Home - Day 4

First of all, this post contains pictures of my surgery. They are graphic, so if this kinda thing makes you queasy, you've been warned.  They are here to educate.  Dr. Holzbeierlein had his chief resident take them with an iPhone. I find that somehow amusing... and they turned out well.

Today is day 4 at home and I feel fine.

For the past two days, I've cut way down on pain medication and haven't had any since yesterday morning. The stuff makes me nauseous anyway.  They say the intestines are the "laziest" organs we have. Since having 18 inches of my small intestine removed to create a new bladder (neobladder as it's called) my bowels have been "waking up" since last Wednesday and are just now beginning to calm down. Lots of gurgling and rumbling. Today I can honestly say that the only slight discomfort I have is at the incision site. The gas pains and intestinal rumblings have subsided and although they remain, they are far less bothersome and intense.

Living with two sets of catheters is humbling, interesting and requires some work. No doubt it cramps my style and mobility is limited, but there is no pain and aside from the initial psychological jolt one gets from seeing them for the first time, they really are no big deal.  I have to laugh at myself... for most of my life I've made jokes about the fear of catheters. I mean, yikes -- the entire mental imagery of catheterization stirs up images of frightening dimensions for most any man. I would joke in my youth that if I were ever to face this, that I must be rendered unconscious before anyone would put something in my, up my, well, you know what I mean. Guys, the truth is, it's no big deal. It's just an inconvenience.

The tubes all come out on February 5th. Only 8 days from now.

My appetite is not completely back. I eat very little. But I drink a LOT of water. Doctors say it will take six weeks for my appetite to return to normal. As of today, I'm down 18 pounds since surgery. I've sworn an oath to that the pounds I lose will not come back. Better diet, less proportions, more exercise are all the plan.

Thanks for following along. In case any of you doubt prayer... don't. I'm cancer free. Prayers work!

Now... here are the pictures....



Photo 1: Dissection down to the bladder, exposing the contents of the pelvis.

Photo 2 & 3: Prostate and bladder








Photo 4: Pelvis, sans bladder/prostate