Have run into a health issue - need prayers

Alan L. · Oct 5, 2013

bullbreaker said:
PSALMS 50: 15 (KJV Bible)

Praying for You .

Boone

Thanks for that verse.

kenmac · Oct 5, 2013

Good luck Alan ! Wishing you the very best from the heart of Dixie !

RobertBrown · Oct 5, 2013

Alan,
I sure hate to hear that you have this to deal with. I know if it was me I would be stressing about it.
As mentioned before you have 2 and you only need one so that's a bright spot....things could be worse eh?
Please remember to stay poitive and dwell on all the things you have to be thankful for. I suspect you will come out the other end a better person for this. Might get some nice get well gifts anyway and you will lose some weight too.
Best Regards

Wagtail · Oct 6, 2013

Alan L. said:
Thanks guys for the continued prayers. Surgery set for 11/12 at Zale Lipsey which is part of UT Southwestern Medical School.

Met with the Urologist/surgeon this morning and I felt positive after it was over. He says based on the CT of abdomen/pelvis nothing else shows up and to him the tumor looks to be 6-7 cm, in the lower pole of the kidney. Just a bit too large and into the center of the kidney for him to recommend saving any part of the kidney so it will be a full removal. However he will leave the adrenal which he says looks fine. He will do the surgery laproscopically, although there will be an incision large enough to get the kidney out. He thinks based on the CT that it tumor appears to be confined to the kidney and is not in the renal vein, etc. It really just looks like the bottom half of the kidney is swollen. He says he has treated much worse and was very positive abot the outlook. Says probably only 2 nights in the hospital.

G'day Alan and welcome (almost) to the One Kidney Club!

I've had the same operation, they just popped that bad boy out (plus surrounding lymph nodes to be on the safe side) via laproscopic incisions and 'job done'. No chemo or radiation after the fact. In fact, I get a wee bit embarassed when people say that I'm a 'cancer survivor' because the surgery was so simple compared to others.

Mind you, it IS major surgery. My Sister flew down from Canada IOT 'sit on me' from doing things post op... she treated me like I'd just had a caesarean birth! You'll swear that you're OK to do something as simple as the laundry, but you're not. Slow and steady, Mate. Slow and steady.

On a personal note, mine was found by accident. I had a urinary blockage, so the Doc sent me for a routine ultrasound of the bladder + the rest of the plumbing. Yes, there was a blockage and that should've been the end of the proceedure but the ultrasound operator said,"Seeing as I've got you here, roll over and I'll have a peep at your kidneys... they're part of the urinary system too."

The right one was normal. The left one... "Wait right there while I get a Doctor." "Well I'm really not dressed to go anywhere else." :laughing:

Anyway, you've got my prayers for a successful operation & recovery. I've been there & done that. She'll be right Mate

Alan L. · Oct 12, 2013

Wagtail said:
G'day Alan and welcome (almost) to the One Kidney Club!

I've had the same operation, they just popped that bad boy out (plus surrounding lymph nodes to be on the safe side) via laproscopic incisions and 'job done'. No chemo or radiation after the fact. In fact, I get a wee bit embarassed when people say that I'm a 'cancer survivor' because the surgery was so simple compared to others.

Mind you, it IS major surgery. My Sister flew down from Canada IOT 'sit on me' from doing things post op... she treated me like I'd just had a caesarean birth! You'll swear that you're OK to do something as simple as the laundry, but you're not. Slow and steady, Mate. Slow and steady.

On a personal note, mine was found by accident. I had a urinary blockage, so the Doc sent me for a routine ultrasound of the bladder + the rest of the plumbing. Yes, there was a blockage and that should've been the end of the proceedure but the ultrasound operator said,"Seeing as I've got you here, roll over and I'll have a peep at your kidneys... they're part of the urinary system too."

The right one was normal. The left one... "Wait right there while I get a Doctor." "Well I'm really not dressed to go anywhere else." :laughing:

Anyway, you've got my prayers for a successful operation & recovery. I've been there & done that. She'll be right Mate

Thanks for this information. The wait is very difficult. Could have had this thing out 9/23 but elected to go with the big university hospital in Dallas, and so have to wait until 11/12 which will be 2 months after it was found. I am of course concerned about the pain of the surgery but more concerned about long term outlook. Hoping to be one of the ones that can talk about way back when I had to get my kidney taken out.

Wagtail · Oct 13, 2013

Alan L. said:
I am of course concerned about the pain of the surgery but more concerned about long term outlook. Hoping to be one of the ones that can talk about way back when I had to get my kidney taken out.

It's good news for you that the Urological Surgeon didn't insist on the earlier surgical date... it must not be too agressive. Mine was gone within a week of discovery.

I can only speak for myself but there honestly wasn't that much pain from the surgery. More of a dull ache, really. As I said above, within a day you'll swear that you're OK to do simple things and, by day 2, you'll be busting to go home. I suppose that it's the beauty of the laproscopic procedure = minimum invasive. (and the scars are so small that you won't be able to get a beer out of the story). In fact, the nurses gave me a hard time for not hitting the little morphine drip button. I told them I wasn't in any pain... They said it was to make me sleep more... Oh, sorry.

Honestly, the worse part of the 3-4 months recovery is that you'll tire easily. If you're out & about, take regular 'park bench' stops. If the local Mall offers an electric scooter USE IT! (they're fun too) Especially as the Silly Season (your Thanksgiving through to Christmas) will mean busy crowds and you won't be able to react as quickly as you used to do.

As to hopping on the tractor? Again, you'll think you're fine after a couple of weeks. Wait until your Urologist gives you permission to drive... the major reason for this isn't the surgery, it's the anaesthesia. It will take MONTHS to get over that. Simply put, you'll lose time. A good example would be - you read a paragraph in a magazine only to find that an hour has gone by. (We call it 'being off with the fairys' :laughing

She'll be right Mate. :thumbsup:

creekbend · Oct 13, 2013

I wish to reinterate my sincere wishes for a Positive and Speedy Recovery. Keep your head high.

jerrybob · Oct 13, 2013

Alan........sending you and your family good thoughts and prayers........hang in there!!

CJBOTA · Oct 23, 2013

Alan,
My thoughts and prayers are with you. One of the things I like most about TBN is the help and support the members share with each other. Please keep us updated on your progress.
CJ