New member

MDCinSC

dme59 said:

Michael,
I live in a small

Michael,

I live in a small town 14 miles southeast of Bowling Green. Close enough we can see the glow from the football stadium when they have a night game. Been to many games at BG, mostly football but catch the occasional basketball or hockey game too.

Diversion was good, even if only for a day. The distraction of thinking about surgery hasn't been horribly bad other than I find I can sleep a little better if I sleep in my recliner as opposed to the bed. For some reason seem to lay awake forever. On the bright side, One week from tomorrow the wait is finally over. Hopefully back to normal as far as sleep anyhow.

Dan

I have to admit, I do miss

I have to admit, I do miss that part of the world!

Keep focusing forward.  The day will be rough, but it willget better rapidly!  You can do this.  If I can, you certainly can!

Michael

DonMiller

MDCinSC said:

I have to admit, I do miss

I have to admit, I do miss that part of the world!

Keep focusing forward.  The day will be rough, but it willget better rapidly!  You can do this.  If I can, you certainly can!

Michael

Surgery & Oncology

If you have to go outside the VA and live in Northern New Jersey I would suggest  youmight consider consulting with Robert Alter at HUMC.  Now I admit I don’t know anything about medicine whatsoever but I looked around and went so far as to consult with Robert Motzer  at Sloan.  Dr. Alter is a decent man and takes all the time you need carefully explaining your options.   I am a diehard Mets fan and he is a Yankee fan so that’s a negative….but he really seems to care.  

dme59

Well had an appointment with

Well had an appointment with the surgeon today, and he was quite confident that my surgery was going to take care of the cancer. I pray that he is right. I actually have no reason to doubt as three different doctors told me based on my scans I should be rid of this nasty beast come Wednesday. I still get a little nervous about the surgery itself just because this is all new for me...never had surgery of any kind. Dr. Lalor assured me that there was nothing to worry about, that he was confident I was going to do just fine. I believe him, but the mind is a powerful thing. Charging up my laptop so I can keep up with the "outside world" for the 2-3 days they expect me to be cooped up in the hospital.

Dan

MDCinSC

dme59 said:

Well had an appointment with

Well had an appointment with the surgeon today, and he was quite confident that my surgery was going to take care of the cancer. I pray that he is right. I actually have no reason to doubt as three different doctors told me based on my scans I should be rid of this nasty beast come Wednesday. I still get a little nervous about the surgery itself just because this is all new for me...never had surgery of any kind. Dr. Lalor assured me that there was nothing to worry about, that he was confident I was going to do just fine. I believe him, but the mind is a powerful thing. Charging up my laptop so I can keep up with the "outside world" for the 2-3 days they expect me to be cooped up in the hospital.

Dan

Don't get carried away

Don't get carried away Superman!

Allow at least one day to be comatose, or close  . While I was there first day, I was prime pickings for any mean spirited room mate!

Put your fully charged computer in the hands of someone you trust while you're there! 

Better yet, get someone to report in for you.

Galrim

dme59 said:

Well had an appointment with

Well had an appointment with the surgeon today, and he was quite confident that my surgery was going to take care of the cancer. I pray that he is right. I actually have no reason to doubt as three different doctors told me based on my scans I should be rid of this nasty beast come Wednesday. I still get a little nervous about the surgery itself just because this is all new for me...never had surgery of any kind. Dr. Lalor assured me that there was nothing to worry about, that he was confident I was going to do just fine. I believe him, but the mind is a powerful thing. Charging up my laptop so I can keep up with the "outside world" for the 2-3 days they expect me to be cooped up in the hospital.

Dan

I know the feeling

My nephrectomy wasnt just my first surgery, it was my first time in a hospital except for when my two children were born. A bit scary, but just focus on the purpose of it all. Getting rid of that stowaway passenger inside you.

Find some faith and comfort in the fact that those guys and girls do it every day and are trained professionals. You will be in good hands.

/G

dme59

MDCinSC said:

Don't get carried away

Don't get carried away Superman!

