How is that for a title? Sounds like a 12 step program. Anyway, recovery is so gradual that it is pointless to try to list everything week by week. Since I am now allowed to drive, I wanted to get out for a bit just about every day. My doc told me that once the catheter came out, he didnt care if I played hockey. A typical day begins with me hitting the showers after Peg leaves for work. I put on a pot of coffee and read the paper. Not a bad life. Make a nice breakfast around 9am. I would try to get to a big box store such as Lowes, Home Depot, Costco, or Wal Mart to just get some walking in. Initially, I couldnt go very far or very long. And almost every day, that three pm nap had to happen. Within 2 weeks I was able to be out of the house for 2 or 3 hours without too much fatigue. Finally, on a beautiful fall Friday, I met my golf buddies Stevie, Bruce, Poke Chop, and Charlie for a couple of beers in New Castle. It was such great therapy to see the guys and get away for an afternoon. Peg worried about me holding up, but I did just fine. My buddy Stevie, who will never read this because a telephone is as technical as he gets, had a bout of bladder cancer a few years ago and he was a good sympathetic ear and consultant through this. I have been blessed with good friends, and my relationship with each of them has its own uniqueness. Stevie is just a character that gives me tons of laughs and golf tips. Bruce is the Mel Brooks of the bunch, always laughing and telling jokes. He keeps me well supplied with great email humor. Pork Chop was a Human Resource exec and we trade our management stories. Plus, he was a drummer, as I was. Pork Chop is a die hard Cleveland Browns fan so we have a lot of needling about them and the Steelers. He has a Browns helmet autographed by Jimmy Brown. I have to tip my hat to that one. If there ever was a Cleveland player I admired, it was Jimmy Brown. Charlie and I are closer than the others. I have know him longer and he has introduced me to all the other guys. We both love golf, gin and our wives. We usually spend New Years Eve together, and take a summer vacation together. Charlie's wife Lynn made me a sunshine basket when I came home from the hospital. There were wrapped, numbered gifts in the basket that I was to open on the day indicated by the number. For example, day 1, was a pack of chicken soup. Each days gift had a great riddle attached. There was candy, DVD's, puzzles, books, and a bottle of wine. It was really great and lots of fun to look forward to every day.
My concerns now are centered on the incontinence and fatigue. I can walk a flight of steps and need to sit to catch my breath. The other problem isnt that bad, but more a constant worry. I cant go anywhere without making sure I find the closest bathroom. Peg and I went to dinner for the first time since surgery after church on a Saturday night. Pennsylvania just passed a smoking ban in public places, which by the way is so full of holes it is pointless. Anyway, I had to go to the mens room. I really need the stall to make sure there are no accidents. Wouldnt you know it, some jag off was in the stall smoking. I wanted to pee on his shoes, but I cant get a stream. Pennsylvania passes a smoking ban then has given out 3,000 plus exemptions in the 2 months since. Way to go. The tobacco lobbies must be writing checks at record speed. Not really wanting to get into politics, but this recuperation time afforded me a front row seat to the final 2 months of the presidential race, and the financial collapse of the world. Nothing like real tv to keep things lively. Only thing missing were congressional hearings.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sept 21 Week
It is Sunday, Sept 21 and I had a great night sleep. I was exhausted from my excursion the day before. Plus, I had a manhatten and a vicodan left over from a sprained ankle. Sleep of the dead. Peg and I went to mass and then to Trader Horn where I found a food mill. I should have gone there first. This store ranks right up there with Tractor Supply. Another favorite. We came home and prepared to watch the Steeler game. The Steelers played the Eagles and lost 15-6. No offense again. Beginning to think Joe Walton came back as offensive coordinator. When he was the coach, the signs in the stadium would say " Hey J E where's the O?" Hope you get my drift.
