Surgery

Pops was really nervous about his surgery and so was I. We didn't really know what to expect. All we were told was that he would have his prostate shaved and would go home with a catheter and in two days they would take out the catheter and we could go to work on the 4th day, or the 5th in our case because the 4th was Sunday.
Starla and I drove Pops to the Dr's facility. Our good friends, Melvin and Ginny and our preacher, Chad and his wife, Diane were already there.
We went inside and checked in. In about 2 minutes they called us up to the desk and wanted a check for $1500. This was for the cost of using this facility and it had to be paid upfront. Well, at least they have their priorities right, I guess. Anyway...
We waited for a long time. Almost 2 hours past when we were scheduled they took him back for prep. I was able to go with him at this point. They put him into a reclining chair and started his IV and did some vital checks on him. The doctor came and talked to us and then it wasn't long after that they took him into surgery.
I went back to the waiting room. Talking with our friends helped pass the time although I was worried and didn't talk all that much.
After about an hour or so, they came and got me. The doctor told me that everything went well and that he didn't find any surprizes. Was he expecting to? Like what? Remember the little paper wrapped surprizes that always came in the Cracker Jacks? Was he looking for that? I don't know.
So after about another hour, Pops was awake and it was time to go home.
That evening and all the next day Pops felt really well. It seemed like this was our answer for sure.
On Friday morning we drove to the doctor. It was snowing really hard mixed with ice and sleet. Schools were closing and the roads were horrible.
We got to the doctors office and Pops' catheter was removed. We waited for him to pee. Nothing happened. We were told to go walk around the mall, get something to eat and relax. They said give it time, he will pee.
With the bad weather the doctor's office was closing at noon and since it was Friday they didn't want Pops to have an ER visit so we went back to the office and they reinserted the catheter and told us to come back on Monday.
So we had a normal weekend at home and got to go to our home church on Sunday and then to Roof Garden Christian Church on Sunday evening for a hymn sing. It was a good weekend.
Monday morning at 5am, Pops got up and together we removed the catheter. He was to relax at home and see if he could pee. Around noon he still hadn't peed so again we made our way to the doctor. This time though they showed him how to use a straight catheter and get the urine himself without having to leave the catheter in. We got a big supply of stuff and away we went.
Pops did really well by using these and even began to pee a little on his own.
So we put ourselves back into service hoping that everything was going to be ok.
All the next day Pops peed.
We got a load and left home.  We were picking up in Emporium and going to the state of Indiana.
All the next day everything was good. Pops seemed to be doing really well. We had a good load and I felt like everything was back to normal. I was very optimistic and both of us were happy.
But the next day everything changed. We were having an ok morning but then Pops felt like he needed to use the catheter because he wasn't getting totally empty. So he did and immediately he got a horrible bladder spasm that made him scream in pain. It scared the dogs. It scared me. I didn't know what to do. He was hollering and crying. It was awful. After about a half hour it eased up enough for him to lay down. But now that had changed everything. He was in pain each time he urinated. And he wasn't going very much at all.
We were on another load at this time. It picked up in Michigan and was going to Pennsylvania. So we just toughed it out and made our delivery. From there we drove to a rest area and Pops slept. While he slept we got another load that was going to Charlotte, NC.
Pops had called the Dr's office and they called back in the evening. We questioned them and told them what was happening and they said they thought he had another infection. They wanted him on medication. I gave them information of a Walmart store in Charlotte, NC and they were going to fax the prescriptions there. We would have the medicine then right away in the morning.
We picked up our load and drove all through the night and was at our delivery by 6am the next morning. We had to wait until 8 for anyone to unload our truck but then we drove directly to Walmart to get Pops' medicine.
Oh, how I hope and pray it works for him. We need to get on the mend.