall out.  Even if the E.N.T. and neurosurgeon aren't physically there at that time, their team of colleagues are aware of dad's case and can make appropriate plans.  Dad will need to keep the trach in after the surgery until all swelling is down and they are convinced that his airway is safe on its own.  If surgery goes well, they are predicting that dad should be able to come home (with trach) within a few days after the surgery (best case scenario...that we're choosing to believe will occur).  As of this moment, dad's surgery has been scheduled for August 30th (3 weeks from now).  Although we were hoping for much sooner, we are finding some relief knowing that a date has been set.