My sister returned to Chicago this morning, which means that I’m flying solo for the time being. That’s fine. I may not be as efficient doing things around the house as when I’m 100%, but I can do most things okay. I can tell that I’m not ready to lift or drive yet–just enough pain in the incision points to say “Hey, Dummy! Knock it off!”

Before she left this morning, my sister threw a couple of loads in the laundry and hit the grocery store one last time. I should be good into early next week.

A friend from work stopped by this afternoon for the first time, and we got caught up on my story and what’s been happening while I’ve been away.

A group that I work with sent me a get well card that included 20 things to do while recuperating. I just may start working on that list to entertain myself.

GRAPHIC BIOLOGY AHEAD:

My systems seem to be getting back to their normal selves again (nearly clear urine, regular BMs); my incision points are healing without infection (although one has a nice bruise around it); the pain is steadily decreasing; and I’m more than ready for the catheter to come out.

I did call the nurse at the surgeon’s office this morning to confirm what I needed to do in preparation for the catheter removal, as well as what I needed to bring for after it was removed (i.e., Depends).

Interestingly, she said that most guys can leave after having the catheter removed with just a pad in place to catch any leakage. Given that I have an hour ride back from the office, I think I may be a bit more cautious and go the full Depends route till I figure out what’s going to happen and how much bladder control I’ll have in those first hours/days.

One other thing that I was forewarned about before the surgery was the fact that blood will leak out the urethra outside the catheter tube when I strain to pass gas or have a bowel movement. I wasn’t sure if that would be a controlling factor as to whether the catheter can come out or not, and apparently it’s not. (The volume of blood is down from what it was a few days ago, but it’s still there.)

So one chapter on this story is coming to a close (the surgery) and the next is about to start (life after surgery). Let’s hope it’s well-written with a happy outcome. Being significantly incontinent could really make for a lessened quality of life.

Funny observation: The first couple of nights after getting out of the hospital, I wanted to follow my routine of going to the bathroom to empty my bladder before going to bed. “Oh. That’s right. I don’t have to. It will empty automatically.” I guess there is one advantage to being catheterized after all. Otherwise, it’s a pain in the butt (metaphorically).

Perhaps I should suspend the Percocet for a day and take this two liter drainage bag for a spin at the local watering hole and forget about “beer rental.” Nah.

Today I continued to share the good news with others that I didn’t get to yesterday. (Good thing I doubled the minutes on my cell phone plan last month!) I also just paced around the living room to get my exercise and had another visitor pop over at lunch time.

I think all the excitement of the last 48 hours caught up with me because I landed back in bed by mid-afternoon for a nice little nap. I probably need to ease up a little because I can feel a little more pain at a couple of the incision points today. Don’t want to overdo it and blow a gasket or something like that. Still, the pain is relatively low (2-4 out of 10) and I don’t want to be a complete wuss about it either. When I’m sitting, it’s the worst. I’ll find the right balance.

I do feel comfortable enough to be on my own, so my sister will be heading back to her family and job in Chicago tomorrow, weather permitting. Before she leaves, she’ll do a couple of loads of laundry and make one more run to the grocery store to get me stocked up enough to last me into early next week.

With the catheter coming out on Friday, I’ll be one step closer to being able to drive on my own. It all depends on my pain level and my ability to stomp on the brakes if necessary. I suspect that by the middle to end of next week, I should be mobile again. In the interim, I may need an assist to run to the store for me. I’ll fire up my coordination spreadsheets and put the call out if and when its needed.

I had a little surprise after getting out of the shower this morning. I’m four pounds HEAVIER than when I went into the hospital!! I hope my scale is acting up or it’s all the extra hardware that I’m sporting around, because if it’s not, that’s truly depressing.

Coming out of this, I really want to turn over a new dietary leaf, eating healthful foods that I can control the contents and quantity of. My doctor says that colon cancer is very closely related to prostate cancer, and if you have to have the cancer life experience, I only want to deal with it once.

So that’s it for today. Time to fix dinner. (Irony, eh?)

