Surgery Day...

On July 25, 2016, I drove Larry to Williamson Medical Center at 5:00am to undergo prostate surgery. I didn’t know it at the time—even though two surgeons were scheduled to operate—it was a very serious surgery. I determined that I would walk and pray while the surgery was going on. The nurse was to call the room when the surgery started and then the surgeon would call when Larry was taken to recovery. The surgery was long but he was back in his room by about 12:30pm. Turns out, his prostate was the size of a softball (not a baseball) and the doctors removed about 70% of it. They sent the entire organ to be tested for cancer just to be certain there was absolutely no cancer. Dr. Tissot later said he had never seen a prostate that large that was not cancerous!

We spent 6 days in the hospital, lost more blood, had two units of blood transfused, walked the halls several times a day, and waited for the results of the prostate tests, trusting our Father’s plan through it all. The doctor was waiting for Larry’s digestive system to begin working again before releasing him from the hospital. The final assessment was Larry’s prostate didn’t appear to be cancerous, just much too large to allow any kind of urine to be expelled from his bladder. We would know for certain after the lab thoroughly tested the tissue.

Larry: Due to the fact Lucia and I had already experienced multiple miracles, and we had also been exposed to so much fear and anxiety, neither the surgery nor the hospital stay seemed menacing. Additionally, I had been aware of a few people who had experienced prostate surgery and as far as I knew, none were complicated or a big deal. Consequently, we both entered the hospital early morning July 25th with much peace, harmony, and without trepidation.

Dr. Tissot advised that I would be hospitalized between 2 and 4 days, and the range was based on how long it would take for me to have a bowel movement after the surgery. I could not leave the hospital until I had multiple bowel movements. Considering that I am never constipated, I thought I would be out of the hospital in 1 or 2 days.

I believe that our ignorance was a protection. We had some very hard times ahead and some very exhilarating times.

Over the next few days our focus would be redirected.