Prayers to Brian & Lisa (kcprgal) and your 3 boys

Brian & Lisa and boys,

Bud and Mrs. Bud and Gigi and her Mom and Dad send our best thoughts and prayers!

HUGS!

Lisa,

As one wife to another, I know how hard this can be. My husband is 1 1/2 years from his surgery and you will be amazed how time will fly by. This will hopefully be a tiny bump in your lives and soon you'll be back to your usual life. Good luck tommorrow!

Kind regards,
Renee

Lisa,

I am a wife too, age 41. Sending you big fat hugs today, and tomorrow. I remember hubby's surgery like it was yesterday, especially how it felt gearing up the night before. It sounds like you two put a lot of thought, research and rationale into this decision, so look forward, not back. My hubby had a significant cancer, and I was very nervous during his actual surgery which took 4.5 hours, not knowing what they'd see. His surgeon came to find me in the waiting room to deliver very good news based on his trained eye and all I could do was hug the guy. :) Try to get some sleep, but I know it is very, very tough. I'm sure you are both running on adrenaline right now, but you may crash (in a good get sleep kind of way) tomorrow evening. My Mom was so worried about me driving home from the hospital alone that night. I didn't see your hubby's stat's, but hope my hubby's stats will encourage you also. He went in with a 4 + 3 gleason, and PSA of 17.2 (he's now at <0.1). Keep your chin up. I am praying for you and your family!

*edited to add PSA

Thanks ladies for your encouraging responses today. It is really nice to connect with others who have been in the same shoes. We are lucky to have an incredible support system with family, friends and our church community.

I guess I'm most nervous about the initial results after the lymph node removal portion of the surgery tomorrow. Hoping they are clear and that the surgeon will proceed with the prostate removal and that everything goes well.

Our stats are below. I will post an update Friday if I can, depending on when he is released from the hospital.

Thanks,
Lisa

________________________________________________
Hubby Brian:
Age 49, dx Jan. 2012, PSA: 12/09 2.5, 10/10 2.8, 10/11 3.2
Biopsy Jan. 2012: Gleason 3+3, 7 of 12 samples tested positive, including sections from right and left, largest was 50% of core sample in left lateral mid.
LARP and lymph node removal surgery scheduled 4/12/12.

All~

Surgery went very well on Thursday. The lymph nodes were cancer free and Brian's prostate was removed with no complications and the nerves were spared. Hurray!

We came home from the hospital yesterday and he is doing incredibly well. Of course he doesn't like the catheter, but he is getting around the house okay and is in good spirits.

Anxiously awaiting pathology results which will hopefully be released on Monday.

Joel, your positive outcome is exactly what I needed to hear today. We went into this with a realistic outlook that it could take several months/years to fully regain continence and overcome ED issues. So it is really encouraging to hear that others have had such success healing more quickly.

Thanks again for everyone's support. We are blessed to have help of family, friends and a church community during this time, but it is really beneficial to talk to others who have actually shared similar experiences.

Lisa

Lisa

So so happy to hear all went well!

Your news truely brightened my day!

Prayers and good thoughts to you and your hubby.

Bud

Lisa:

Glad things have gone so well so far. I am sure they will continue to go well.

There are many of us who recover fully and quickly, but it's not a race. This is a process as you know, one you already started, and each step brings to the following.

That week with the catheter was a pain in the ass. It was like a waiting game. Luckily there was also a lot of mental and physical recovery to do so in between the walks I just rested and watched a lot of movies. It was amazing how much better I felt each day.

Thanks all!

Brian's doc wants to leave the cath in for TWO weeks. I guess that is his standard. At least everything should hopefully be well-healed (as much as possible) by then. That seems like a long time for a catheter.

He got his first post-op shower in this afternoon and managed to walk up and down the stairs at our house to accomplish it. Last night he slept in the recliner but thinks he might try the bed tonight.

He is doing careful laps around the house (indoors), which seems to be relieving a lot of gas that built up during the operation. Very anxious about when the first BM might come. Docs told us to stay on the front side of that as constipation is not good following this kind of surgery and you don't want to strain. Not telling you all anything you don't know already!

Forecasting bad weather in our part of the country this evening. Praying that he doesn't have to spend the night in our basement during tornado warnings!

Absolutely amazed by the support and info on this forum. So glad I found you guys before surgery.

Thx,
Lisa