I just spoke with the surgeon.  The pathology report showed that the cancer was confined to the prostate and had not spread.  The lymph nodes were clean, too.

I have to go back in 4 weeks for a follow-up and my first post-surgery PSA test.  If the PSA reading is zero, that’s more confirmation that the cancer did not spread.  However, if it’s still elevated, there may be cancer still in the body someplace that the pathology didn’t see.  So a little more waiting, but today’s report was a huge step in the right direction.

Time to wash down a Percocet with a celebratory beer!  (Not!)

Last night was perhaps the best night of sleep that I had since this journey began on Day 1.  It was heavenly.  I only hope that I have more and more like it going forward.

The other thing that was bordering on heavenly–and I apologize for being graphic–was having my first real post-surgery bowel movement.  It appears that all systems are functioning as they should once again.

First things first…  Two Percocets do not make you perkier.

All along, I had been managing my pain with one pill, and it was doing its job quite well.  But last night I slept through my 1:00 AM dose and could definitely tell this morning that the pain was there.  I popped 2 pills after lunch to try and get it back under control, but learned that two pills gave me a bit of a buzz.  Not fun.

I was up at 7:30 this morning and managed to stay out of bed all the way until 11:30, which was good.  Being up and around is definitely better than spending the day in bed.

I continue to do laps around the house (inside, of course) and this morning I added the stairs to the basement to my route.  That took a little more effort and energy, and by midday I was ready to go horizontal for a while.

A little nap in early afternoon and I was ready for my first visitors by 3:30 PM.  It was good to spend some time with them again.

Dinner tonight was more of the homemade soup that was delivered by my neighbors–thanks!  My appetite is slowly getting better with each day and I’m beginning to return to a better eating pattern/schedule.  Part of the reason that it’s been so slow to return is the bloating after the surgery.

When they poke holes in you for the robot arms to enter your body, they fill you will gas to essentially inflate you to get your body wall away from where they’re doing the surgery.  When they’re done, they sew you back up and some of that gas is trapped inside you.  Eventually, it filters its way into your digestive tract and causes a lot of pressure.  There’s really no room for food.

The surgeon told me to expect to be bloated the first 3-4 days after the surgery, and he was right.  The first two days, I was in agony from the gas pressure–it caused more pain than the incisions did.  For biological reasons unbeknowst to me, getting rid of the gas in those first days is very difficult.  (You remember the old joke, “How do you spell relief? F-A-R-T”??)  It’s amazing how expelling that gas made my comfort level go way up.  The new simple joys in life…  🙂

I still find it difficult to sit for any extended periods of time, so I’m actually standing at the kitchen counter typing this out on my laptop.  It’s getting better, and the more I’m up and about, the more it will improve.

When I started this blog, I was just using it to vent and keep people in the loop on what was happening.  But, over the last 60 days, I’ve viewed this as an educational tool as well.  It’s certainly not meant to replace the advice of proper medical personnel, but I hope that it gives others going through this insight from one patient’s perspective.  It’s the silver lining in this cloud.

So keeping with that educational theme, you may start to see more very detailed and very graphic descriptions of what I’m experiencing after surgery.  I’ll identify those descriptions in advance to allow those who don’t want to know to have the opportunity to skip reading that part of the post.

So it’s near the end of my first full day at home, and things have been going well so far…

It’s still difficult for me to sit up normally–the pain in my belly gets intensified–so I spend most of the day in bed.  The new plumbing makes that an adventure, too.  Normally, I like to roll around in my sleep, and now I can’t without risking pulling on the catheter.

During the day, I do get up and wander around the house for 30 minutes or so every 3-4 hours.  That helps prevent blood clots and pneumonia, plus it really does make me feel better.

My appetite has been slower coming back than I expected, and I’ve been eating a little more each meal.  I’ll have to wait a week or two to get to that ribeye that I asked for in post-op.

Earlier today, I brought my laptop into my bed and tried using it off to my side.  (Putting it on my lap with five incisions and additional plumbing isn’t an option right now.)  As I rolled onto my side to get better access to the keyboard, I sprung a leak.

