Yesterday was Tour Duluth. If anyone had told me that I would be able to ski 37.5 kilometers (23+ miles) one week after getting out of the hospital after Green Laser enlarged prostate surgery, I would have told them they were crazy. Even my doctor had warned me ... no lifting of anything over five pounds for the first week, and don't work out for a few weeks. While surgeries and recovery times will be different for everyone, yesterday's ski was actually my third time out this week. My first time on the trails was Wednesday afternoon. Apparently my wife and children actually had an active betting pool on when I would break doctor's orders and ski (see "a friendly bet" via my wife's blog)!
Quite frankly, I've been amazed with this process / surgery. Even though my own Green Laser surgery was a bit more severe, as it actually necessitated some cutting in additional to laser removal of some of my prostate, and this landed me in the hospital for an overnight stay (not the norm), the recovery has been very quick. Here are my own words (see earlier blog post) on the pain I experienced the first two days after getting out of the hospital:
"Right now I feel amazingly strong all things considered. I am taking some Tylenol for the pain, and have a burning sensation when I pass urine. Yesterday (post op day 1), the pain was more severe and accompanied by some mild nausea, but even this discomfort ended within ten minutes of going to the bathroom. This morning, the burning pain upon urination is much less severe. Pain of this nature is to be expected. Urine is acidic, and my urinary tract is inflamed right now."
Eight days later, there is just a minor sensation when I have to retreat to the bathroom! (not pain). I see my urologist this coming Thursday, and assuming a full bill of health, it may even be time to restart certain recreational activities with my wife. Everything seems to work!
I decided to blog about this medical procesure just BECAUSE it is so intensely personal for us guys. It seems to stike at what makes us a man. I personally learned that I was foolish in my thinking. One adjusts and moves on. While I realize that many men will have much harder ordeals, it's not worth playing around with one's health. When I started this series of blog posts, the road ahead was uncertain, and my initial problems were so severe such that I ended up in an ambulance being taken to the emergeny room. In closing, I offer thanks to my great medical care (Dr. Dean Tortorelis and staff). God and my family have also been a true blessing during this ordeal.
You may also wish to learn about Dash for Dads. This event is held through the United States. Anyone can run or walk five kilometers! Support your Dad and learn about prostate cancer. Thankfully cancer was not in the cards for me, but given my Dad, my Uncle, and one of my brothers all have prostate cancer, this was a high probability. Given my genetic predisposition, I will have to watch out for this disease the rest of my life.
- Minneapolis: Dash for Dads (September 21, 2013)
- National network: ZeroProstateCancer.org
Post Update on March 16th: My urologist appointment went fine. Everything checks out well, and I am now just scheduled for a normal follow-up visit in three months. I've even restarted the "recreational activities".
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Posts in this series:
- Postate Problems and Nordic Skiing (trip by ambulance to the emergency room)
- Prostate Problems and Nordic Ski Racing: Part 2 (compete with a catheter)
- Post Op: 2 Days After Surgery (surgery ends up a bit more severe than expected)
- Post Op: 1 Week Later - Nordic Skiing! (this post)
- Post Op: 4 Weeks Later - Cycling!
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(click to maximize either image: starting out ... 17k of 33.k complete)
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