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davinci surgery scheduled suggestions please!

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Posted 4/27/2008 12:57 PM (GMT -5)

:-)  wow hard to believe that I'm catching a little smile here and there even with the presurgical nerves! bone and cat scan were negative and we met with the surgeon a few days after getting the results. our confidence in him is great and he seemed positive of a really sucessful outcome. that being said we are anxious all the time and can't wait for may 27 to really breathe again. everyone here is so wonderfully knowledgable and comforting  I can't imagine doing this without you all. Soo, one of my MANY questions is: what can we do to prepare in this month ahead?  I do the posting right now but share everything and Rod says a big thank you! Our thoughts are with all in this forum, I hope to be helpful someday as a wife ,a nurse ,and a couple that has made it through! Annie

Posted 4/27/2008 1:10 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Annie ,
I am sure you are anxious for D day and there is really not much to do before surgery but stay healthy, exercise a bit to stay in shape for a faster and better recovery , and do your Kegel daily to develop better control over urinary afterwards.

Seems like you in good hands , widen your knowledge base by research and reading up a lot, that way you are inform of whats ahead and what to expect after.
Da Vinci known to be the least invasive route to surgery and recovery should be faster and easier especially since the cancer is organ contained and will have a nerve sparing procedure you 2 should do fine !!

As you mentioned , indeed you are among the lucky ones to find this board and learn lots from others experience , i wish i have known about it before my open RP back in June 2007

Hope all goes well
Good Luck !!!

Keep us posted

GB :-)
Posted 4/27/2008 1:13 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Annie,

Just try to be positive. That is a theraphy by itself. I spent most of my time prior to sugery reading as many posts on this forum. It will help also if you add a signature to your profile. It will give members an idea of your status.

Good luck

KrisP

Posted 4/27/2008 2:51 PM (GMT -5)
Hang in there Annie,

Being a nurse, you know that the only things they let you take in the OR is your naked body and a great attitude. Be a cheerleader for Rod's surgical team. We are all waiting here for his arrival on the "other side".

Jim
Posted 4/27/2008 4:21 PM (GMT -5)

Greetings, Annie.  My wife is also a nurse and she has been a great caregiver both before and after the surgery.  This has been a team effort all along the way - she has been at my side from diagnosis to surgery to recovery.  I feel confident she has been the primary reason we haven't had to deal much with the side effects that normally come with this disease.  I kind of like her after 35 years together!

We received the diagnosis on Christmas Eve last year.  From that time until surgery on February 4 my wife and I were pretty much together 24/7.  She traveled with me (as she often does), we took long walks together and generally got mentally prepared for the surgery.  I think it is important to be in as good a condition both physically and mentally as you can be. You can't do too much physically in only a month but every little bit helps.  As a Christian, one of the most important things we did was enlist prayer support for my condition.  When the day of surgery rolled around we had thousands of people all around the world praying for not only us but also our medical providers.  That gave us great confidence as we entered surgery and then recovery. 

You will both do great - you have found a good place with many, many good people who have experienced the same things you are going through.  Don't hesitate to let us know any way we can help. We will be praying for you in the days ahead.  David

Posted 4/27/2008 4:43 PM (GMT -5)
Just a reminder. The only thing "less invasive" about the DaVinci is how they get inside you. You will still have a major surgery with alot of work being done. Take your time and let your body heal. Do not rush back to things. I think having the "big scar" from my open RRP was a good reminder to take it easy.
Wishing you the best.
KW
Posted 4/27/2008 4:51 PM (GMT -5)

My suggestion: try not to dwell about it and have a positve outlook it. Hey! he's gonna kick cancer's butt! 

He'll have plenty to think about and will probably have plenty of questions during his post-op.

Good luck and have good thoughts.

Phillysub

Posted 4/27/2008 5:18 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Anne,

This news is a great relief. I don't think you are ever the same after awaiting the results of a bone scan. That is good news about results.

I remember asking the same questions about preparation myself and just scanned through öur journey from last year ("Hello from Creed 49 yrs at Dx") to see if there was anything in it. There is some, although it is lengthy and rambled from my part. Anyway, I do say throughout, that Bluebird's tips in HER and BUDDY'S journey prepared us so well, and I recall we followed every single pre and post tip bluebird provided. Have a look through her journey too - it is insightful.

We also started a thread called "bladder spasm question" (under incontinence threads). You may want to browse through that as it has some great post op information which I did not know at all, and again a variety of experiences. As it turned out, CJ in the first 12 hrs post op, had 2 bladder spasms, but knew what they were and what to do, thanks to these responses.

We found everyone is different, so reading the journeys of a few people helped us prepare, even though we had open surgery - preparation is the same. I took lists etc as we came across things on the forum. We bought a second hand recliner chair, and I basically set a home rehab program beforehand which made ME feel better!! (and hubby as well post op as it turned out). It was very detailed but had a full plan for rest, activity and healing! And to my suprise hubby followed it. So all in all we were well over-prepared. Therefore feel free to browse through our past posts if it helps. (But I warn you they are rambling in part!). I found keeping compulsively busy kept my mind off it, but this helped too.

Good luck and so glad the news was good. Lana
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