It's early Thursday morning, December 28, 2006
My wife and I make our way to UT Southwestern, Zale Lipshy Building. We make it there around 6am-ish and I get checked in. Then it's on to the waiting area to listen for my name. I've been to hospital waiting areas quite a few times, but never as the patient! After I give my name the young lady at the desk informs me that someone arrived earlier asking for me. She then pointed to an elderly man who I recognize as one of my co-workers at First Baptist Dallas. An FBD associate pastor was there to pray with me before my surgery. What a surprise to see him there! Now I'm sure that he does this with most church members/faculty, but it was still comforting for him to get up very early in the morning (he beat me there), find out where my surgery was going to be and meet me to pray for a successful surgery!
My mother was there with my wife and I as I was called to the back to prepare for surgery. I changed my arrival clothes to put on the surgical threads which included a cool headpiece and foot covers (don't know the actual names). A couple of nurses came in to check my vitals again and soon after I kissed my wife and mom and laid back on the bed. I got another kiss from my beautiful wife as they rolled me down the hall into the operating room. I was little nervous, but not too much. By this time I feel a strong peace about the whole thing. I can't help but rest on the sovereignty of Almighty God and trust in His mercy as He heard my prayers and the prayers of my wife, mom, and other saints lifting me up! I also began to reflect more on all that the Lord has done for me all my life from the beginning up until this point - and I don't mean just general stuff! My life is filled with grace and mercy, in spite of my foolishness!!! I have far too much to be thankful for!
As I come to a stop in the operating room, I briefly notice a large machine which I find out later that it's the da Vinci (robotic laparoscopic machine). Notice I said briefly - that's the last thing I remember at this point!
The next thing I'm aware of is slowly waking up in the recovery area. Thinking about it now, it seemed like about 10 minutes. Actually it's about 4 hours later! As I slowly and sluggishly open my eyes, listening to the chatter of the nurses around me, the first thought that comes to my mind is: "Oh...I guess they're finished." I then closed my eyes and went back to sleep. I felt very rested and absolutely no pain - praise the LORD!!!
Then, I guess about an hour later, I'm being rolled to my hospital room. I'm quite sluggish but I recognize my wife, mom, sister, neice, and my boss, Lori. By the way, my boss had been there since I was in surgery - I told you that I love my job, right? My co-workers, especially in my department (but not limited to) are my extended family!
I began to be more and more in tune with my body and the state I was in when I noticed the catheter! It wasn't painful at all, just uncomfortable. The doctor told me that I would have a constant feeling of needing to "go" with the catheter in me. He wasn't kidding! Later on, when most of my family left me and the wife, I lifted the covers to check out my scars. I had four small scars (two on each side of my belly) where the cameras and tools were inserted to perform the surgery and one larger scar around the left side of my navel. This is where a vacuum tube was inserted to pull out my prostate. Again, I want to stress the fact that I was in no pain at all! I was also wearing stockings that generated a pulsating vibration to encourage circulation in my legs in order to prevent and blood clotting. A few other doctors and nurses came in and out to check on me to see how I was doing. Some of them were students working on their residency (by the way, if you don't know by now the "UT" stands for University of Texas). One of the guys did something I'll never forget. He unhooked the tube on the catheter from the "container" and inserted a large, clear syringe filled with saline. He said it was to make sure that I didn't have any blood clots in my bladder and urethra. He wasted no time when he said, "This will feel weird." He pushed the saline through the tube connected to me and then pulled in the other direction to remove the saline to reveal the results. He said, "No blood clots. You're looking good!" I said, "Cool." But, when he did that, he was right when he said that it would feel weird! That was probably the weirdest thing I've ever felt! My eyes bulged as I thought, "Whoa!" It didn't hurt, just felt...weird.
Later on they bring me my first meal - good old chicken broth, jello, and juice! Yum. Hey, I just had surgery, so I needed to take it easy. Nothing solid just yet. This was not only for my stomach but also for the stool. One of the prescriptions that I had was a stood softener. Remember, I just had my prostate removed. The prostate sits right below the bladder - on top of the bottom of the lower intestine! Trust me: You don't want to be constipated now!!! I'm in no pain, but that entire area is very, very tender.
