Kurt is out of surgery and all looks well.  Thank you greenacres for the great recommendation on Docs.  We love him.  And what a place this Westlake Hosp. is!  We will cont. to keep you all posted.  We will be going for our first walk shortly.  Thank you to all for your thoughts and prayers.  Courtney

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Kurt & Courtney

Good deal Courtney...you two stay well. Glad to know Kurt is okay. Talk to you in a few eh?

Swim

I remember my first walk. That darn catheter. End of the hall and back. Second walk later that day three circuits. Then four Then....home.

Now get well soon. (Don't forget to do walks once you get him home)

God Bless you. Welcome over to the post-op side.

Now our prayers for the pathology side.

Sincerely,
Tony & Ruth

Good to hear all is well - Kurt - heal. Courtney - get some rest!

Bless you both

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Husband Diagnosed 11/17/05 Age: 63 No Symptoms
PSA: 7.96, Positive DRE
Biopsy Right: 6 of 6 Cores Positive Biopsy Left: 1 of 6 Cores Positive
Gleason: 4+3 = 7 Stage: T2B N0 MX
2/09/06: LRP Restage: T3A NX MX
3 mo. PSA Post Surgery: 11.8, 12.9, 13.9 Bone scan, CT scan, Endorectal MRI, Chest XR - neg.
9/06/06: 6 mo. PSA: 18.8 CT shows lymph node involvement Start HT Lupron 3 mo. shots
12/06/06: PSA 0.8
03/07/07 - PSA 0.3

Dear Courtney & Kurt ~

Wonderful news and so soon!!!! 

Yes ~ sleep when Kurt sleeps 

this will reserve your energy too!

Thinking of you with a HUGE smile

on our face and in our hearts....   

 

Just a warm little hug

 and a smile to cheer you,

To let you know now

that there’s so many near you

who cares!!

"GOD Bless You"

 

It's a little prayer "GOD Bless You"...

but it means so much each day,

It means may angels guard you

and guide you on your way. 

                                 ~author unknown~

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mama bluebird - Lee & Buddy… from North Carolina

Link to our personal journey…>>>     Our Journey ~ Sharing is Caring 

April 3, 2006  53 on surgery day

RRP / Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy with "wide excision"

PSA 4.6   Gleason  3+3=6    T2a   Confined to Prostate

2nd PSA 02-06-2007 Less than 0.1 Non-Detectable :)

Kurt & Courtney,

Sounds like Texas has been kind to you!! Kurt just needs to get going on walking and soon you will be headed north. I am pleased to hear that so far it has been a good experience and I trust worth the trip. The other side seems so peaceful after the anxiety leading up to it. Once they get Kurt off the IV start pushing the fluids. One more reminder, while he probably feels fairly good he did have major surgery so there is a lot of healing to take place. Do not push it!!

Tamu

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Diagnosed 7/6/06

Courtney -- what wonderful news!! I know how busy and tired you must be right now. Get that guy walking a littlle and that C02 out of him.
Encourage him to rest as well (YOU TOO!). Sounds like you found a great place for the procedure. Keep up the good work!!!
It breaks me up to think of how lucky I am to have a wife like you are to Kurt -- someone who was by my side through this whole experience.
You're over the hump guys!!
Keep us posted!!

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54 years old

PSA = First ever was 9.8 in late Oct. ‘06, two weeks later, 10.1

DRE: Negative

Biopsy results 11/22/06 (6 out of 8 cores positive), both lobes, Gleason 3+3 = 6

Da Vinci Robotic RP surgery, City of Hope, Jan 12, 2007

Post surgery pathology – Organ confined, Gleason still 6, margins clear.

First post-surgery PSA -- Undetectable, 2/20/07

    Great News.  Glad everything is going well. 

    KW

Hey Kurt and Courtney,

Welcome to the "other side". Now kick back and rest Courtney. Make Kurt walk but take it easy too. I am so happy for you both. You are a real joy to know...

Jim

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Age 72. Diagnosed 11/03/06. PSA 7.05. Stage T2B Gleason 3+3.

Hi Courtney,

Your news is great ... I would also add, "You beauty!!!!!!" - glad to hear your news that Kurt's op is over, and glad he is on the slow and steady road to recovery now. Keep in touch, & take care of yourself too. Kind regards, thoughts & prayers to you and Kurt. Lana & CJ

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Creed_three

I am very happy that things have gone well.  Congratulations!

Regards,

Bill

Thank you to all.  Kurt had a rough night with bladder spasms and then terrible itching all over, however things are looking up this morning.  We had the neat experience of meeting one of our forum "family" members, ChiOkc.  What a remarkable man he is.  And he too is doing well.  Thank you again for all the support.  We probably would not be where we are today without this wonderful support system.  Love, Courtney

Courtney and Kurt - Congratulations - glad it's over and now you can concentrate on moving forward instead of being on hold. Very cool, huh? (Or, at least when the catheter comes out, anyway.) I'm thrilled all went well. I think we could have just stayed at Westlake if they had let us!

Keep us posted as you can - hope those bladder spasms are under control. Dr. F. will probably send you home with a pill prescription to prevent those for the next few days.

Take Care!

