Six and a half hours in surgery and I didn’t feel a thing!

I had my surgery yesterday (August 28) and I must admit its a bit of a blur. I arrived at The Christie Clinic at about 6.30 am and as my appointment time was before regular hours I was received by the cheerful security team and shown to my room on the third floor. I had just unpacked my bag, pajamas, toiletries, slippers,two novels, MacBook Pro, iPad, 2 external hard drives, internet telephone and a portable scanner when Sister Vicky welcomed me. After a spot of paperwork, my BP, temperature and pulse was taken and then my calf and thigh were measured for some very attractive white tights that I will have to wear for the next 28 days. Needless to say it won’t be the same pair of white tights just in case you were wondering. I was then visited by my anesthetist  and I signed my life away yet again. He then went on to explain the procedure in detail but the short version is that I would be operated in an inverted position on an inclined board so my head would be lower than my legs. Thankfully , I have no memory of this as I was fast asleep. I was then greeted by my consultant, Mr. Vijay Ramani, and walked me through towards the preparation room. There was a slight delay in entering the preparation as the fire alarm went off and rang for what felt like a considerable time (apparently there was a faulty sensor in one of the path labs at the far end of the complex in another building!). You could say that they were “Ringing out the bells for me and my prostate” but it doesn’t seem to scan that well!

On entering the preparation room  I was positioned on a level board and duly anesthetized and then my arms and legs were bound to stop them getting in the way. It was either that or the nurse had been reading “Fifty Shades of Grey”. Obviously, I have no memory of the procedure or being taken into the recovery room some six and a half hours later. My next memory is a somewhat drowsy recollection of being back in my bed and my good lady wife, Diana, a.k.a. She Who Must Be Obeyed helping me to drink water and then later a cup of tea. I was reasonably comfortable even though I had a drain in from the operation and a catheter fitted but I was exceptionally thirsty and drank copious quantities of water and tea. I was then fitted with a pair of compression “boots” which gently compressed the calfs in an alternate manner. I was also hooked up to a morphine pump which was really good! The idea was and it worked very well in practise, that as the anesthesia wore off and I became slightly uncomfortable I just had to push a button and get a shot of some really good stuff! Diana a.k.a She Who Must Be Obeyed, was particularly happy to press the button often. However, the pump was set up in a controlled manner so I could not overdose on on the product no matter how hard Diana tried!

I don’t remember too much about last night other than I awoke a few times feeling very thirsty but having drank some water and hitting the good stuff I quickly drifted off the sleep.

This morning I came round which is probably a better way than saying I awoke. Today has been a busy day and started with a very early visit from the urology team who announced that my operation had been successful and so I’m now in the recovery phase. The prostate has been sent to the laboratory for analysis. My cannulas have been removed and I’m now on oral pain medication and I’m feeling fairly comfortable and getting used to the attached bag which shouldn’t be there for too long a period (probably about a month). It reminds me of an old Billy Connelly story of two family members on holiday and one said to the other “I’m sure that I can here the surf beating on the beach” and the reply was “Nah! That’s just granddad walking down the corridor!”

It’s amazing who you meet here. I was talking to Ibrahim who was cleaning my room earlier today. He lost his entire family in war torn Somalia including, he thought, his one year old son, some fifteen years ago. However, The British Red Cross found his son eight years ago and they have made a new life for themselves here in England. I went for a walk with Ibrahim along the hospital corridor and we were looking at the photographs that adorned the walls of Manchester scenes. Areas of the city centre that I take for granted but Ibrahim was radiating pride in his city and his new country. In turn it made me proud to be part of Great Britain.

I have to have an injection in the subcutaneous layer of my stomach every day for the next 28 days. She Who Must Be Obeyed got very excited by this as Diana will have to this when I’m at home. So, this evening, with an excited gleam in her eye and under the watchful supervision of the lovely nurse Roxanne, Diana duly approached this task with some vigour. Diana approached with arm raised high and duly plunged the needle into my stomach where she quickly depressed the plunger andministering the chemical that will help me to avoid clotting. I must say that She Who Must Be Obeyed appeared to hugely  enjoy this procedure and is already looking forward to tomorrows administartion!

Finally and on a more serious note. It is my beleif that early screening is a major key in the battle to beat Prostate Cancer. So, who do you know that’s male and is aged between 45 and 120? If you feel that its appropiate please share this blog with them.

Until my next post, Toddleoo!