Postby hiker » Tue Feb 19, 2019 8:49 am
Hey gina,
My first surgery was a robotic colon resection at a local hospital. Second surgery was a wide open liver resection and HAI pump placement at MSK in NYC. Both were on Friday and I was out the following Wednesday. Main reason my stay was so long was because pain meds constipate me something terrible and they were waiting for me to poop. After both surgeries I was walking the next day. In fact the physical therapy folks at MSK said I was physically ready to be released after a couple days.
The only days I missed from work were the days I was in the hospital. I started working remotely from home the same day I was released. I was back part time in the office after a few weeks and full time not much after that. For my follow up appointment at MSK 10 days after surgery, I drove to NYC (3 1/2 - 4 hrs), walked a little over a mile toting a backpack full of stuff from the parking garage to my surgeon's office, and drove back home. Two weeks after surgery I was back on my zero turn cutting grass. And after a month, I did a 6 hr front end job on my car involving a lot of work with a 2' breaker bar and a 3lb hammer.
Obviously everyone's recovery is different. When I asked my MSK surgeon how hard I could push myself, he told me to do whatever I wanted within reason - his main concern was a hernia. I honestly think my recovery from the liver resection was easier than the colon resection even though the liver surgery was much more invasive. And if I had it to do over again, I would have gone to MSK and done everything in one surgery.
hiker
Colonoscopy 2/17, 5cm tumor descending
Diagnosed stage iv, liver mets 3/17
Colon resection 3/17
Told surgery not an option, get my affairs in order
Meet w/MSK team 5/01/17
Folfox(3rds) 5/17-6/17
Liver resection/implant HAI pump 7/17
HAI pump chemo(5rds) 8/17-2/18
Folfiri+Vectibix(11rds) 8/17-2/18
Spot on chest CT 10/17
Lung biopsy (that was fun) 11/17
Nocardia bacterial infection w/spread to brain (this is serious) 11/17
IV antibiotics 12/17-2/18
Oral antibiotics 3/18-12/18
Clear of cancer since surgery