Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> Rick McNeece: As my bladder cancer continued to progress, it became obvious that I needed
to be somewhere else, and the doctor
at my former hospital suggested Dr. Alan Weiser and the University of Michigan.
[ Music ]
We decided we needed to do a radical cystectomy, and I'd been staying in excellent physical shape
for a lot of years, bicycling a little over 7,000 miles a year.
So I knew I was in good enough shape despite my age to do this.
We did the radical cystectomy, and here I am, cancer free at this point.
[ Music ]
It's really hard to discuss the recovery for only one reason -
I tend to look ahead, and I don't look back.
For example, I was told to walk.
Well, I got out of surgery.
The next morning I walked six-tenths of a mile, and by the time I left,
I was walking up to five miles a day.
After about six to seven weeks, I kept asking when can I get on my bicycle again,
and they finally said, well, go ahead, but do this in moderation.
The first time I think I rode five miles, and the second time I road ten miles,
and I got to 25 miles within about a week.
It's an important point that they were considering my lifestyle
because the worst thing could have happened to me was I come home and about all I can do is sit
on the desk or walk, and I don't like walking, but I love bicycling.
>> Mary McNeece: A difference we noted before we met with Dr. Weiser was
that the nurses felt very free to educate.
In other institutions, there's more of a deferral to the physician.
Here, they take responsibility for making sure that there's clear understanding,
and that felt good to be part of a team.
So there's a whole host of things that answered our last-minute questions, gave us some comfort
that we were going to be able to get through this and handle the recovery period.
Now that he has the radical cystectomy and the [inaudible] bladder urinary diversion,
things are getting calmer, and we can just enjoy life.