I've learned a great deal from other's GCS diaries so I'll try to contribute too . . . I'm having GCS with Dr Rachel Bluebond-Langner and Dr Lee C Zhao at NYU-Langone Hospital in NYC on August 11th. They will both be using a "robot" during the surgery which is very exacting. Dr Zhao is a Urologist and will participate with that expertise while Dr BL will be the plastic surgeon. They require a minimum of a week's stay afterwards in the hospital so the soonest I would be released would be Friday August 18th.
NYC might not be a great choice for some. It can be intimidating. I live in the Midwest but have spent years in Publishing and have been to NYC countless times so I was very much OK with it. Yes, its a bit more expensive, but in the end, not that much more. Bought in advance, my flight and room in NYC for a couple days aren't costing me much more than any other city.
Dr BL sees patients on Tuesdays so I have initial follow-up appointments on Aug 22nd and the 28th. Dr BL requires all patients to stay within 1 ½ hours of the office till the 2nd appt. Hopefully, I will be finally flying home on the evening of 8/28! :-)
I had all the required Pre-op testing and paperwork completed last week by my local GP. I passed all with flying colors. They were faxed to Dr BL's office this morning. That was pretty much the last piece of the puzzle.
What's a bit different about my case is that I'm 65 and will be 66 in September. I was very athletic for many years, and was in pretty good shape up until my early 50's, when I stopped playing sports altogether and went on HRT. I published a magazine for 6 years and sat at a computer 7 days a week. Sitting is the new smoking and I can attest to it. Between, age, HRT and sitting I'm a shadow of what I once was. In some ways that's been good for passing but nothing else. I stopped publishing 18 months ago and got a part-time retail job that forced me to walk 6 hours a day, 4 days a week. That has brought my legs back a lot, but thanks to HRT the muscle mass did not return.
I have a long-time friend in Seattle who will be flying to NYC to be with me. After I'm released we'll be staying with her Aunt in Princeton, NJ. I have another friend who will try to make it for the surgery but she is a real world traveler these days, doing drug testing in 3rd world countries, and is stuck in the Fiji islands at the moment.
My Immune System seems strong in some ways and not so much in others. Age takes its toll. It's a toss-up. Last week when I went to my Dr's office for the Pre-Op labs and EKG it was quite the party atmosphere. Their TG practice is the best within 500 miles and has been active for 20 years. I've been seeing them all for 17 years so it was their send-off for me as much as anything. It all went well.
I expressed some concerns about my age but my Dr looked me in the eye and said she's had others older than me do this with no problems and that I should be fine. She knows I'm well versed in all the potential issues. She tapped her head and said, "keep the good thoughts"!!
More later . . . .
