Surgery!

Yesterday at 9:30am, I arrived at Memorial Sloan Kettering for my orchiectomy with Laina and my mom.  I went through several exams upon arrival, and then I was informed that my surgery would not take place for a few hours.  They showed us up to the patient recreation room, which was pretty cool.  For about three hours, we hung around and relaxed while listening to a lady play the piano.  They had a pool table, board games, library and outdoor terrace for patients of MSK to enjoy during their stay.  It really helped me relax and I think it made my mom and Laina feel more comfortable since I'm sure they were anxious as well.

Me shooting pool in the Patient Recreation Room before surgery

View from the Rec Room

I was nervous before I got to the operating room but I became eerily calm when I thought about my best friend Nilton (who passed away two years ago from Leukemia), knowing what hell that he went through and how strong he was the entire time. It almost felt like he was by my side, relieving me of all my fears before the operation. I made an attempt to fight the anesthesia since it was my first time, but that lasted about five seconds...haha!

Ready to rock this surgery!



Get well card from Laina's family that really lifted my spirits (and made Laina cry! aww)



When I woke up, I felt groggy and a little sore, but mostly uncomfortable from wearing this elastic jockstrap.  The doc is making me wear it to keep the pressure off of my incision and implant, which feels a little weird to be honest.  Everyone in the recovery room was really great and took good care of me.  The first thing I got to eat was wheat saltine crackers...which I never would touch on a normal day, however, these tasted like the best things on earth.  They wouldn't let me go home until I could pee, so I was chugging cranberry juice and water like it was going out of style.  I guess it normally takes patients a long time to go after this surgery, but I was ready after about an hour. Don't act like you're not impressed! HA! Anyways, at 5:30pm, after 8 hours in the hospital, I finally got to head home. 

Today, I feel pretty good although I'm more sore and uncomfortable than yesterday.  The doc said that is normal since the local anesthesia wore off.  I went for a spin with Laina for some frozen yogurt to get moving a little and ran into my "Cancer Coach Ba-Boach" Danny!  It was good to see him. 

Hobbling around with Danny

Other than that, I've just been taking it easy and napping at home.  Laina's been spoiling me and taking good care of me.  If anything, I'm a little bored since you know I am usually out in the woods somewhere on a Saturday and not used to laying around so much. Looking forward to getting this jockstrap contraption off at my next appointment on Thursday when I get my staples removed and get the results from the biopsy.

Thanks again for all the encouragement and support guys.

Chris