Hospital Schedule and Information

Today is the day before we leave to go up to Boston for my surgery. I can't believe how fast the time has flown by! It is only 60 miles to the hospital from our house but since I have to be at the hospital at 5:30am on Thursday morning we decided to get a room at the Best Western Hotel that is 100yds from Brigham & Women's Hospital. My Mom will then stay at the hotel Thursday night so she will be with me on Friday too.

My surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am Thursday Aug. 17. It will be 4 to 6 hours long. Frank and my Mom will be able to be with me until they wheel me away to the operating room. They will then be taken to the Bretholtz Center for Patients and Families in the hospital, which is right behind the main information desk at the 75 Francis St entrance. They will be given a beeper (like they give you when you wait at a restaurant) so they won't have to stay in the family center if they would like to go back to the hotel, get something to eat, or take a walk. When there is an update during or after the surgery the beeper will vibrate. All they have to do is go to the Family Center desk and they will be taken to a small cubicle and given a phone where they can talk to Dr Black. Once I am in recovery/NICU the beeper will buzz again and they will be taken to see me. I have talked to a couple of people who have had similar surgeries and they said that their family wasn't updated until the surgery was over, so I hope people don't get too anxious waiting for an update. Once my Mom has heard anything she will call my Dad and he will be updating this blog. He is flying home on Thursday but will have his laptop with him so the updates should be posted fairly quickly once he receives them.

You can also call the hospital for an update on my condition, "Family members at home can call (617) 732-7440".

People have asked for the addresses where they could send a card. For anyone wishing to send something to the hospital I should be there from 8/18 thru 8/22 at least. Here is the address:
Susan Linhares
room number (call 1-617-732-5164 if you don't know the room number)
Brigham and Women's Hospital
75 Francis St.
Boston, MA 02113

When I get out of the hospital I will be staying at my Mom's the first week:
Susan Linhares
c/o Diane Carhart
11 Jeannes Way
Forestdale, MA 02644

For anyone who is planning on visiting me the hospital is located at 75 Francis St in Boston. All I know at this time is that I will be in a room on the 10th floor which is the Neuro floor. When you enter at 75 Francis St there is a large information desk right in front of you and they will help you find my room. We usually use Route 9 to the west of Boston to get there instead of going up 93 into Boston. It saves a bit of traffic aggravation. Here are directions from the hospital website for anyone who is traveling from the South. More directions (and other info for visitors or about the hospital) can be found on the B&W website http://www.brighamandwomens.org.

Take Route 128 (I-95) north. Take Route 9 east for six miles. Take a left onto Brookline Avenue (Brook House Condominiums will be on right). At third set of lights, turn right onto Francis Street. The hospital is one block down on the left.

Phone calls are allowed but it has been stressed that I keep them to a minimum since this type of surgery causes extreme fatigue. Also, since there are two beds in each room I wouldn't want to bother my roommate with a constantly ringing phone. If you feel that you would like to call the main phone number at the hospital is on their website (link is above).

Well I think that is all for now. If there is any info that I may have missed just write a comment or email me and I will add to this post.