Status: Mission Accomplished…So Far

Yesterday ended up being a much, much longer day than planned.

We arrived at Somerset Hospital,(Somerville, NJ) which is about three times the size it was when I used to be on the ambulance, delivering patients to the Emergency Room in the late 1970’s-early 80’s.

The time was 0745hrs.

Got a great parking spot and began the registration process with Mom & Dad.

We found out very quickly that this was scheduled as “Same Day Surgery” and one of the first questions the unit clerk asked was if I was gong to be the one driving him home?

To us, that was remarkable news as we had no idea as to the results of the tests he underwent on Friday to determine whether the cancer had spread. No one from the doctor’s office had called to advise of any change in plans, but we had walked in the doors, not knowing what exactly was going to happen.

We, (at least I) had been considering three options:

A- Fix the bladder and go home
B- Take the bladder out
C- Go home, there is nothing we can do, it has spread too much

So, we were off to a good start…. Plan A was in place.

The procedure took an hour. After the tumor was excised, a chemotherapy agent was installed into his bladder and kept there for two hours. It looked as if we would be on our way home no later than 2-3pm.

While in the waiting room, by dad’s brother, Joe came by and spent some time with Mom & I. He saw my dad when he first came out of recovery and then drove the hour back to his house. I know it made my dad happy to see him.

The surgery was a success and as the doctor stated, “No big deal”, which is not exactly what my parents thought going into the day.

Taking on fluids with no, desired effect.

Not so fast.

Anyone who has had any kind of same day surgery knows that before they let you go home, you have to pee.

He could not.

So the nurses gives him some coffee with the hope of the caffeine stimulating things….it made him sick.

Meanwhile, I was playing PIO (Public Information Officer) for family, friends and co-workers. Luckily I thought to bring my phone charger, which I needed twice during the day.

At some point during the recovery period, my sister, Donna arrives with her son, Matthew.

At 6pm, the Same Day Surgery Center closed and my dad had to be moved to the regular OR recovery room….until he peed.

Finally around 8:30pm (and after two of the worst hospital meals I have ever had…and I ate hundreds in hospitals over the years), a nurse that was going home at the end of her shift, called my dad’s doctor to ask him what to do?

The plan now was to place in indwelling catheter for the night and to have him come to the office in the morning.

Things started rolling along and then accelerated as the new, nurse that was now caring for my dad, Bob, told dad that he also worked as a paramedic. I overheard that and then we started talking and realized we knew many of the same people in local/regional EMS, some going back to the late 1970’s. It was a reunion of sorts, even though we never worked together and probably delayed us getting home by 20 minutes or so. Bob went the extra distance for my dad and we appreciated his attentiveness.

We arrived back home at 2210hrs (10:10pm)….fourteen and a half hours after we departed.

There were several messages on the VM… one from the doctor at 6:30pm, asking how my dad was doing? I guess he didn’t think to check to make sure he had been discharged?

So the first chapter was completed and today we will go to the doctor’s office to have the catheter removed. In the meantime as I type this at 0730, he is still asleep in the next room, snoring on the couch.

On behalf of my Dad & Mom, thank you for the many prayers, calls, texts and e-mails.