That’s the side that my drainage hole was on–a hole in my abdomen to allow fluids to drain while in the hospital–leaked fluid onto the gauze covering it.  No signs of infection–just the geometry allowed it to leak, I guess.  I was told to expect that to happen.

I’m getting back into a more normal sleep pattern, even though I was wide awake around 3 AM today.  A little catnap this afternoon helped me get caught up on some much needed rest.

It is good to be back home.  The hospital was not a place for rest.

It’s funny how the universe puts things in perspective.  There’s always someone with a worse situation than yourself, and that was the case with my roommate.  From what I could tell, he had advanced lung cancer that was to the point where his body couldn’t prevent the food or drink that he ate from entering his lungs.  Of course, that made him cough, moan, and gurgle day and night, and the nurses were in the room nearly every hour attending to his needs.  That made my getting the rest that I needed for my own recovery next to impossible.  I know that’s a selfish perspective, and I really tried to direct my frustration more at the hospital and nurses than at my roommate.

As far as upcoming events are concerned, the pathology report is scheduled to be available on Monday.  We’ll know whether the cancer was confined to the prostate or if it has spread beyond.  The catheter will come out a week from today.  Lori and I will have to figure out how long she’s going to need to remain here, but having her here has been a great help.

So that’s about as much typing as I can do for now.

hi  everyone.   blogging from my hospital bed.

yes, as lori said, i am spending a second night here.  they want to make sure that the plumbing is working as it should.

having fun annoying the nurses, which probably isnt wise as theyre the ones with the needles.

hopefully ill get outta here tomorrow.  anyone want to bring me a six pack to drink so i can pee more…

This is Lori again…..

Some things don’t always go as planned. They said Dan should be able to come home today around 2PM. Well, that isn’t going to happen. Apparently his urine output is not as good as it should be considering all the IV drips. Also, they asked him if he takes oxygen at home. They said your “oxygen” level is low, we have to put you on oxygen. So, he will not be coming home tonight. I ran back to his home to pick up his cell phone and run it back up to him. I thought I would blog an update before I leave to go back.

I don’t know how to read or post any of your comments out there, so that will have to wait for Dan’s return.

A last comment before I run out the door. Dan looks and feels good (a 1000 times better than last night), so hopefully, this is just a hiccup!

We both appreciate all the support and prayers being sent our way!

Lori

I left the hospital at 11:15 PM.  Surgery was delayed for several hours due to an emergency.  Dan was scheduled for surgery at 12:30 PM, but they did not take him until 3 PM.  I was given a pager and started the long wait. Waiting is not one of my stong points.

At 3:50 PM I was given an update that they started the robotic operation.  At 5:30 PM an update came in from the Doctor that “it was in the bag”….meaning that they removed the prostate???  After that, I didn’t get anymore updates until 8 PM when the Dr. came out himself to talk to me. He said it went as planned, but took all of 4 hours.  He was a very nice Doctor…. even asked me if I had dinner.

By 9:30 PM, I was still waiting. Actually, by now, I was the ONLY person in the waiting room. I decided to pick up a phone on the reception desk (all workers were now gone) and behold, a voice at the other end said “recovery”.  I told them that I was Dan’s sister and was still waiting. They told me to come back.  I made my way through a few double doors and then I spotted my brother.  Well, he sort of looked like my brother. They had to invert the table when operating, so his face was now swollen. He was awake, asking for a rib eye steak and water. He reminded all of us every 15 seconds or so that he had not eaten for over 50 hours now! He also told us “cancer sucks!” The nurses were great and Dan kept up his humor..even though he was clearly in a lot of pain.  He reminded me of our Dad…always joking around. It was another hour before he got up to his room. His nurse in the room gave him the morphine pump and told him to use it!!!  I left him there at 11:15 PM and drove back to his house. I’ll return in the mid morning. He is expected to come home tomorrow afternoon.  I expect Dan will continue his blog this evening.