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September 24th , 2005

Update on our Oklahoma friend.  He has a stack of books all around his easy chair and is enjoying is forced vacation. Not sure about his wife?

I received my pre-post operative packet from the surgeons office today. Lets see what's up with it:

Must have someone to drive me home after surgery ( that's a no brainer )

Nothing to eat or drink after Midnight the night before surgery ( yep)

Take blood pressure etc meds with only a sip of water ( hell I can do it with spit)

Stop all Aspirin, any other over the counter cold or pain meds and vitamins 10 days before surgery

Stop all Herbal meds  or diet drugs two weeks before slice and dice day ( Stop crappy tasting herbal tea, don't do diet drugs)

Now what's this foot note on the bottom of the cover page? "Please follow bowel prep instructions on 10-06-05???!!

Damn more stuff: Clear liquid diet 24 hours prior to procedure

Nothing after midnight including gum

Purchase 1 bottle of FLeets Phospho-Soda ( Thank god I  thought one more thing up the backside)

Day before surgery:

Drink only clear liquids for all meals wow here is the example list how  tasty. Strained juices,water, clear broth,coffee,tea,gatorade, soft drinks,Kool aid, Ice popsicles ( damn I don't see margaritas on  the list)

At 1pm and 4pm add 3 tablespoons of Fleet Poop juice to  1/2 glass of cool water and drink , followed with 8 oz of H2O Then drink at least 3 8oz glasses before going to bed. ( man  I should be a poopin like a pet coon)

GOOD NEWS: Post operative

#! Eat clear liquids until 1st health poop than resume regular diet ( Moms sauerbraten and Spetzel) Do not force liquids, small frequent meals are best.

Activity level: Good to walk around, don't sit in one place longer than 45 min., absolutely no biking, motorcycling or horseback for 4 weeks. ( Hey, I don't see anything about no Sky diving , all right) I can do as much walking or stair climbing as I can tolerate and take a showing 48 hours after surgery and no driving while on pain meds. ( damn know there goes my chance of getting arrested for driving under the influence of a prescription narcotic!).

I will have 4- 6 port sites (small incisions that they performed the surgery through) They will be covered with adhesive. Once dressing come off ( 48 -72 hours) it is not uncommon for a very small of drainage There are no staples or stitches to be taken out.

Catheter ( Foley Catheter)

The catheter will stay in place until my "anastomosis" heals, which is usually 6- 14 days. Wear the bid piss bag at home and when I go out change to small piss bag ( which I was told will not fit in an ankle holster) We will receive piss bag instructions before we leave hospital.

Meds

I can take my usual drugs day I'm released, I will be given a antibiotic  and pain meds. I should take a poop softener by mouth 2 times per day.

Recover time:

DeVinci Procedure takes approx 4 hours and hospitalization usually lasts 24hours. All patients go home with piss bag strapped to the leg. Back to doctor office 7 days for bladder x ray to determine if catheter can be removed.

Cleared for work after 2 weeks, ( yea right, I will be back the Tues or wed following the surgery, I don't have two weeks. Like most men I will need to depends or pads due to control issues from the surgery. Good control  within 1-3 months. Kegel exercises should be stated  after catheter is removed This should help me from having the nick name Grandpa piss stain.

Things I may encounter after surgery

Perineal pain ? ( pain between rectum and scrotum, oh TANT pain!)

Scrotal/Penile swelling and bruising

Bladder spasms

Bruising around incisions sites

Bloody drainage around foley catheter or in urine

Abdominal distenti0n, constipation or bloating.

Follow up Appointments

One week

One month, and every 3 months

That's all the info I got in the packet except  St Vincent Hospital info and propaganda package. Now the only thing to worry about is if I've lost enough weight in order to have the DeVinci procedure rather than the open Surgery. 

Mike

PS. Bought Verizon wireless Cell card for my Laptop  - Have to be connected to the world while at the hospital - Found out after the fact the hospital has free WiFi. Still like my new gadget anyway.

September 29th , 2005

Update on our Oklahoma friend.  He had his catheter removed yesterday and all went well. In fact the doctor was impressed with his percentage of continence. Apparently the way they check is to put x amount of fluid into the bladder and then remove the catheter. You stand over a basin and at one point the doctor tells you to hold it. He did well  and reports his 1st night without the catheter was a dry night. He said that the surgeon was able to save both right and left bundles of nerves ( Hopefully  I will be half as lucky.

I had my pre-surgery exam and meeting with the hospital. Just a blood test, ekg and the same darn questions I've answered about 10 times. My favorite question on the spiritual / special needs questionnaire is " What is your expectation for your planned hospital stay" my answer: "GO HOME ALIVE"  I thought it was a pretty reasonable request. It is now officially the 30th and I have only one week  to wait. I have all my schedules in order, I've arranged a back up plan for all my responsibilities. The store, my daughter and grand daughter ( baby sitting) and the police department. So unless the surgeon screws up real bad  everything is covered.

PS I forgot to take my blood pressure meds last night and ironically I felt better today than I have in a long darn time. Interesting, isn't it.

Mike

October 3rd , 2005

Only  four days until "slice and dice" and I've meet the goal weight set by the doctor. Lost 28lbs in 7 weeks, not too bad since I was up to doing any kind of exercise  Blood pressure appears to have stabilized a little better. I actually had some energy  (more than usual, but far from normal) this morning that lasted until  early afternoon.  Our friend in Ok is recovering nicely, in fact he has returned to his town where he works and hopes to back training pilots by late next week. Now I only have to wait for the start time for Friday.

Mike

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