Allow at least one day to be comatose, or close  . While I was there first day, I was prime pickings for any mean spirited room mate!

Put your fully charged computer in the hands of someone you trust while you're there! 

Better yet, get someone to report in for you.

Michael,
Didn't try coming

Michael,

Didn't try coming off sounding like superman...the surgeon told me about the "magic button" that I will be armed with for a burst of morphine every 20 minutes (if needed of course) so I expect it will likely be thursday at earliest before I actually feel like trying to connect with the outside. Just doing my best to keep a positive outlook on the whole thing. And the computer will be going home with family at night.

Dan

dme59

Galrim said:

I know the feeling

My nephrectomy wasnt just my first surgery, it was my first time in a hospital except for when my two children were born. A bit scary, but just focus on the purpose of it all. Getting rid of that stowaway passenger inside you.

Find some faith and comfort in the fact that those guys and girls do it every day and are trained professionals. You will be in good hands.

/G

Thanks for the comforting

Thanks for the comforting words of advice Galrim.

PS. have read several of your posts and much of the information you posted has both educated me and relaxed me during this ordeal.

Dan

MDCinSC

dme59 said:

Michael,
Didn't try coming

Michael,

Didn't try coming off sounding like superman...the surgeon told me about the "magic button" that I will be armed with for a burst of morphine every 20 minutes (if needed of course) so I expect it will likely be thursday at earliest before I actually feel like trying to connect with the outside. Just doing my best to keep a positive outlook on the whole thing. And the computer will be going home with family at night.

Dan

No Accusation Dan!Just a

No Accusation Dan!

Just a well intended finger in the ribs!  LOL

Kick some collective butt Wednesday!

There in spirit!

Michael

J_B

dme59 said:

Thanks for the comforting

Thanks for the comforting words of advice Galrim.

PS. have read several of your posts and much of the information you posted has both educated me and relaxed me during this ordeal.

Dan

I agree!

As a newbie here, I too agree with Dan, You guys rock!!

With your posts and information and comforting (even not so comforting words) ---it helps to have some knowledge and insight as to what I'm going through at this stage of the game.

Not that I want to be a member of your exclusive club....but if I have to be a member of a club of this sort...I'm glad it's a club with all you nice people!!

foxhd

J_B said:

I agree!

As a newbie here, I too agree with Dan, You guys rock!!

With your posts and information and comforting (even not so comforting words) ---it helps to have some knowledge and insight as to what I'm going through at this stage of the game.

Not that I want to be a member of your exclusive club....but if I have to be a member of a club of this sort...I'm glad it's a club with all you nice people!!

pain

The nice thing about time is that it passes. So will the surgery, pain and recovery. Mine is over 2 years now and it is easy to forget about it. Health and fitness wise I am excellent until my Dr. tells me otherwise. Honestly I can say that I didn't care about the pain and just dealt with it. It is short term. I had the "button" to push after surgery too. I pushed it a few times mostly because it seemed like I was supposed to. After all they give it to you for a reason. Just move slowly and carefully. As your body adjusts to the major insult you will experience, there will be less need for it to give you pain. You'll be fine.

GSRon

foxhd said:

pain

The nice thing about time is that it passes. So will the surgery, pain and recovery. Mine is over 2 years now and it is easy to forget about it. Health and fitness wise I am excellent until my Dr. tells me otherwise. Honestly I can say that I didn't care about the pain and just dealt with it. It is short term. I had the "button" to push after surgery too. I pushed it a few times mostly because it seemed like I was supposed to. After all they give it to you for a reason. Just move slowly and carefully. As your body adjusts to the major insult you will experience, there will be less need for it to give you pain. You'll be fine.

