Still Recuperating

Thanks to Pat for updating the site yesterday to let everyone know the procedure went as planned. I was home and asleep in my own bed by noon, and spent the rest of the day in and out of dreamland. Cooper seemed a bit put out having to share the bed with me in the middle of the day, apparently I was in "his space". We eventually found an acceptable resolution and split of the bed.

Dr. Karian warned me ahead of time that he thought I would be going home with a catheter for a day or two. Not only did I prove him wrong, my bladder was fully functioning within minutes of the catheter removal, much to the surprise of the nurses. After my 3rd request for a bedpan, they decided I was good to go (home). So now I'm home, in the comfort of my own bathroom with some minor discomfort that should go away by the end of the week.

Apparently the biopsy was uneventful - Dr. Karian was able to remove most of the tumor from inside the bladder and send it for a pathology. Part of it had to remain as it is connected (which means it has penetrated the bladder wall) to the tumor on the outside of the bladder, which is connected to the abdominal wall. Not what we were hoping to find, but we got a better picture of the situation without a major surgery. Dr. Karian talked to me about the plan for the week, however he did this while I was in Recovery and of course I can't remember a thing. I'll be calling him Thursday or Friday for a re-cap.

In the meantime I'm taking a few days to recover, physically and mentally from this and start to formulate the next steps. Pat and I are both anxious to find an option that doesn't involve full surgery so we have made a few phone calls based on newer treatment options we have researched. For now we are in the information gathering mode, as most of what we have found would be considered experimental for this type of cancer.

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. I am sure they played a part in my quick recovery and release from the hospital on Monday.

More to come.