Friday 8/22/2008My wife, Linda and I pulled an all-nighter Friday preparing for a 3 week stay away from home. The plan was to go to Los Angeles for the surgery, a stay of an anticipated 10 days and then to go to the San Fernando Valley, about 25 miles away and reside with either my brother Dennis or my sister Susan for 2 weeks. That would keep us close to USC Norris Cancer Hospital in the event of any complications post surgery prior to our 1st follow-up appointment scheduled 3 weeks after the surgery.
I had already had my pedicure (a necessary service prior to having surgery) and we were going to head to Susan’s house in the Valley on Saturday to spend the day in the Valley and get a haircut from Susan (goes with the pedicure).We also wanted to get a good night sleep before arriving at USC Norris Cancer Hospital for an 11 am check in on Sunday.
Saturday 8/23/2008Dennis was traveling home from a Yosemite trip with my nephew Aaron. My sister Marla was traveling home with her family after an Alaskan cruise. My sister Sandra from Tennessee had already arrived in the Valley. My daughter who was going to school in Loma Linda, CA had already arrived at Susan’s.
Sunday 8/24/2008Sunday morning, Sandra and her “husband” Joe met Melissa, Linda and myself at Susan’s and we all went to the Encino Farmer’s Market for some breakfast (my last solid meal) and fun. We headed to USC Norris Cancer Hospital and arrived at the Hospital at 11 am. We checked in and were assigned room 321. That’s the 3rd floor room 21 for good luck; remember we are from Las Vegas. The preoperative test and procedures began quickly. They included paperwork, bowel cleansing (including “yuck” castor oil), blood work, chest x-ray, IV’s and a myriad of other somewhat unpleasant events. I was started on antibiotics and I was issued an Incentive Spirometer that is used to keep my lungs clear and active. On first observation I believed it to be a bong. I mean we were in California, but no such luck. That evening, Linda presented me with a romantic Hallmark card. Orders were for nothing by mouth after midnight. Joe went back to the Valley and the 4 of us went to sleep for the night.
Monday 8/25/2008Dennis met us in our room that morning and at 7:30 am I was wheeled downstairs escorted by my entourage. Several medical personnel asked me many questions. I was given an option to choose which type of neobladder I wanted constructed; Studer or T pouch. I opted to participate in a 10 year study in which case a computer randomly chose the type of neobladder for me; the computer chose the Studer pouch. Shortly thereafter we were joined by .my surgeon and anesthesiologist who gave me a medical cocktail, and that’s about all I remember before the surgery. I was taken to surgery and the rest of my group was escorted to the waiting room.
Surgery lasted about 5 hours and I was able to be seen by my family around 3pm in recovery. I was then taken to the ICU at 4pm. I had received 2 units of blood. I had about 10 bags of meds going into my IV and an oxygen face mask, a nasal gastric tube, a central line in my neck and an arterial line in my wrist. I was also wearing a heart monitor. No one was allowed to stay overnight with me in the ICU so everyone went back to the Valley around 11:30 pm that evening. Melissa thought I looked pretty rough and I didn’t feel like I was ready for a Kodak moment, so only one picture was taken of me in the ICU.
Tuesday 8/26/2008Linda, Melissa, Sandra and Dennis returned to the hospital that morning. I stayed in the ICU for most of the day and was then transferred to a regular room on the 4th floor. Linda gave me a lucky silver star and Sandra gave me a Chinese good luck charm to aid in my recovery. I was given pulmonary therapy to get my lungs back in shape and I was given no food or water. I was allowed to have sucker-like stick with a little sponge on the end that I could dip in water to rub against my lips and gums every now and then. Melissa had classes starting at UNLV on Wednesday so she drove back to Las Vegas late that evening. Sandra and Dennis returned to the Valley and Linda spent the night in my room. Tuesday night was a rough one for me. My pain medication pump gave us a problem and the nurse that was managing it was not as proficient as I would have liked. She was unable to resolve the issues in a timely manner. That pump was my buddy while I was in pain and I wanted it working top notch all the time. I get agitated, even when I’m feeling 100%, when people around me are inept and that feeling is just magnified when I’m feeling poorly. My blood pressure rose significantly over that incident. Linda and I got only an hour of sleep that night.
Wednesday 8/27/2008The routine in the hospital was basically daily visits from Dr. Skinner’s medical team. At 5am a medical student would come in to see me to ask questions, make observations and answer questions. I didn’t usually ask questions at this level because I knew this visit was for the purpose of the student’s training. The urology residency at USC is 6 years. At 6am Dr. Skinner’s 5 year resident would then round with 3 or 4 other students and the same sort of interaction would take place in my room, this time at a level that I felt somewhat more comfortable with the knowledge of the resident. Then at 7am Dr. Skinner herself would enter followed by all of the previous students and doctors and many times 1 or 2 extra people. Now I was talking to the woman in charge. My confidence level was completely satisfied and I could get the right answer to anything I wanted to know. This process of medical care was new to me and I felt very good about all of the care providers Dr. Skinner had on her team.
Dr. Skinner gave us the pathology report. Here comes another moment. The prostate had cancer but the prostate had been removed, sparring the nerves. Of course the bladder had been removed so that cancer is out. 46 lymph nodes were removed with no malignancy identified. The ureters and urethra were clear. So this was as good a pathology as we could have hoped for. There is no evidence of the cancer spreading and there is no need to start chemotherapy. Thank G_d! A short burst of tears and on with my mission; walk and do breathing exercises.
My bowels are starting to wake up so I graduated from a diet of ice chips to clear liquids. Melissa slept in the room next door to my room. Linda stayed in my room that night.
Thursday 8/30/2008Today I was able to walk more than a few feet so I really started walking the hallway a lot. The 3 main goals after surgery are to get your bowels working, reducing pain, and increasing lung function; walking helps to achieve all of these. Each day I was feeling continuous progression in my strength. I knew it was going to take time to recover and that my participation in this process was essential to shorten the recovery time. I felt my doctors were setting down a good plan of care, I had all the much needed support of my friends and family, and if I worked hard, I’d be getting out of the hospital soon.
Friday 8/29/2008One of my favorite things in life is using my computer. I haven’t touched it throughout this whole time until today; I must be getting better .I graduated from clear liquids to full liquids. My friend Luke flew in for a visit from Las Vegas and my friend Ron drove to the Valley with our dog Chloe. They will be staying at Dennis’ house. Linda will be so happy to see Chloe and get a good night sleep.
I am posting this information for a few reasons. I like working on the computer, I want to keep my friends and family updated and I want to document the experiences for my own recollection (memory is not my strongest attribute). But most of all, during my 10 weeks of research into this deadly cancer I was searching for answers that would help me decide which path of treatment I would follow for my particular case. I have studied the medical aspects and data published on the internet and I have inquired many medical experts about their opinions. From the perspective of the patient, I was warmly embraced by bladder cancer survivors through web forums and people I was introduced to who had been through similar experiences. They generously shared their experiences and openly talked with me about their feelings. I was grateful for the information they so freely shared. This is my experience. If it is able to help even 1 patient deal with their personal decision, I will be content.
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