ACP with ACP

Let me elucidate: A Certain Person has A Cathetered P_n_s

OK, OK, TMI, I know. But this is part of the process and nothing to be kept quiet about as if it is shameful, now is it?

So a catch up:
David's operation was successful - apparently the surgeon got the prostate out without cutting into any of it and the cancer had not breached the walls of the prostate. He was able to save the nerves on the left side (the continence nerves) and some on the right side (the potency nerves). See how informative I am, and how open ACP is about sharing this biology lesson?

From the window of the Hotel Intercontinental late on Wednesday afternoon. You may be able to see the thousands of birds circling and swooping before roosting for the night near the harbour in the city's trees.

Me - my best side ...

The tug

It is rather a beautiful harbour.

At 6am in the reception area at Wakefield Hospital. David had been told by the anaesthetist the previous evening that he needed to be warm. So he had 4 layers on his top, including a possum and merino jacket, plus possum and merino gloves and beanie.

I had planned to be fully occupied throughout the morning by

• having breakfast with a friend - I breakfasted alone as said friend wasn't available until 9.30 and I was really hungry by 7.45am when I got back from seeing ACP be wheeled off to theatre
• going to the osteopath - cancelled the previous day as the osteopath had a sniffle ...
• doing some shopping - track pants for David that were roomier and softer than jeans - more difficult than you'd think as most track pants have large brand names all over them which is not the ACP's style, but plain and slightly larger than usually required track pants were purchased
• finishing packing up stuff that seemed to have exploded out of ACP's overnight bag - always does for some reason, and gets distributed far and wide ...
• checking out of the hotel
• dropping my overnight stuff at the AirBnB that my sister Dee and her husband are staying at during his treatment at Wellington Hospital, and having a cup of tea with them, 
• then I headed up to Wakefield Hospital to wait in David's room just after noon.

The operation did take far longer than I was expecting though, so instead of having a wait of about half an hour (expected and already longer than I wanted to be waiting) I was getting very worried when I hadn't heard from the surgeon by 3pm - slightly under 8 hours since I'd seen David being wheeled off to theatre!

When he finally called (at about 3.15pm after I had called his PA to get her to find out what was going on) he told me that David had been in the recovery ward for about 45 minutes already - AAARRRGGGHHH!!! And I had been worrying needlessly for 3/4 of an hour, dammit. I had attempted to take my mind off the wait by listening to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show and the Last Word with Laurence O'Donnell. The news from the US does have a way of making me realise how lucky we are here in NZ, that is for sure!

Anyway, back to the main event: ACP's prostatectomy was performed using a robot named Da Vinci, and it was only the third time the surgeon had used it, so he (and his two trainers) took it very slow. Not very slow, but very very slow ...

As I have noticed before, David takes a fair while to come around after anaesthetic, so it was over an hour from when I heard from the surgeon before David was wheeled on his bed into his room. He was awake but pretty spaced out. Not surprising as more than 6.5 hours of anaesthetic would take some recovering from; plus I think he was full of local anaesthetic around his belly too for the six wounds and muscle wall punctures where the robotic arms were inserted.

The first photo ...

I can smile, he said, and so he did. Hey, Mr Spaceman!

I left him after about 3/4 of an hour and walked back down to where Dee and Murray are staying. Dee had the chardonnay cooling and a yummy dinner was ready soon after I arrived. Only one glass of wine as I was exhausted - only about 4 hours of sleep the previous night, so the couch was pulled out, my foam topper pad unrolled and spread out and my yummy cuddly snuggly giant sleeping bag was so inviting I got into it and felt instantly relaxed.

Just as I was going to sleep my phone rang and it was David. But could I hear him speaking? No. about 4 calls between us, still with my not being able to hear him speak, and I gave up using his number and called the hospital reception, who put me through to the nurse on the ward, who put me through to the landline phone in David's room and then went in to answer it and hand it to him. We had a lovely chat and he was feeling pretty good and very chatty (still a bit spaced out I think), but he did not remember that I had been there when he came back from the recovery ward! He made me promise I wouldn't tell Kirsty, as she would organise for him to go straight to the home ...

He made me laugh by telling me that it was my turn for hospital next and that I would definitely be going to Wakefield as I deserved it. I know what he meant, but I am not planning on needing surgery any time soon.

Lunch on Friday - note the plastic container with cheese scones that Dee and I made that morning. We gave one to David's nurse that day.

He improved in leaps and bounds (metaphorically speaking) over the next 36 hours with multiple walks accompanied by the nurses, and went from feeling like he'd like to stay in hospital for a week, to feeling happy to come home yesterday. The surgeon and the nurse were both satisfied he was ready, so after I'd helped him shower and dress, and packed his gear, and we'd had the discharge briefing on how to change the catheter bag if needed, how to operate the night bag (attaching and emptying and removing) and how to clean it, it was time for a very slow walk along the corridor to the lift, then out to the car.

It was a gentle drive home and even though the prescriptions had been faxed through to the local pharmacy, the script wasn't ready, so it was home and into bed for both of us - I knew David would need a lie down. But I hadn't realised just how tired I was - emotionally drained, I think.

Today has been peaceful and restful. The trick now, given he is feeling so good, is to remember to take the paracetamol every 5 hours or so.

I did think we might go and see a couple of friends today but decided to take it very easy. So we played 5 Crowns and he thrashed me 23 - 112, bastard! There'll be no mercy next time, I tell you!

David did offer to take out the rubbish bins, but I had already done that job. He is off heavy tasks for a few weeks. It is a bugger that I didn't get him to do the vacuuming and lawns before the operation, dammit!

However he did get a platter of crackers and hummus ready for a dinner snack (we'd had dinner for lunch), and he cleared the kitchen bench and started the dishwasher, so he is clearly on the mend and ready for small tasks to be assigned. I am planning on him being on making the first cup of tea in the morning. Shall I warn him or just make the request at 7am?

By the way, it is so nice having him safe at home.