This week in Ron’s medical mayhem

By now regular readers know I am a medical mystery. Over the past several years just about every part of my body has misfired, maladjusted itself, maligned or otherwise fallen off. I really thought 2013 would be different, but alas, this was not to be.

I am cancer -free going on three years, and that is the good news. Last Tuesday, I was admitted to Newark-Wayne Hospital for not one, not two, but three surgical procedures. Even the admitting staff thought this was a bit out of the ordinary.

My urology team, headed by Dr. Ralph Madeb stuck all kinds of widgets up through my bladder and prostate to open a pathway for urine to easily pass. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is (in a nutshell) the surgeon inserting a scope through the tube that carries urine from your bladder out of the penis. This tube is called the urethra. A special cutting tool is placed through the scope. It is used to remove part of your prostate gland using electricity/laser.

Next door to Dr. Madeb’s Office at Newark-Wayne is Dr. Dan Alexander and staff. Dr. Alexander replaced my knee over a year ago and gets all my bone surgery business.

At the same time my body demanded a TURP, my fingers began to lock in a position. This is referred to as “trigger finger”. Lucky me, I have lots of trigger finger and the pinky finger on my left hand was also operated on. Of course, I also have carpal tunnel in the left hand/wrist and that too needed to be fixed.

The Docs put their medical heads together and decided that instead of separate surgeries on separate days, I could use the coupon I found (just kidding) and get all three surgeries with only one anesthesiologist/surgery room required.

One doc worked at one end, the other doc at the other. All went well and I was released from the hospital late Wednesday morning, pain pills in hand.

I know I have said this before, but the staff of Drs. Madeb and Alexander are wonderful beyond belief. Then, there is the surgical staff and the girls and guys on the second floor where I was sent to spend the night. In general, I have had wonderful experiences with Newark-Wayne Hospital and urge all county residents to put the facility and doctors on top of their list.

Since bladder cancer has a high reoccurrence, I return every three months to Dr. Madeb’s Office where a scope is inserted into the bladder to check for any tumors/etc. No, this is not the most comfortable procedure known to man. Yes, I have to explain to all the nurses about about “shrinkage” that occurs in cold, unfamiliar rooms
Then, there are the blood tests. Again, I prefer going to the Newark-Wayne labs for all my other random tests performed on this aging fast body also. In two weeks I will have yet another trigger finger and carpal tunnel surgery at Newark-Wayne with Dr. Dan, with possibly more in the future.

Since this is only January, perhaps all the medical misfortunes for 2013 are now behind me. Just in case, stay tuned for the next chapter of “Pieces of Ron Gone Bad”.

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