its back to work ,,,,,7 weeks out

Wow!!- Congratulations!!- only 7 weeks since surgery. My Bob had surgery on Oct.2 (neobladder) & has had nothing but complications since then. In fact he is just coming home from the hospital for the 3rd time today. Going back to work is in the very distant future, a fact which is not helping with his recovery. Best wishes to you both- Lorrie

Eileen and Melodie,
Gene did not have a fever after his r/c, he was too busy having dry heaves and the hiccups. But seriously that wasn't one of our issues Eileen, but if they aren't concerned not to worry, they will let you know if its an issue. Remember Mikes body has been thru sort of a trauma, so its going to be upset for a few days, in lots of ways.
Melodie, yes, I agree, he himself mentioned on Saturday he thinks its time to get back to his little job. He's only 15 minutes from home, and in a nice atmosphere, only 12 employees total. He worked 5 hours today and will increase his hours as he goes, thanks to his boss this is perfect for them both. And it can be a negative to always be thinking of whats happening in terms of the after effects of your r/c. And you can certainly get old real fast if you let things pull you down. He came home and said well I made it through the day without any problems with my bag, so for him its a big accomplishment. I always want him to feel like he accomplishes something, so not to get bored with all this. We have reservations for Vegas January 22nd for 5 days at the Mirage. A trip we had to cancel last new years because of his heart attack then subsequent bladder cancer. So we are using our air tickets from then and the Mirage held our 5 nites for us. So we'll try once more, and have some experience out and about with our friend the "bag"... How about that,",the bag goes to vegas " HE'S OUR BEST FRIEND......Ginger

Ginger - Good for Gene ! In fact, I envy him. It seems that although most of us don't want the bag as our first choice, it seems the recovery is surely easier and faster than the other two options. Given he has a part time job and hopefully close to home, it may be just what he needs to lift his spirits...and goodness knows, as long as most of us are at home, we seem to be more focused on our medical issues...which can be a positive or negative, depending on various factors. Melodie

hi ginger - glad to hear from you. and that's great that gene is back at work. we are about to go for michael's 4th walk around the hospital floor. he has a fever of 100 degrees. they don't seem worried yet. i hope it goes away. he's pretty cranky today and his pain seems to be worse. i'll keep you posted. did gene have the same experience?

eileen

That's great Ginger I could really use a part time job to keep busy I have way too much time on my hands. This is going to be a goal of mine after the holidays. Tell Gene I wish him the best. Joe

Well for some good news Gene went back to work today. Being he is retired thats a big move. He works 3 days a week selling high end lawn equipment. The people who own the business are very good people. Today he worked 6 hours and will do as many hours as he wants until he feels good enough to do the average 8 hours 3 days a week. They hire retirees for 3 or 4 days a week and are happy to have Gene back. Since the weather has turned into a wintery mix now keeping busy for him is the ultimate goal. His boss visited us many days this summer along with co-workers helping with emotional support during this bladder cancer journey. Working also gives him the confidence that he can go about his daily business and not be worried about his outside bag having a blowout or a leak. He has gained 15 of the 30 pounds he lost and for now has only minor complaints. Mostly sharp pains in the groin area that most likely are waking up nerves from the surgery, these also occurr in his upper leg area. Temporary were sure.
So we are building self esteem and getting on with life. We are here to support all who suffer from Bladder Cancer , with any helping hand we can provide. Ginger