Life is good

Quentin celebrated being able to eat normal food again by having a mince pie (thanks Lucy!), a brownie (thanks Jane) and a slice of Xmas cake.

The days are mainly spent relaxing in the lounge, pretending we’re on a Landmark Trust holiday (but without the wine), with an open fire to the right of him and a lovely snowscape to the left.

Progress is good.‘Normal food’ includes plenty of fresh fruit (Thanks Philip) between the snacks and a good plateful of roast chicken last night. We’ve even been for a short walk to the High Street and back. Life is good, if less high octane than Quent would usually like. 

Thanks for everyone’s support, wishes and witty comments. It’s all a very important part of the recovery process. 

sNOw news is good news

 I won’t keep posting (unless something major happens) but I’ve received quite a few messages asking how Quent slept, so...

...all’s well. Quent slept well, Oakley has gone sledging and I’m grateful Quent came out yesterday ahead of the snowstorm! 

Quent has rejected my ‘breakfast with a view’ set up, in favour of watching the Simpsons in bed. To be fair, it’s the same view and a lot cosier! 

   

Home sweet home

He’s home! Looking and feeling good. He’s only allowed yogurt, jelly and ice cream - and a bag full of drugs. That’s what you get when they operate on your birthday - it’s very rock ‘n roll.

My next post will definitely be a tribute to the skill and dedication of the NHS. Totally amazing. But meanwhile, I have to don my own ‘orderly’ uniform to make my patient a cup of tea! 

The Great Escape

 I woke to a text, saying “Yay, home today.”

I rang Quent who said his drains were being taken out. Mr Vasdev has been round and discharged him, so we can collect him once the pharmacy delivers the drugs. 

I’m not quite sure how he’s pulled this off - or how much it cost him! He has not done any walking (just marching on the spot), tried the stairs or eaten anything. His response to my questions was triumphant. “Yes, but I’ve farted every day”. Lovely.

Oakley will be delighted. What a great birthday present! 

Family time

 This evening we video-called the patient, to see his room and his pipework. He was sitting up in a chair, reading - as he has been for most of the day.

It's certainly not the best shot of Quent, but his smile is as broad as ever and he seemed in good spirits. Tomorrow, apparently, he will be given food for the first time since Wed, to see how the intestines are doing.

Meanwhile, I have become very conscious of how steep our stairs are. I can't wait to have him home, but only when he's ready. 

Oakley will turn 17 tomorrow. Not a great birthday without his friends, his Dad or his present (driving lessons, currently banned), but he's still smiling too. Quent's chirpy mini-me.

My Mister with the Sister in the Lister

 Several of you have asked how Quent is this morning, so here's all I know.

He's very comfortable in his own room in the 'new' hospital. No pain so far (= lots of drugs, I presume). I don't think the hospital is new, but a little Google search does return some rather lovely images, so maybe it's been refurbished - or maybe the part he's in is, indeed, new. The nurses are, apparently, very nice.

 Quentin's understanding is that he won't be out till Monday. I made a schoolgirl error and blurted out that the surgeon had told me Saturday or Sunday - so I may have blown the cover of the nurses who've clearly opened their negotiation at Monday. 

Apparently they had to cut his gut as part of the operation so he's not allowed to eat yet. I've told him very firmly that "no food" includes the chocolate the Nicola and Diane brought round and the mince pies that Vicky and Lucy brought round - all of which is a ticking bomb in his overnight bag. He has a habit of making up his own rules around such things. (Like the cranberry juice he was classifying as a pre op 'clear liquid' even though it said no fruit juice). 

Anyway, the summary is that he's fine and sounding bonny. He had a long chat with Oakley about last night's online Explorers session.

Surgi-bot

Mr Vasdev, Quent's surgeon, has just called to confirm that the operation went well. It was robotic surgery, but the human still makes the post op call, it seems! Mr Vasdev and his robot managed to remove all the prostate even though it was "quite stuck down". It took an hour just to sort the scar tissue, apparently. 

