Each of us is allowed only one visitor in the pre-op area. Mom is with me, Penny goes with Mike. But the rooms are adjacent, so Mom and I tiptoe over and join Mike and Penny in his room. The surgical team is ready for me. I squeeze his hand.
First stop is a large room somewhere on the periphery of the operating rooms.
And one guy in street clothes. My surgeon, Dr. Stuart Geffner. Dr. Geffner, I ve been assured, is among the best laproscopic surgeons in the nation. To hear his medical colleagues tell it, he can successfully remove a kidney blindfolded, with one hand tied behind his back, using chopsticks. I m fully prepared to believe it, even though this morning he looks more like a stockbroker.