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Be careful what you wish for

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 7/31/2018 3:59 AM (GMT 0)
This past Saturday started out to be a good day. I woke up with the intention to do a 13 plus mile bike trek around the lake. As I was riding, it became much harder to pedal. When I got to around mile ten, I propped the bike against a tree and laid down next to the tree. I ended up texting my wife "I can't finish!" She called and asked me if I was joking around and I said no. about ten minutes later she and our youngest son showed up in his pickup and he threw the bike in the bed and brought me home. As I laid on the couch, my left arm hurt and my chest and back felt tight. My wife asked if I wanted to go to hospital and I told her I'd wait. Twenty minutes later we were on our way to ER. When I arrived, they checked a couple things and the next thing I know, I'm getting rolled into surgery and put under. I spent Saturday and Sunday in ICU. I got released at noon today, but they only did my right side. I have to wait 3-4 weeks until they do my left side. I was dx'd with PC stage T3b in 2011 and told myself I'd rather die of anything else than PC. I changed my mind. I don't want to die from PC or a heart attack. My 87 year old dad came to see me at the hospital and shared one of his old jokes, something about dying from a jealous husband. He was dx'd with PC over 20 years ago.
Posted 7/31/2018 4:13 AM (GMT 0)

EAGLEKEEPER said...
This past Saturday started out to be a good day. I woke up with the intention to do a 13 plus mile bike trek around the lake. As I was riding, it became much harder to pedal. When I got to around mile ten, I propped the bike against a tree and laid down next to the tree. I ended up texting my wife "I can't finish!" She called and asked me if I was joking around and I said no. about ten minutes later she and our youngest son showed up in his pickup and he threw the bike in the bed and brought me home. As I laid on the couch, my left arm hurt and my chest and back felt tight. My wife asked if I wanted to go to hospital and I told her I'd wait. Twenty minutes later we were on our way to ER. When I arrived, they checked a couple things and the next thing I know, I'm getting rolled into surgery and put under. I spent Saturday and Sunday in ICU. I got released at noon today, but they only did my right side. I have to wait 3-4 weeks until they do my left side. I was dx'd with PC stage T3b in 2011 and told myself I'd rather die of anything else than PC. I changed my mind. I don't want to die from PC or a heart attack. My 87 year old dad came to see me at the hospital and shared one of his old jokes, something about dying from a jealous husband. He was dx'd with PC over 20 years ago.

WOW! I could see that was going to be angina or heart attack 1/2 way through! Glad that you are still with us! Did you get stents?
Posted 7/31/2018 4:25 AM (GMT 0)
yes, 2 stents so far. They said the other side is 80-90% blocked. I try and eat right since I was dx'd with PC, and I work third shift and it's extremely difficult to exercise as often as I'd like.
Posted 7/31/2018 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
you need to get a shift where you can do some kind of exercise...with the approval of doctor...I say that without knowing the full extent of your health...You were " lucky" or your wife was very smart.. " I told her I'd wait " Yikes
Posted 7/31/2018 11:49 AM (GMT 0)
Tough day, EagleKeeper - but the best possible outcome I - no? Another reminder how tenuous life is. Hope the stents work out perfectly for you.

Wilderness
Posted 7/31/2018 11:57 AM (GMT 0)
Wow, tough day Eaglekeeper. Glad you got to the hospital on time and are ok.
Posted 7/31/2018 1:56 PM (GMT 0)
Eagle - wow! Glad to hear you're okay. Scary stuff.

Take care of yourself and let us know how the next procedure goes.

Andrew
Posted 7/31/2018 3:36 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck on recovery and I hope to hear that you are back in the bike soon.

I have a running friend who, at about age 50 and is in great shape, was doing his workout on a treadmill at a gym. He had a "widowmaker" while doing so. Luckily for him the guy on the next treadmill was an EMT. He got himself fixed and recovered and still outruns me.
Posted 7/31/2018 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, man that's a tough one. Good luck on the next set of stents and keep us posted!
Posted 7/31/2018 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for the well wishes. Last summer my wife and I were riding the tandem in the same area and I remembered seeing an ER doc from the same hospital I went to riding his bike. We're not big fans of our local hospital and will drive an extra 15 minutes to our hospital of choice. When I was admitted, I underestimated the severity of the situation and was joking with the ER team. I didn't realize until being wheeled into surgery, just how bad things were. I think that's what I really like about this hospital and the staff. When I get nervous, I try and play things down through humor. I can't control the outcome of situations, so I try and make light of it. I think many in the medical community have been trained to observe patients and react accordingly. I've been very fortunate to be matched with, what I've observed to be the best care that I can receive, and to me, that is priceless.
Posted 7/31/2018 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
CV disease is 20 times the killer that prostate cancer is. We can easily lose sight of this because we focus so heavily on prostate cancer. I'm glad you were able to avoid the close call.
Posted 7/31/2018 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
What Tall Allen said! It's also highly likely that it's going to be something other than PCa that's going to do each of us in, and that's something to keep in mind when pondering the impact of PCa on our lives.

But glad to hear that you seem to have a handle on this thing, Eaglekeeper, and we hope that continues to be the case.
Posted 8/1/2018 5:23 AM (GMT 0)
My Keeper
Wow !!! That was a super scary situation for you, so glad you made it through. I hear you about delaying the ER,who really wants to go. Glad your wife did. Don't you know, you got to be here for me and others my brother, to help us through my trying situations? Rest up, take care and stay strong for those other stents. It is truly amazing what modern day science can do to fix us.

My Mom's friend has stents for 14 years now and still going strong, greeting people every day at Walmart. Not riding her bike anymore at age 75, but 20 years ago, she did ride with three others across the USA, coast to coast!!
Take care, my brother Eagle, take care,
Wings of Eagles aka Dan in So Cal
Posted 8/1/2018 9:59 AM (GMT 0)
Glad you are ok and I suspect your commitment to health enabled you to survive the crisis. We must take care of ourselves and pay attention to our bodies. Denis
Posted 8/1/2018 1:11 PM (GMT 0)
Do keep an eye on that cardiac stuff! I've had some pretty significant cardiac events (valve replacement, pacemaker, etc.) and know how scary they can be, but I'll have to admit that PCa shook me more than the heart stuff did - probably because there seem to be more concrete "givens" with heart surgery than there are with cancer treatment.

Now the thing to do is to maintain cardiac health and keep a close watch on the ongoing condition. Do that, and you'll be fine, methinks.
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