Interestingly, Mr Vasdev said he thought we'd made the right decision as he didn't think that radiotherapy would have dealt with it long term (ie. the cancer would have returned). For those who know about these things, he was able to do a nerve spare (relatively new technique) on the right hand side, but not the left, where the tumour was. That's great news and as much as we could have hoped for.

Mr Vasdev said Quent will be in hospital until Saturday or Sunday. I know what that means; Quent will now start a relentless campaign to get out on Saturday. He knows every trick in the Escaping From Hospital book - and could give Charles Sobhraj a run for his money (or his jewels!).

In the hands of the nurses

Things are looking up. Quent is through the op and in recovery. "Comfortable, but drousy" was how the nurse described him. She didn't seem to know much about the op - but if the scarring had prevented it happening, I'm guessing they would have called earlier. 

So all's well and the rest of his birthday will be spent with a bevvy of nurses at his beck and call. Could be worse!

61 years of Quent

 Happy birthday, Quent. This may not be the first time he’s been comatose on the big day, but 9am takes some beating!

I’ve Googled ‘most unusual things to do on your birthday’ and the list is interesting. Yogurt on the forehead (Nepal), egg and onion birthday cake (Ghana), flags outside the door (Denmark), butter on your nose (Canada), pulling people by the ears (Brazil) and so on. Another site offers burlesque dancing, zombie boot camp and hovercrafting. Not one mention of removing vital organs – but then Quent never did anything by half.  Butter on your nose is just a regular Wednesday activity in our household.

I last heard from Quent that he was ‘all dressed up, ready to go’, outside the theatre. Maybe it’s not such a different birthday after all!

All set!

Almost against the Covid odds, it seems, Quent’s operation is going ahead. We’re all set for tomorrow at the Lister Hospital, so please send your prayers, positive vibes and general good wishes our way tomorrow. 

Last time I had to drive Quent to the hospital (just before Christmas), we went via Harpenden to collect 63 fire extinguishers (for a Scout fire-fighting exercise of course!). 

This time, I’m in charge of navigation and we’re going straight to Stevenage. (Do not pass Harpenden. Do not collect 63 extinguishers. That old chestnut!)

I will update the blog as soon as I hear he’s through the op – probably early / midafternoon.

 

Here we go again

 It’s suddenly all the rage to be punished a second time. But whereas Mr Trump deserves all he gets, Quent certainly does not. We recently found out that he has prostate cancer. Treatment for this relatively common cancer often involves nothing (or 'watchful waiting') for as long as possible, while you continue to enjoy the fruits of the prostate to the full.

Unfortunately, Quent’s is not the ‘wait and see’ type. Prostate cancer feeds on testosterone; need I say more? We need to act fast.

Treatment options are surgery (Quent’s preferred option) or hormone treatment, coupled with radiotherapy. We have seen a top prostatectomy surgeon who says surgery is risky because of previous scarring in the area (from Quent’s nephrectomy in 2006). Quent is keen to give it a go – and the surgeon is happy to try – so he’s booked in on his birthday; this Thursday.

Please keep everything crossed – and your most positive vibes directed to the Lister hospital – for the following rather long list of wifely wishes.

1. That the op is not cancelled due to Covid.
2.  That the surgeon can get all 4 robotic arms in and the op goes ahead.
3. That the surgeon is able to save the nerves on the right side of the prostate (a new technique in which he specialises, but which might not be possible for Quentin).
4. That the gut isn't damaged due to the scarring (this might lead to a colostomy bag and other complications).
   
5. That Quent’s Addison’s syndrome (lack of adrenal glands) do not pose a problem. This is the first general anaesthetic since his right adrenal gland was removed.
6.  That Quent’s heart poses no issues. This shouldn’t be a problem, but he has been on heart tablets for several months, due to some random ‘event’ in March 2020.  
7.  That there is no need for ITU or any other Covid-related area of the hospital.
8.  That the post-op period goes smoothly, they don’t leave any cancer behind etc. etc.

I’m not sure whether it’s my age, the pandemic or the fact this is the second time around, but I’m certainly more fretful in 2021 than I have been in the past. I just hope Melania isn’t worrying as much about Donald and his impeachment trial.