Meeting the man who saved my life.
Well that’s what I thought at the time, he is going to save my life. I now know that he has. I think he is too modest to agree, but I can’t think of it in any other terms.
The day of my appointment arrived and my wife and I sat in the waiting area ready to meet “Mr C” who was to be my consultant. His surgery was running late. I didn’t find that a problem at all.
A nurse escorted us to his consulting room where we received a warm welcome. I sat in the chair next to his desk with my wife sitting further back with the nurse.
He apologised for keeping us waiting and explained that he had needed to spend longer with a few other patients as he had information to tell them that he did not want to rush. “I hope you can understand. I hope the wait was not inconvenient.”
I thought that this was such an excellent approach to give each person the time they needed and not be constrained by the allotted appointment time. I was sure I would like this guy. He had my respect in that one sentence.
“Your results show that the polyp is cancerous” he explained.
BOLT FROM THE BLUE …Or was it? I had thought of the possibility of the polyp being cancerous. If I am honest it was in my mind when I first contemplated going to my GP. However guessing what it could be and actually knowing, is a quite a big difference. My brain worked quickly and I thought Bowel Cancer. That’s the problem! I knew what he polyp looked like as I had seen it on the TV screen during the Colonoscopy. Strange it being inside and I didn’t feel a thing, there was no pain at all.
As this was not a TV drama I didn’t feel the need to say, “ OK Doc, how long have I got?” I did think though “Well, this must be easy to treat, lets just hook it out and all is well!” I was to discover that it’s a lot more technical than that.
I am not sure how long we sat with “Mr C” but from then on it was all positive. We went though what he proposed to do. Having some knowledge of human anatomy I found it fascinating and even more so when he drew some diagrams. I later thought that if I’d have had some coloured pencils with me, I would have added colour to the diagrams just like I did when I was in school.
The outline of the treatment went something like this:
- Remove the polyp, part of the bowel and investigate if other tissues would need removing.
- Redesign the lower part of the bowel to compensate for the area removed.
- Fit a temporary ileostomy bag to give the bowel chance to rest and repair.
- Reverse the ileostomy re- connecting the large and small bowel at some point in the future.
This may sound complicated, and it is, unless you are a top class surgeon.
Then some encouraging words from “Mr C” “If we find you need chemotherapy don’t worry. You are so fit and well you can handle any anything we need to do to get you well. I will put you on the Enhanced Recovery Program.” He gave an explanation of what this meant which I shall relate in later postings. “I will see you in a couple of weeks” he said. The date for the operation was May 15th it was now late April.
I am so glad my dear wife always made sure we ate well and healthily and I enjoyed keeping fit. My fitness developed through a love of walking in the hills, running the occasional half marathon, orienteering, cycling, ski-ing and many other outdoor adventures. Hard work yes but rewarding. I never found going to the gym attractive.
My wife and I left the room shocked of course but feeling that the future was bright and that all should be well. As my wife drove home I did think that this was something of a milestone in my life and somewhat of a challenge.
Mmmm…..‘Enhanced Recovery Program’ so I may well be on my bike by August!
Tractor Man
GBNHS