Prostatectomy 7 days ago

So, 7 days ago I was at Royal Surrey Hospital, Guildford undergoing a Prostatectomy, 4 hours later I was coming to a ward looking at the clock realising "4 hours has gone fast forward to now".

Physical fatigue as a side effect

My wife was phoning me and I could hear the phone ringing in the bedside cabinet but I was so physically exhausted that I was literally incapable of moving my body to the bedside cabinet to grab the phone, so I just lay there. It took several more hours before I could even reach over to have some sausages and mash and peas! The dinners there were pretty decent, blow me down, followed by a chocolate pudding a hot custard, wow, superb cuisine! all on china plates, metal knife and fork, cup of tea in a china mug, awesome! Luckily I had brought with me a small radio that takes a USB. On the USB about 50 MP3s of all my favourite tracks. I asked one nurse to grab my bags from the bedside cabinet and junk them onto the bed (as I simply could not). I meant to begin searching them for the radio and the headphones but then another nurse came along and said "What are you searching for?" she was so kind! She then quickly found the radio and the headphones for me and returned the bags to the beside cabinet leaving me very happy!

Different patients, different expereinces

I was sooooooo shattered! I had gone into the operating theatre about 10am and I remember thinking "it's chilly in here, I could do with a flippin coat!". I remember hoping that it wouldnt be too long or I'd actually start shivering. This guy placed an oxygen mask over my face and said "Just an oxygen mask, hold on", the next thing I knew I came to, looking at the clock in the ward, it showed 2pm and it was just like being teleported from one place and time to another. The ward I was on had 6 beds but only 2 were occupied. There was me and another guy, same age but he was getting out of bed! I couldnt even imagine doing that, he seemed very much recovered and was talking about another guy who "had not returned from operating theatre!"

LAst surgery companion

Hours later, the third guy was wheeled in. It had taken twice as long to do his surgery (we were all in for the same thing) because his blood pressure dropped too low and they had to wait, anyway it wasnt long before the first guy was being shipped OUT! He was gone off home! Leaving me and this delayed guy as the only two on the ward.

Friends through prostate cancer

Pretty soon we were chattering away like long-lost friends and by now it had got dark! Night time was upon us and I did not have the slightest interest in sleep, none at all, I couldnt sleep, I was too excited/ alert/ mentally acute. I dont know, my new found friend and I chatted away the hours when he wasnt snoring and my little radio gave me solid MP3s that I had previously downloaded from Itunes a long time back, I was ok but I just got no sleep whatever. In the morning we had a choice of 'Cornflakes' or 'Rice Crispies' and I chose 'Cornflakes' and my pal had 'Rice Crispies'. The chatting with the new friend continued and we just got on like a house on fire, it made such a difference.