One of my old high school buddies, Terry, surprised me with a visit. I hadn't seen him in years. He was told about me by his cousin, Ed, who I told about my condition and upcoming surgery at church a week prior. It was really good to see him. We were like brothers back in the day, even after high school. Then, one of my first cousins, Dwight, stopped by to see me, as well.
Later on, my surgeon, Dr. Claus Roerhborn, stops by to check on me and give me a report on the surgery. I love the way he put it: "It was exquisite!" That was really a blessing to hear. Another younger doctor stopped by who assisted Dr. Roehrborn and told me that one of the reasons the surgery went so great was that my organs were in the right place - almost perfect! Yes, the Lord is gracious!!!!! Then the nurse came in and informed me that I will need to get out of bed and start moving around very soon to keep my circulation in tact. By now it is about 6pm-ish and I'm helped out of bed and into one of the chairs. Minutes later, I notice that I start to get very light-headed, so much so that I feel like I'm about to pass out! This really worries me! I tell my wife this and she buzzes the nurse. They come in and help get me back in bed. The nurse checks my blood pressure and it's really low and that's very odd for me because I have borderline hypertension. My temperature is checked and I'm running a fever of about 104! This scares me but as I lay in the bed, in about 30 minutes to an hour, I slowly begin to get better. Blood pressure rises back up to normal and temperature drops down to the same. This is simply side effects of the anesthesia and doesn't happen again. Later on, I receive another meal, but it's a little more solid this time! And quite good I might add!
The next morning, I begin to slowly get out of bed and walk a bit. I'm not doing too bad if I should say so myself. Again, no pain, just the uncomfortable feeling of the dreaded catheter. By the way, my urine is quite red-ish because of the blood. This is a normal result of surgery. I'm encouraged to drink lots and lots of water which will clear it up. I have no problem with that. They give me one of those 40-ounce hospital cups with the built-in straw. I emptied that thing quite frequently! Before I know it, it's approximately 6pm-ish on December 29 and I'm going home. Yep, you read right! I had the robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy procedure and I'm going home the next evening! I head to the bathroom to get dressed (pajamas and robe), say goodbye to the nurses who provided the best comfort (one of them was from my old neighborhood that I grew up in!), hopped in the wheel chair and headed downstairs to the van. We arrived home safely by the grace of God. I have a two-story home so you can picture me walking sideways up the stairs very carefully.
Let me make it very clear again that I'm very, very thankful to the Lord for His sovereign grace. The surgery was great and now I'm recovering well with no problems. I get myself situated in my bed with my big water cup on my nightstand along with my Bible. As much as I love the Word and the study of theology, I have to admit I don't read it enough. Now's the opportunity to use my recovery time wisely and get into it more than I've done before! But, you know, that's just what the Lord will do. He can put you on your back in order to put you on your face in reverence to Him. I have no excuse not to make valuable time for the study of His Holy Word.
I also take time to enjoy reading other books and watching some of my favorite movies. I love action and sci-fi! My wife told me in the hospital that while I'm at home recovering she'll watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy with me!!! Let me fill you in: Before she said that she didn't want to watch it because she stated "it seems way too violent for me." Now, my wife likes action movies like me, but I guess she has her limits compared to my tastes. I told her many times before that she'll love it and it's more than just fighting - it's a great story and the cinematography is outstanding! It's my favorite movie!!! So much so that I purchased the extended edition set!!! I was excited when she told me that she'd watch it with me. The funny thing is that after each part she exclaimed, "Wow! I can't wait for the next part!" When we finished the whole trilogy (about 5 days later) she said, "That was really good! I want to watch it again!!!" I responded, "I told you you'd love it!"
Did I mention that I love my wife???!!!!! She's so much fun and I'm glad she's in my life!!! She took care of me way better than any nurse could and my super kids did a super job showing daddy some major love! They helped mommy and me with whatever I needed! They're the best!!!
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