The Surgery has finished....

Guy's doctor completed the surgery around 9:00-9:15 pm (Pacific Time) so it went a little longer than orginally planned.

Some of the reasons why his doctor extended surgery:

• needed to spend extra time on Guy's jaw area
• the eye sockets were damanged more severely and his doctor wanted to add extra plating and spend more time on the reconstruction.

Overall, the doctor is quite pleased with the outcome as he was able to achieve the major facial framework reconstruction and remains positive about Guy's full recovery. There may be a few nips and tucks needed in the future but they may be minor procedures that can be accomplished through outpatient surgery.

We will publish more information as it becomes available tomorrow.

Guy is officially on the road to recovery!!!!!!

Surgery update: Difficulties

Guy has been in the operation room for over 11 hours now and surgery will continue for a couple more hours. The surgeon says they had to change their operating plan since the jaw and other parts of the face were not stable enough. They had to start from the forehead and work their way down. They have found that the eye sockets are broken like "an egg shell" and some of the pieces are out of place, while some are completely missing. So the work is a complicated jig-saw puzzle with hundreds of pieces that they need to put together. It is a very slow and tedious process.

The doctor says the vital signs are stable for now. Both Adi and Guy's moms expect to be here all night long. We will try to update in the morning or when we can.

Quick Surgey Update

We received a call from the surgeon at about 12:25 p.m., saying that the surgery is going as well as expected but they have a long way to go. We expect another 3.5 hours of surgery.

A message from Sam McKee

I'm Sam McKee, Guy's neighbor, friend, pastor/rabbi, and arch-enemy in video games. Guy was transferred out of ICU yesterday and was able to spend the night in a private room. It was a difficult night with aches and pains, but Adi was by his side, caring for him through the night. Guy's mother and I arrived at the hospital at about 6 a.m. this morning.

I went in to see him before surgery, hoping to give Guy some inspiration since Adi told the Security Guard at Regional Medical Center that I was their "pastor" last Friday, so she could get me into the ER.

So this morning, I tried going pastoral on Guy by saying: "Guy, my friend Dr. Hooper, a VP for Palo Alto Medical Foundation, has helped us with a lot of medical advice this weekend. And he always says it's beneficial for a patient to go into surgery with a positive mental picture in mind." Guy didn't miss a beat, and quickly said, "So... ah, why are YOU here then?" He smirked.

I couldn't believe it. The guy falls 25 feet onto his head and he's still smarter than me! : )

I smiled and said, "Alright buddy, you won this one, but I'm going to have the last word for the next few weeks while your jaw is wired shut."

I figured winning that mental duel would be plenty of inspiration, but I also had a Scripture to share with him. I said, "The Hebrew Prophet Isaiah wrote a verse of poetry that is perfect for a time like this. He wrote, 'Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up with wings as eagles."

"Eagles are very unique in the way that they deal with storms. Instead of avoiding a storm, they fly right into the eye of it, and harness it's power to rise above it. They angle their wings and instead of falling to the ground, the strong winds bounce them up to a higher elevation above the storm. This storm you are facing will only make you a stronger and better person and leader. You will rise above it. God has preserved your life and now the blessing that I pray for you is that He will give you a perfect surgery--that He will give your great surgeon wisdom and skill so you can return to health and strength very soon." That's what all of us are hoping and praying for today.

Guy went in for what is expected to be an 8-hour surgery at 7:30 a.m. this morning, and we expect to receive an update around 12:30 p.m.

Getting a rested before surgery....

Today, Guy was able to have a few more visitors because the ICU nurses conveniently looked the other way when more than just immediate family members found their way to his room. He also recieved word from his doctors that his surgery would commence at 7:30 am on Wednesday (Pacific Time). In order to get a full night's rest, he was moved out of the ICU and into a normal hospital room. The hospital is trying to arrange for an extra bed in the room so Adi can spend the night with Guy.

Please send your thoughts, prayers and best wishes to Guy for his upcoming surgery.

Goodnight........

Updates from Adi

I want to thank everyone for caring and calling to check on us.

