Many day to day things have happened since May 18 but I'm only going to focus on a portion of that time. I've not written much because we received some news in mid-April that simply put, really upset our day to day life. At the time neither of us were ready to talk about it except to each other and immediate family members, but now that we've had time, Dean has told me it's okay to share it with all of you as well.
Shortly before we left for Texas, we had physicals and some routine tests with our doctor. When the results of Dean's PSA (prostate) test came back it was 4.1, which is slightly above the range they really want to watch it. The doctor wanted him to have a follow up test while we were in Texas, which he did, and it came back at 4.3. They called us and recommended he have a biopsy when we returned to Kansas. Dean agreed and our primary care physician set up the appointment with Dr. Frogge, a urologist in Joplin, MO for April 9th.
On April 16th, we had a follow up visit with Dr. Frogge to go over the results of the biopsy, expecting to be told all was well and they would continue to watch it through regular PSA tests. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead we learned Dean had prostate cancer. Fortunately, it was caught early. After discussing the options, Dean asked Dr. Frogge what he would do in his case and he suggested that we talk with a urologist and an oncologist before making a decision.
Dr. Frogge's office set up two appointments for us. One was with a urologist, Dr. David Anderson, in Springfield on May 10, who performs "Robotic assist laparoscopic radical prostatectomy" - in other words removes the prostate through laparoscopic surgery; and the second appointment was the following day on May 11 with Dr. Myers in Pittsburg, an oncologist, to discuss various options of radiation. When we met with Dr. Anderson, Dean asked if we could go ahead an set an appointment for surgery, and if he decided radiation to be a better option, could he cancel it and they said yes. We were given a surgery date of June 1. He kept the appointment with the oncologist so we could hear what he had to say before making a final decision. My girlfriend who is a nurse, and whose husband also had prostate cancer suggested when we meet with the urologist that we ask about tests to see if the cancer might have spread, and Dr. Anderson agreed to order both a bone scan and a CT scan. After weighing both of his two options for treatment, Dean chose to move forward with the surgery.
On May 25, we spent the day in Springfield, MO having the bone scan and a CT scan, and pre-registering at the hospital (1 1/2 hour meeting) for the laparoscopic surgery on June 1. It was truly an all day event but amazingly everybody was right on time, or early, at each appointment we had.
Again, we expected nothing to show up in the tests - however, what the tests showed were really surprising. The CT scan showed Dean had an abdominal aorta aneurysm and the veins in his upper legs had plaque buildup. Dr. Anderson's office called us the day after Memorial Day, May 29, and advised he would not do the surgery until Dean saw a vascular surgeon.
We were shocked, but so grateful we were able to get an appointment so quickly with the vascular surgeon for June 1. He showed us the CT Scan and it was a mess. The aneurysm was 4 mm in size and while they typically do not do surgery until it is 5 mm, since the laparoscopic surgery for the prostate would be in or near this area and with the plaque in his veins the vascular surgeon thought he should have it repaired before having the prostate surgery.
We were back in Springfield on June 5 for another surgery pre-registration at Cox Hopsital for the repair of the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm.
On June 12, we got up very early (4:00 am) and headed to Cox Hospital in Springfield, MO where he had Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Endograft Repair. The surgery was a total success. He spent one night in the hospital and we were back in our RV in Oswego the following afternoon. Unfortunately, it was a long night at the hospital. He had a roommate who was in quite a bit of pain and had his TV on all night. Needless to say we had a good nap after we made it home! We were thankful Dean had no pain from his surgery and was feeling great immediately afterwards. The doctor told me after the surgery he did not know how he was not having pain in his legs from the amount of plaque and junk he had. I've always said Dean is like an old plow horse, he just keeps going. I'm so thankful they found this and it has been repaired.
He will have the Robotic assist laparoscopic radical prostatectomy on June 18 in Springfield. It will also require only an overnight stay at the hospital.
At this point I have to say, God had to have his hand in these appointments. It's not unusual to wait weeks or even months to get an appointment - his were scheduled so quickly we felt we were constantly on the run, and they have consistently kept things moving from day 1. We are so thankful for that - first to God who we feel orchestrated it, but also to the staff at both doctors' offices and the hospital. We have been provided with excellent care everywhere we've been in the Cox system.
We are heading to Branson Sunday morning, June 17 for a 3-5 week stay at Treasure Lake RV Resort. We are a member of the park and therefore only pay a nightly rate of $8 to park our RV there, it's only about 35 minutes from the hospital in Springfield, and since we will need to make at least 3-4 follow up visits with both doctors during that period it makes sense to stay here. Dean will not be able to drive at all the first week, and we are not sure when he will be released to drive the truck or pull the rig, so it's easier to just stay close by until he's given the okay. It could be as early as 3 weeks after the surgery to 4-5 weeks after. We have several friends in the area and there is quite a bit to do, so we hope it will keep us somewhat busy during this downtime in our life. Treasure Lake has entertainment at their clubhouse almost every evening and we enjoy attending those. We also enjoy the walking trail in the park and utilize it most mornings when we are there.
We've been able to get back to almost daily walking even though it's getting pretty warm in the mornings now. We enjoy being outside and getting the exercise.
We would appreciate your prayers as Dean undergoes this second surgery. We will be praying for God to direct the surgeon in each step he must take, that there will be no long term side effects, and that he recovers quickly and completely.
I have to say that we are so thankful to Jesus Christ, Our Savior for all he has done for us. While we do not understand it all we do know if he had not been diagnosed with prostate cancer, we would not have thought to even ask about testing and without the testing we would not have been aware of the aneurysm and the need for stints in his legs. God has been so good and we are so thankful for his loving care. Again, we cannot praise him enough for all he has done for us! And as I mentioned before, we give him thanks for how quickly everything has fell into place, with the scheduling of appointments, testing and surgeries.
While I am way behind on writing the blog, we have been so busy with doctor visits, trying to get in visits with family, dealing with paperwork related to both surgeries, dealing with insurance, etc. doing some projects around the RV (to keep us busy when we did have any down time), etc. that I would not have had much time to blog anyway. It was too hard for me to write unless sharing the whole story, but it just wasn't mine to tell until Dean agreed. So now that I have been able to share our journey of the past couple of months, I hope to return to daily or weekly posts.
Thank you so much to everyone who follows along. We are anxious to get back to our travels and at this point we see no reason that will not happen sometime toward the end of July or first of August. We still plan to head to New York to meet our newest grandson, Samuel and visit his family, and do a little traveling in a few New England states. It won't be as extensive as we originally planned, but that's okay, we are able to go and we are doing it together. That's what is important!
Oh my, I'm glad Dean agreed to have you share this. So we can put you both in our prayers. Hang in their Dean! You will be patched up and ready to roll in no time.
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