Anyway, a good game to have a couple of cocktails. I had my travel catheter bag on my leg since I had been out and about. First drink, I could almost see that bag fill up. Remember, it was warm and I was wearing shorts. Dumped the bag. Half hour later, had to dump the bag. One of my classic post surg line was at that point when I told Peg it was hell once you break the bubble. I decided to have another cocktail, but I put my overnight bag on first. Hah, I was good for 6 hours anyway.
Tuesday was the day I was getting my catheter removed. If you remember as a child how you felt on Christmas Eve, you have about one half the sense of excitement I had at finally getting that thing out.
Tuesday morning at 8 am, Peg took me to the docs. I didnt see him but his nurse was going to pull the catheter. I had taken my pads with me so that I could put them on right away. Well, I went into the room with Peg and laid on the table. The nurse took a syringe and drained the fluid from the catheter which held it in my bladder. Then she said the best thing for me to do was take a deep breath. I didnt like the sound of that but I obliged. She gave a yank, and that breath came out like a tornado. I saw all white and dont believe I have ever felt pain like that in my life. Peg was sitting by my feet and I kept curling my toes as the only response to the pain. The nurse said it was out, but I am not sure if she meant the catheter or my spine. I put my diaper on and we left. I was not to see the doc until Nov. 6. On the way home, me in the passenger seat, I couldnt hold back the tears. For the first time, I just gave in. I allowed myself that morning to wallow, but that was about it, although Peg may argue. Between the pain from the catheter irritation, the removal, and the incision, I just had had enough. I also learned quickly that Depends Man Guards do not work with boxer briefs. It was a trip to Wally World to get 8 pairs of tighty whiteys. At least now without the catheter, I was allowed to drive. I didnt really care about driving but I did want to get on my tractor and cut the grass. The problem was that I could not lift more than 10 pounds, so I had to figure out how to empty the bags. I just pulled handfulls of grass out until they were light enough for me to pick up. Anyway, humility aside for the sake of literature, my first stop to empty the bags, I had to pee. I already knew that once I felt that, I had about 10 seconds to get to the toilet. I am on my tractor about 150 feet from the house and there ain't no way. I jumped off the tractor and was going to try to get home. Then I thought "fuck it", put my hand on the hood of the tractor, and used that diaper for what it was designed for. It was great.
The day after my catheter came out, I got up and started my morning in the bathroom. All I could manage was a very slow drip. I became concerned fearing that the bag was going back on. I dribbled all morning and was becoming upset and frustrated. I called the docs office on Thursday and the told me to come right over. They asked me to go in a cup which they check for an infection, which came back negative. Then the did a sonagram on my bladder to see if I was not emptying completely. No infection and I did drain the weasel. They called the doc and he said for me to go home and do Kegel exercises. Now, Peg and I do Kegels. I am not explaining them if you dont know what they are, that is what Google is for.
Anyway, a good game to have a couple of cocktails. I had my travel catheter bag on my leg since I had been out and about. First drink, I could almost see that bag fill up. Remember, it was warm and I was wearing shorts. Dumped the bag. Half hour later, had to dump the bag. One of my classic post surg line was at that point when I told Peg it was hell once you break the bubble. I decided to have another cocktail, but I put my overnight bag on first. Hah, I was good for 6 hours anyway.
Tuesday was the day I was getting my catheter removed. If you remember as a child how you felt on Christmas Eve, you have about one half the sense of excitement I had at finally getting that thing out.