Unfortunately, I don’t have time to make any calls back since I need to help Guy and talk to so many doctors and specialist about his condition.

I am not sure what you know about Guy’s accident and I can’t say I know all the details yet. All I can say for now is that he fell from 25-30 feet.

He is now being at Intensive care to make sure he will be able to breath.

He will undergo a 10-12 hours (more or less) complicated head surgery, since his facial bones broke in so many places.

I will try to update the blog after the surgery and let you know how it went.

It has been a long long day and is seems like it started weeks ago.

I also need to give some attention to Shira our 2.5 years old daughter which misses him (and me) very much.

I will appreciate your comments and regards at the blog instead of calling for the time being, because I’m overloaded with everything, and can’t handle that too.
Guy can’t see people for the next week at least, but I know and he also told me a few times that he misses the company of you guys, and will love to hear all you have to say about him :-)

I promise you that I will read it to Guy whenever I can

Please pray for us.

Adi

Quick Update for Monday

On Saturday evening Guy was transferred from San Jose Regional Medical Center to Stanford Hospital. He was placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as an extra precaution to provide the best monitoring of his condition. The ICU has strict rules on patient visits and they are asking to limit it to only immediate family for now.

Guy's mother and Adi's mother flew in from Israel on Sunday to provide family support for Guy, Adi and Shira.

Facial surgery will likely occur on Wednesday as the doctors need a 10 hour window to perform their magic. They will be making the necessary preparations which include ordering many different sizes of titanium plates and bolts. Guy will not only be handsome when they are finished but also bionic.

The hospital gave Guy a computer today and once he found out that he wasn't going to have surgery until Wednesday, he immediately started trying to communicate with the outside world with two broken arms. Typing is still a challenge and Matthew is working on getting Guy a split keyboard to facilitate Guy's addition.

Adi, Matthew, Erin and I will be adding more information to keep family, friends and co-workers updated. Please feel free to add comments as Adi will be reading them to him daily.

Welcome

Many people will contribute to this blog. It is a privilege to be the first one to be able to do so. My name is Matthew Mengerink. I am a friend of Guy's who met Guy at work. Many people are worried about Guy and his condition. I hope to confirm, but also allay those concerns.

I met with Guy on Saturday in the hospital with many of his friends surrounding him. Adi, his wonderful wife, was standing strongly by his side tendering to him. She invited me in to his bedside. While injured, this is the Guy I know. I walked up to him and greeted him. I told him he did not need to say anything. He smiled. He told me he was alright. His first question to me was, "Matthew, how is my team?" I had chills go down my spine. In this moment where Guy lay in the emergency room, his first thought was of others and how they were feeling about this incident. Words can hardly capture the meaning of such a giving question.

Guy and I spoke for half an hour. During this time, nurses and doctors came and went. He wanted me to let everyone know that he was alright and that he has had other injuries in the past "that prepared me for this." I took great hope in his laughter and his ability to see the beauty in the situation. He felt blessed that so many friends are concerned about him and have done so much for him and his wife.

During our conversation we laughed quite a lot. When Guy breathes, he has a rasp in his throat. He said, "Matthew, I sound like Predator. You know... the Schwarzenegger movie." To me, I felt like it was more like the raptors from Jurassic Park.

Guy's neighbor, Sam, was there with us. We discussed video games. Apparently, Guy thrashes Sam during every game they play. He suggested that Guy's two broken arms may just even up the odds. Guy seemed quite confident that wouldn't help Sam. We're planning to play when Guy is recovering at home.

I am sharing these light stories as it shows the side of Guy that he wants everyone to see. He feels strong despite the severity of his injuries and wants everyone to feel ok. For who know Guy well, this fits in his character.

So, it is with this first post that I want to address all of you and let you know a few things. The first is that Guy is severely injured. The second is he and the doctors have great confidence that he will be alright in time. The last is that this will be a difficult recovery and that the help and hopes of all of his friends and family will be critical to his graceful and quick recovery.

Please look to more updates here from Adi, Guy, Brad Peterson, Erin Earle, and hopefully many more and let's look to Guy's speedy recovery!

Matthew Mengerink