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Husband age 65

Good news Courtney & Kurt! Every day you will be a little bit stronger. The itching comment brought back "fond" memories. Bob had itching at night for several days at home post surgery, but even that too became a thing of the past.

;o) Linda & Bob

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Bob (60) had laproscopic prostate surgery on Sept 27, 2006 - 2/12 malignant biopsy samples - gleason 3 + 3 = 6.  Follow up PSA results and pathology results received Nov 14th are NO MORE CANCER!  Gleason changed to a 3 + 4; cancer completely confined to prostate; (even a second more aggressive, previously undetected cancer)      PSA UNDETECTABLE November 2006 AND February 2007.   

Great news to have this part of your journey over with and each day will just get a little easier, don't go to fast but nice and steady. Sorry to hear about the bladder spasms, I too had them but not until I was on my way home from having the catheter removed they are very painful. Hopefully everything will go better and as planned from here on in.

norskie

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norskie

Kurt and Courtney - YEAH! one hurdle down...a few more to go.... I'm so happy you are on the other side and have a day behind you now. it gets better every day. take care and God bless, kat

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Husband Jeff 56 years old diagnosed July 27, 2006
PSA 6.5, 2 positive areas in biopsy, Gleason 3+3=6
Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy August 30, 2006
pathology report - all clear - cancer gone
1st post-surgery PSA test <0.1, 2nd post-surgery PSA test <0.1, 3rd PSA <0.1
no more pads Oct 12, 2006
first "real" erection with use of pump 12/16/06
3/07 - occasional dribbles and no further improvement in erections

We are home and all seems to be going great.  Kurt is getting ready to go for another walk and had his first BM this am, Yeah!!!!  One concern I have is why the leg bag doesn't seem to "draw" as much urine as the big bag.  It may be because Kurt keeps sitting in his recliner, but 3 hours later and less than 1/4 of cup.  It does not appear pinched either.  We will see after his walk.  He has allready taken one with bag on.  Now he has stomach cramps but probably due to the small amount of urine.  We go back to austin on wed for path report, but expect good results.  He had to cut end of nerves due to bad path report (didn't state where pca was), but Dr. F feels that with Kurts age and all that recovery should be good, may just take longer.  For now, we are focusing on the boys.  They are full of questions and stuck to Kurts side.  The youngest is responsible for taking walks with dad, however, the oldest keeps jumping in too.  We will continue to keep you all posted.  Oh, and anybody looking for Da Vinci doc in this part of the country must check out Dr. F.A.G.I.N.  He is wonderful!!!!   Courtney

Hey Kurt and Courtney,

Welcome home! That is undoubtedly the best place to recover. (I hate hospitals) Those boys will probably jump on his sore tummy a couple of times but that is what boys are for. I'm really happy that you are so satisfied with the doc. That is really important for ones confidence and recovery.

You are on your way....

Jim

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Age 72. Diagnosed 11/03/06. PSA 7.05. Stage T2B Gleason 3+3.

Dear Kurt and Courtney,

Your post reminds me of an issue we had with the catheter; I hope you are paying close attention and that you are already on your way to the doctor if it is the same issue!  Two days after surgery I noticed B's output lessening slightly and the next day there was very little output in the morning.  B started to feel some real pressure inside (like the cramping Kurt is feeling?), and we called UCI med center right away. Turns out, a small clot had blocked the tube and he had to have the catheter flushed (saline solution pushed into the catheter tube with a large syringe, then sucked right out, along with lots and lots of urine).  Instant relief, but waiting even a few minutes when the pressure was on was scary.  The young doc who flushed the line was the same one who warned B in the hospital that it sometimes, but rarely, happens.  He explained that the tube openings are so small that bits of debris can cause a stop to the flow. We were so glad we didn't have to go to the ER.  Keep a close eye on that!

Becky

Hi Courtney,

I did not like the leg bag. For just the reasons you stated. You can't recline or do alot of things and keep gravity in your favor. I actually devised a system of strapping the larger bag to my calf. Using the rubber strap from the leg bag I was able to unhook wearing shorts and just set the darn thing in a trash pale or hang it from the chair. Plus I didn't have to change it as often. Instead I used the leg bag when I was walking and cleaning the overnite bag. That was it. But I kept walking, and with each walk I was feeling stronger. I'm glad to hear that Kurt is following that protocol. But this is just part is about over now, so just get ready for the path report and cath removal, yuck. 2 seconds of the ugliest feeling. Over quick but a lasting memory. God Bless and glad to hear he is doing well.

Tony

Yea!!!!!!!  Keeping you extra close!!!    

 

In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy

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mama bluebird - Lee & Buddy… from North Carolina

Link to our personal journey…>>>     Our Journey ~ Sharing is Caring 

April 3, 2006  53 on surgery day

RRP / Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy with "wide excision"

PSA 4.6   Gleason  3+3=6    T2a   Confined to Prostate

2nd PSA 02-06-2007 Less than 0.1 Non-Detectable :)

Hi, KZIZ - it's good to be home, isn't it? And right around the corner, that catheter will come out. Gravity plays a big role in urine flow. Complications are rare, but they do happen as others can attest. I'm sure by now, you're got the big bag in place and hope all is going well.

Just don't hesitate to call Dr. F's office and talk to a nurse if you think there's something going on. They are quick to respond.

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Husband age 65