Unforseen Plans

My daughter has gone home, but her visit ended on an abrupt note. My husband's routine physical, which fell during the first part of her visit, turned up a slightly elevated creatine level. This prompted an ultrasound of his kidneys and bladder. This was followed by a CT scan and two visits to a urologist. The result was that he was suffering from a common male problem of enlarged prostate. His had created the problem of actually closing off the opening from his bladder, resulting in the need for surgery.

We found ourselves bombarded with a huge lack of information. The doctor, while very highly regarded and very well qualified, suffered from the opinion that he could decide just how much we needed to know. While the situation was well described and the surgery explained there were a lot of gaps in what he told us. It left us feeling very pressured to have immediate surgery without really understanding the total situation. We left his office with the surgery planned for the following Monday and three days in which to rearrange hubby's schedule at work for the next two weeks and finish all the projects he was currently involved in. Plus he had to arrange for care for the farm for the next month . He can do nothing for two weeks, then 2-4 weeks of not being able to lift anything or ride a tractor. Plus our daughter was here with her two small children and I needed to take her home. That involved a 10 hour trip one way.

My husband was frantically trying to tie up all the loose ends while I was involved in feeding everyone and trying to figure out how to rearrange my schedule. This didn't leave much time for us to talk about the upcoming surgery. It just really isn't something that we felt comfortable discussing with our children and five grandchildren. My daughter wanted to stay for the surgery, but with a three day hospital stay and her with two little ones to care for, that didn't make a lot of sense. She wouldn't be able to do much to help out and I would just fret. Plus, I really needed to get my house cleaned up from her visit in preparation for buddies dropping by to pass the time with hubby. So finally, all was settled when her brother offered to take her home. This actually allowed them some extra time together, so it was a good solution.

With everyone gone we finally got the time to discuss the upcoming surgery and what we needed to do. While we both felt we had not been given enough information (an Internet search and lot of "male bonding" answered most of our questions) we did feel like the surgery was necessary and urgent. In spite of several who urged us to wait and get a second opinion, which I highly endorse, hubby wanted to go on with the scheduled surgery. I admit to strong misgivings but bowed to his desires, since it is his body, after all.

The surgery was this morning and all went perfectly (according to the doctor of few words). The best news is that he is resting comfortably and not in a lot of pain. He is alert, eating and sitting up watching the football game. His nurse is slender, attractive and looks about 20. However, she is very competent and sneaks in to watch football with him. I think he might be in love. Hopefully he will continue to just feel better and better and the future will be much more comfortable for him.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep an active, go-getter in the house for two weeks. I think the odds in town are that he will survive the operation only to be killed by me before the end of the lock-down!

Wish us luck.