The Button

OK, here is some hints about pain management right after surgery...  They gave me two choices.. well actually they urged me to get an epidural and I declined, and opted for the button.   The only issue with the button is that you fall asleep.. when you wake up OUCH..!  Then you push the button and wait..  However, I learned a few things...first, hit the nurse call button and they will give you a booster shot that works FAST..!   Next, I learned to fall asleep with the button in my hand...  Lastly, I learned I could negotiate what the button did..  That for me was most important.  The button was initally set at X dose every 15 minutes.   Those 15 minutes right after waking up were hell the first few days...  So, I got the Doc to give me a lessor dose, but turn the button down to a 10 minute interval.  For me that worked awesome..!  Wake up, hit the button, then hit it in 10 minutes.  Now I did promise that in a total day's time I would use less drugs overall, and I proved that to be right.  Once I had reduced the pain when I woke up, I needed and used less during the day.  Just my story.. your's may be different.. but knowledge is power..!

Oh, keep in mind I had the big surgery.. much worse than what you are facing.. so you will likely have less pain issues.. I hope so..!  As the Fox Man said, soon you will have just a memory over it all.  And YES, movement for the first couple of days needs to be taken very slowly...

Don't worry, be happy... you have all of us..!

Ron

dme59

Nearing the home stretch...I

Nearing the home stretch...I hope. I had to go to my family dr. for a pre surgery physical today. For the most part everything was fine. There was one glitch though. Doc heard what he referred to as a soft murmur at the apex (lower end?) He said it was soft enough that it didn't cause a lot of concern but enough so with surgery coming up he wants to make sure. So now I have to go tomorrow morning for an echocardiogram. I really hope the surgery goes on as planned on Wednesday. So tired of the waiting. Too much time to think.

Dan

Galrim

dme59 said:

Nearing the home stretch...I

Nearing the home stretch...I hope. I had to go to my family dr. for a pre surgery physical today. For the most part everything was fine. There was one glitch though. Doc heard what he referred to as a soft murmur at the apex (lower end?) He said it was soft enough that it didn't cause a lot of concern but enough so with surgery coming up he wants to make sure. So now I have to go tomorrow morning for an echocardiogram. I really hope the surgery goes on as planned on Wednesday. So tired of the waiting. Too much time to think.

Dan

Goal line in sight

Hang on to that Dan, not so much else to do right now. The waiting time is annoying and stressful, especially those last few days when you just want to get rid of that bugger inside you.

Hang in there as good as you can.

/G

 

dme59

Looks like a go..

4:30pm and no phone call yet saying surgery was postponed. Yesterday I had to go to my family doctor for a pre surgery physical. Basically all went OK but doc. heard what he described as a soft murmur at the apex. Just to be sure everything was ok he ordered an echocardiogram which I did this morning. I was instructed to prepare for surgery as scheduled unless I got a phone call. So apparently no news is good news in this case. Anyhow, I report to the hospital at 6:30 for preparations for 8:30 surgery. Not sure how long surgery will take..having laparoscopic right nephrectomy. From what I've read here guessing three hour so so give or take?  So glad the wait is almost over! As I mentioned in earlier posts the doctors are all giving me a good outlook in terms of the surgery curing the cancer so I am more nervous about the surgery since that too is a first for me. The surgeon told me no need to get worked up over the surgery and a couple people I've talked to say good things about the surgeon. Unless I get back on here tonight, the next time we talk it should just be be, not this evil guest that took up residence on my kidney. Someone posted a line that I am going to borrow for the occasion...time to kick cancer in the butt!!

Dan

MDCinSC

dme59 said:

Looks like a go..

4:30pm and no phone call yet saying surgery was postponed. Yesterday I had to go to my family doctor for a pre surgery physical. Basically all went OK but doc. heard what he described as a soft murmur at the apex. Just to be sure everything was ok he ordered an echocardiogram which I did this morning. I was instructed to prepare for surgery as scheduled unless I got a phone call. So apparently no news is good news in this case. Anyhow, I report to the hospital at 6:30 for preparations for 8:30 surgery. Not sure how long surgery will take..having laparoscopic right nephrectomy. From what I've read here guessing three hour so so give or take?  So glad the wait is almost over! As I mentioned in earlier posts the doctors are all giving me a good outlook in terms of the surgery curing the cancer so I am more nervous about the surgery since that too is a first for me. The surgeon told me no need to get worked up over the surgery and a couple people I've talked to say good things about the surgeon. Unless I get back on here tonight, the next time we talk it should just be be, not this evil guest that took up residence on my kidney. Someone posted a line that I am going to borrow for the occasion...time to kick cancer in the butt!!

