Steer clear of me right now. You've been warned!
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Let's just say that the visit to the surgeon didn't quite go as I would have liked. In short, he removed the right drain but left the left one in place because the drainage output was still a tad too high.
It does feel good to be rid of the one tube and bag, but I'll have to admit that I'm not thrilled about having the other one still in me. It's such a pain in the ass to maneuver with (I hooked the hose not once but twice on doorknobs today and cursed like a sailor--loud and long).
The plan? Keep monitoring the output through the weekend and into early next week. When he sees numbers that he likes, he'll bring me back in to have the drainage tube removed.
I did ask, "What if the volumes don't go down?" The first part of his response was that time is on our side; I just need to be patient. But the second part was something along the lines of, "I've never had to go back into someone, but..." So it's a possibility that, if this doesn't diminish on its own, that I may have to go back in for a follow-up surgery to correct the problem. That would suck.
One other thing that he did do during the visit was draw blood for my first post-surgery PSA test. Again, if the results come back at zero or nearly so, that's a strong indicator that I'm cancer-free. If they're higher, then that's a whole new ball game.
This PSA test was originally scheduled for next Thursday, but he thought he would do it while I was there. I suppose I could learn the results as early as late Monday or Tuesday.
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I will admit that it does feel better to be rid of one hose and the large dressing they had over both. It does make going to the bathroom a little easier.
Heck, I've had tubes coming out of my body for 28 of the last 33 days.
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I did drive myself to Cincinnati for the appointment. The drive went well and it was good to be out of the house again. I stopped by Kroger and CVS on the way home to stock up on some groceries and renew my prescription.
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