Tuesday morning at 8 am, Peg took me to the docs. I didnt see him but his nurse was going to pull the catheter. I had taken my pads with me so that I could put them on right away. Well, I went into the room with Peg and laid on the table. The nurse took a syringe and drained the fluid from the catheter which held it in my bladder. Then she said the best thing for me to do was take a deep breath. I didnt like the sound of that but I obliged. She gave a yank, and that breath came out like a tornado. I saw all white and dont believe I have ever felt pain like that in my life. Peg was sitting by my feet and I kept curling my toes as the only response to the pain. The nurse said it was out, but I am not sure if she meant the catheter or my spine. I put my diaper on and we left. I was not to see the doc until Nov. 6. On the way home, me in the passenger seat, I couldnt hold back the tears. For the first time, I just gave in. I allowed myself that morning to wallow, but that was about it, although Peg may argue. Between the pain from the catheter irritation, the removal, and the incision, I just had had enough. I also learned quickly that Depends Man Guards do not work with boxer briefs. It was a trip to Wally World to get 8 pairs of tighty whiteys. At least now without the catheter, I was allowed to drive. I didnt really care about driving but I did want to get on my tractor and cut the grass. The problem was that I could not lift more than 10 pounds, so I had to figure out how to empty the bags. I just pulled handfulls of grass out until they were light enough for me to pick up. Anyway, humility aside for the sake of literature, my first stop to empty the bags, I had to pee. I already knew that once I felt that, I had about 10 seconds to get to the toilet. I am on my tractor about 150 feet from the house and there ain't no way. I jumped off the tractor and was going to try to get home. Then I thought "fuck it", put my hand on the hood of the tractor, and used that diaper for what it was designed for. It was great.
The day after my catheter came out, I got up and started my morning in the bathroom. All I could manage was a very slow drip. I became concerned fearing that the bag was going back on. I dribbled all morning and was becoming upset and frustrated. I called the docs office on Thursday and the told me to come right over. They asked me to go in a cup which they check for an infection, which came back negative. Then the did a sonagram on my bladder to see if I was not emptying completely. No infection and I did drain the weasel. They called the doc and he said for me to go home and do Kegel exercises. Now, Peg and I do Kegels. I am not explaining them if you dont know what they are, that is what Google is for.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
First Week Home.
I caught some hell from Peg's cousins about not keeping up my blog. So now, I will try to cover the past 8 weeks or so. I left off with my first day coming home. The next morning, Peg had to get her hair done, so I got up, showered, put on a robe and went into my manly room to watch tv and drink coffee. This room is on the second floor and I could navigate very easily. Shortly after Peg left, I decided that I needed to get dressed and go fix some breakfast. It took a bit since bending is pretty difficult and that catheter is a pain. I was able to slip some gym shorts on without having to remove the bag, and waddle myself downstairs. I had some cereal and went back up to the manly room. I figured I had better become independent quickly since Peg would be going to work. It is amazing how tired you become after minimum effort. I had my afternoon nap and Peg made us dinner. I stayed up until 9 pm and felt that was a big accomplishment. I can only sleep on my back, which is not my preferred side for sleeping, but the incision hurts too badly to try anything else. I am able to sleep well through the night. The benefit of a catheter is that you dont have any midnight potty calls. I spent Sunday sitting in the family room watching football. Nothing I wouldnt do if I were healthy either.
Showering is one of those great pleasures in life. My routine is to get up, empty the bag, take my meds then hit the shower. I asked Peg to put a hook on a suction cup inside the shower door so that I can hook my bag on it and be free to move around. This works really well. I dont have any bandage on my incision and doc says it is ok to shower. I make sure I keep this clean, but it still gets some infection which I take care of with Neosporin. The worst is the catheter tube. I am very sore at the point of entry, and there is an almost constant discharge because of the irritation. I did start using Neosporin on this and it helped alot. So, my morning shower has become one of the highlights of my day, right up there with my afternoon nap. Of course that nap is a bit more than that. I would try to stay awake til about 3pm and then Peg would wake me when she came home, most days. One day, it was almost 7 when she came in and woke me. The fatigue is really hard to describe. I can be feeling great one minute, then it seems like I have been hit by a truck and need to sleep the next.
I have not had a cocktail since before surgery, and really, I am not interested in having one. Those that know me must be amazed. I have a Doctor appointment on Thursday. Peg works from home so that she can take me. The doc says that the pathology shows that the cancer was .01 centimeter from coming through the prostate wall. He got it in time, and thinks I will make a full recovery. The nurse removes my staples. This will be great to make showering easier. All in all, everything is well according to doc, and I am right where I should be for recovery.