Dan

Rock and Roll!

We'll be right here waiting for word!  You've got this! 

Michael

J_B

dme59 said:

Looks like a go..

4:30pm and no phone call yet saying surgery was postponed. Yesterday I had to go to my family doctor for a pre surgery physical. Basically all went OK but doc. heard what he described as a soft murmur at the apex. Just to be sure everything was ok he ordered an echocardiogram which I did this morning. I was instructed to prepare for surgery as scheduled unless I got a phone call. So apparently no news is good news in this case. Anyhow, I report to the hospital at 6:30 for preparations for 8:30 surgery. Not sure how long surgery will take..having laparoscopic right nephrectomy. From what I've read here guessing three hour so so give or take?  So glad the wait is almost over! As I mentioned in earlier posts the doctors are all giving me a good outlook in terms of the surgery curing the cancer so I am more nervous about the surgery since that too is a first for me. The surgeon told me no need to get worked up over the surgery and a couple people I've talked to say good things about the surgeon. Unless I get back on here tonight, the next time we talk it should just be be, not this evil guest that took up residence on my kidney. Someone posted a line that I am going to borrow for the occasion...time to kick cancer in the butt!!

Dan

It's your time!

Go show that Cancer who's boss! We'll all be waiting to hear from you with an awesome update!

Nothing but positive thoughts and prayers for you!!

Judy

dme59

Well, It's about that time....

Up and ready to go to the hospital. Got my shower finished with the surgical soap. Ready to go get this over with. Sort of odd I don't feel all the anxiety I was feeling the past week or so. Maybe the fact that it is today and the wait is finally over. Time to go get rid of my unwelcome guest.

Take care all and will be here as soon as I am able.

Dan

Galrim

dme59 said:

Well, It's about that time....

Up and ready to go to the hospital. Got my shower finished with the surgical soap. Ready to go get this over with. Sort of odd I don't feel all the anxiety I was feeling the past week or so. Maybe the fact that it is today and the wait is finally over. Time to go get rid of my unwelcome guest.

Take care all and will be here as soon as I am able.

Dan

Anxiety gone is...

...probably because youre at the finish line and can start to see the end of carrying that stowaway around. Kind of a mental sigh of relief I guess.

Good luck Dan, fingers crossed and looking forward to hearing from you afterwards.

/G

garym

dme59 said:

Well, It's about that time....

Up and ready to go to the hospital. Got my shower finished with the surgical soap. Ready to go get this over with. Sort of odd I don't feel all the anxiety I was feeling the past week or so. Maybe the fact that it is today and the wait is finally over. Time to go get rid of my unwelcome guest.

Take care all and will be here as soon as I am able.

Dan

Good luck!!!

Hi Dan,

It won't be nearly as bad as your imagination has made it out to be, I promise.  A collective cyber-hug is coming your way and we await your return.

No worries,

Gary

MDCinSC

dme59 said:

Well, It's about that time....

Up and ready to go to the hospital. Got my shower finished with the surgical soap. Ready to go get this over with. Sort of odd I don't feel all the anxiety I was feeling the past week or so. Maybe the fact that it is today and the wait is finally over. Time to go get rid of my unwelcome guest.

Take care all and will be here as soon as I am able.

Dan

Come home carrying your shield!

Okay, that s a bit of a stretch, but you get my point! By the time I post this, you are likely out of surgery.  When you awaken, realize that your enemy if gone.  It can't hurt you anymore than it already has.  Celebrate!  Of course save that really good meal for a day or two later.  It would be a shame to waste a great meal to indigestion and nausea!

Relax, stay hydrated, drink lots of prune juice and keep moving ahead.  Come back and tell us the horror stories!

Peace Brother!

Michael