4 January - Preoperative Stuff

Today I had an appointment at the Moncton Hospital at 10.  We went to the Admitting Office first where they got the required information.  Then I went to a clinic where I had an ECG (electrocardiogram).  That was quick and effortless.  I know I had one before, and the nurse checked and found it was in 2002.  My last stop was for blood work and then we were good to go.  In and out in about a half hour total.  My next arrival there will be on Monday, the 9th, at 6 a.m.  My prostatectomy is scheduled for 8.

For the record, here's what they've got to work with.  I'm 67 years old.  I am in good health.  The only other surgery I've had is the removal of tonsils and adenoids about 60 years ago.  I take only one pill a day, Losec, for a stomach problem which caused several gastric bleeds back in the 90s.  I was told at that time I'd be taking this medication for the rest of my days.  The only other health problem I've had is recurring urinary tract infections caused by a urethral stricture.  These caused high fevers, chills etc, but antibiotics usually did the trick.  I am about 6 feet tall (my sons say I'm less than that now as I've aged- they are both taller than I am) and weigh 190 pounds.  We follow a healthy diet, lots of chicken and fish, vegetables and fruit, very little red meat.  I use skim milk and avoid white bread.  I drink a glass or two of red wine every day.  I go off it for a week every once in a while to be sure I can!  I sleep well, and often don't get up in the night to use the bathroom.  I go to bed around 11 and get up around 6.  I go to the YMCA three days a week and there I do four miles on the treadmill (walking not running) and six weight machines.  Two other days a week I walk outside with a group of retirees- we walk about an hour.  In my career I was a teacher of high school mathematics for 33 years and loved it.  I retired almost 15 years ago.  Retirement is great and we are busy with a wide variety of activities, our choice.  My wife Barb and I have been married for 43 years.  We have three adult children and seven grandchildren.  We enjoy our family and see them often.  We enjoy travel and have taken tours to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, cruised to Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, enjoyed Elderhostel (now Routes to Learning) programs in Stratford, Ontario, Quebec City and les Iles de la Madeleine, taken winter vacations to Jamaica, Mexico, Florida, Barbados, and Anguilla.  We have taken the Rocky Mountaineer through the Canadian Rockies and last June visited Iceland.  Barb and I were the New Brunswick reps for CARP (A New Vision of Aging for Canada) and now we are involved as coordinators of the Greater Moncton Prostate Cancer Support Group. So that's me in a nutshell!