By Saturday, one week plus 1 day after coming home, I demand that Peg get me out of the house. We start our trip to Tractor Supply. I am looking for a food mill to put up the tomatoes that are coming in like gangbusters from my deck garden. No luck at Tractor Supply, but I really like this place and it is a manly store to browse. I noticed Peg did not get the same enjoyment from being there that I do. She didnt even look at the tractor tires they sell! The next stop was lunch and we went to Mad Mex. We ate lunch and walked across the mall to the Rite Aid to look for diapers for me. My catheter was coming out in 3 days. My point is not to bore you with the details here, I just want you to note the walking involved. We went to another mall, checked out Linen and Things, then Target looking for that food mill. No luck.
Peg needed to make one more stop at Giant Eagle to pick up some things for dinner. I had to go in because my catheter bag was full. By this time, I could barely move from exhaustion and irritation from the catheter hose. I got home and went to bed for a few hours. The problem with a catheter is that the hose cannot come out since there is an inflated balloon inside the bladder that holds it in. It can, however, move in and out about a quarter inch. This happense ever time I take a step. So after all this walking, I was quite miserable from the irritation. I did have a manhatten that evening, and for any ailment, Bourbon, I recommend Bourbon. I took a pain pill and went to bed for the best nights sleep since surgery.
Showering is one of those great pleasures in life. My routine is to get up, empty the bag, take my meds then hit the shower. I asked Peg to put a hook on a suction cup inside the shower door so that I can hook my bag on it and be free to move around. This works really well. I dont have any bandage on my incision and doc says it is ok to shower. I make sure I keep this clean, but it still gets some infection which I take care of with Neosporin. The worst is the catheter tube. I am very sore at the point of entry, and there is an almost constant discharge because of the irritation. I did start using Neosporin on this and it helped alot. So, my morning shower has become one of the highlights of my day, right up there with my afternoon nap. Of course that nap is a bit more than that. I would try to stay awake til about 3pm and then Peg would wake me when she came home, most days. One day, it was almost 7 when she came in and woke me. The fatigue is really hard to describe. I can be feeling great one minute, then it seems like I have been hit by a truck and need to sleep the next.
I have not had a cocktail since before surgery, and really, I am not interested in having one. Those that know me must be amazed. I have a Doctor appointment on Thursday. Peg works from home so that she can take me. The doc says that the pathology shows that the cancer was .01 centimeter from coming through the prostate wall. He got it in time, and thinks I will make a full recovery. The nurse removes my staples. This will be great to make showering easier. All in all, everything is well according to doc, and I am right where I should be for recovery.
By Saturday, one week plus 1 day after coming home, I demand that Peg get me out of the house. We start our trip to Tractor Supply. I am looking for a food mill to put up the tomatoes that are coming in like gangbusters from my deck garden. No luck at Tractor Supply, but I really like this place and it is a manly store to browse. I noticed Peg did not get the same enjoyment from being there that I do. She didnt even look at the tractor tires they sell! The next stop was lunch and we went to Mad Mex. We ate lunch and walked across the mall to the Rite Aid to look for diapers for me. My catheter was coming out in 3 days. My point is not to bore you with the details here, I just want you to note the walking involved. We went to another mall, checked out Linen and Things, then Target looking for that food mill. No luck.
Peg needed to make one more stop at Giant Eagle to pick up some things for dinner. I had to go in because my catheter bag was full. By this time, I could barely move from exhaustion and irritation from the catheter hose. I got home and went to bed for a few hours. The problem with a catheter is that the hose cannot come out since there is an inflated balloon inside the bladder that holds it in. It can, however, move in and out about a quarter inch. This happense ever time I take a step. So after all this walking, I was quite miserable from the irritation. I did have a manhatten that evening, and for any ailment, Bourbon, I recommend Bourbon. I took a pain pill and went to bed for the best nights sleep since surgery.
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