There was no joining the crowd at The Tobacco Hut for me this past Saturday. If you've been following the blog these last few weeks, you know this weekend was spent in the hospital having my right kidney removed. When I was in the ER for the car accident in May, a CT scan revealed a cancerous mass on my kidney. Standard procedure is to remove the whole kidney, and that's what I had done this past Friday. Saturday was spent recovering, and I was home today.
The doctor said the surgery went very well - he was able to do it robotically, meaning I have four small incisions and one main one where the kidney is removed. Smaller incisions mean a shorter recovery time. It is pretty hard to fathom that 48 hours after having an organ removed, I'm home from the hospital and walking around, albeitly slowly.
I have to really give a shout out to the staff at Mease Countryside. They were all very friendly, extremely competent, and compassionate. Sue Ann, if you're reading this, you are entering a very noble profession and you have my highest admiration.
Paula wasn't even jealous when Courtnee, a very pretty blonde nurse, offered to take me for a stroll Friday up and down the hallway. I was in heaven as we trundled down the fourth floor, me holding on to the IV pole, Courtnee walking beside me holding the back of my gown closed and carrying my pee bag. I think she liked me.
I only wish that my roommate, Joe, had been as considerate as I tried to be. Was it the bodily noises he made all night long that bothered me? No, that can't be helped, and I'm sure I made a few of them as well. But did he have to keep the television on from 6 am-10 pm every day?! I don't think he watched a single program for more than ten minutes; he was constantly flipping channels. Next time I'm springing for a private room.
The food wasn't even that bad in the hospital, once I was off the liquid meals. My first two meals were broth, jello and juice, but on Saturday I graduated to solid foods. A tuna sandwich never tasted so good! Now I'm home and some home cooking from Paula tonight was wonderful.
It looks weird to look in the mirror and see Frankenstein-like staples covering my shaved belly, but it's better than one large front-to-back incision. Even the shaving process had some humor. Apparently, I'm quite ticklish on my stomach and I couldn't tolerate the technician shaving below my chest a few minutes before surgery. So I did it myself - I wonder if I get some sort of discount for doing their job?
If I'm feeling up to it, I'll stop in to the Hut on Saturday for a little bit to say hi. I should be a little better by then. I'm looking forward to getting back to my pipe, but that's several weeks off I'm sure.
Until next time - cheers!
- Bob
My old co-workers at Countryside OR are a good bunch. Glad they took care of you, even if they did tickle you (no self-service discounts, by the way). I sat in your chair at the Hut on Saturday. I figured someone had to keep it warm for you.
ReplyDelete