Hello
The dreaded C word you hear about everyday but never think it will affect people that you hold close to your heart. When Dickb was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer there were no words i could offer to him to what i can only only imagine to be one of the hardest things for anybody to hear.
From the beginning of his diagnosis he has always shown such strong determination but inside probably crumbling at the thought of what the future held.
I thought i would add a post about looking after someone, after under going a radical Prostatectomy.
Brush up on steering a hospital wheelchair , even though Dick thought he would be able to walk the corridors to the car
Brush up on driving 30mph most of the way home on their return home from hospital http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-embarassed.gif ( ignore the tailstream of traffic that builds up behind you )
Dickb is now 5 days Post-Op and is slowly getting stronger and able to carry out a few simple tasks.
He has moment when he feels on top of the world then before you know it seems to drop quite quickly and just needs to go to bed or as the saying goes at the moment " goes a bit green and wobbly "
Day 1 at home (a day after surgery) Walking was rather more of a shuffle . The decision not to let Dick be responsible for his medication has been a wise move as i think it may have gone a bit pear shaped. I found making a medication chart was valuable , constant temperature taking and also blood pressure. Dick spent most of the time in bed sleeping with very little to eat but insisted the fluid intake was to be kept up . The decision was made at night times that at 2am the night bag would be changed which has proved to be rather successful even though i expect Dick would disagree with being meddled about with in the middle of the night.
Day 2 Dick was in a moderate amount of pain today but seemed to cope well just with Paracetamol and Ibuprofen. I think he has found a new take on coughing as this was painful for him . Still very tired so spent alot of time in bed just snoozing on and off. Lactulose and Dulcoease started for his bowels.
Day 3 During the night time bag change there was minimal urine so a quick lecture to Dick about drinking more the urine flow began again . Small amounts of blood in urine but after a quick google search not to panic Dick ,it suggested this was quite ok . A slow walk round the garden which would normally take 10 minutes took 30 minutes with Dick becoming very wobbly and green so promptly was back in bed. Its very hard to tell a grown man to go to bed but i definitely think for the first few days that it needs to be done. Dick on a few occasions thought he could run before he could walk . His appetite is good but smaller portions.Also drinking for England.
Day 4 A much more positive day, managed to go for 3 small walks around the garden without to much wobbliness or going green behind the gills. Dick is beginning to feel he can do more things but he rapidly realises that he cannot . A stern look seems to put him back on track.
Day 5 A good day today it was so pleasing when Dick could eventually get himself up and get dressed. Mobility is increasing and his sleeping through the day is beginning to decrease even though at 11.00am he seems to flag a bit so has a quick forty winks before lunch . Decreased Pain Killers to one Paracetamol and Ibuprofen 4 times a day which Dick seems to be coping well with.
Day 6 One of Dicks best days since the surgery . Even though as i type this he is laid on the sofa with his feet up looking like he will be asleep in a few minutes . Pain medication still on the same as yesterday and seems to have no pain hardly which is good. Its so lovely to see him being able to move and do a few things for himself . Bowels seem to be working relatively well too.
Now where are the matchsticks !!!!!!!!!!!