Hello and welcome.  Dear Dan; what a debacle and I imagine your head is all over the place.  But let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  The most important thing is your health; this trumps any other considerations.  So you should perhaps be willing to go through with whatever will get the necessary outcome.  If the guy you are seeing on Wednesday feels that your being overweight means that he does not want to try doing keyhole surgery then this is what you are going to have to accept evem if it is the less popular option.  It sounds so easy for me to say this but you have to put your health considerations before financial ones.  We all hope that this is not a case of renal cell carcinoma but if the worst becomes reality I have no doubt the continued happiness with your family, no matter where you live and how much money you have, will be the most important outcome.  I realise this is a rather cold and clinical analysis of your situation and that you are probably driving yourself nuts trying to remain positive but still feeling a sneaking fear about what may transpire.  It may well all come to nothing and you do not have renal cell carcinoma but I think you should have Plan B filed away somewhere just in case.  Please do keep us informed.  Annie

Hi Annie,

Thank you very much for the welcome and post. 

I think the unknown and waiting game is the worst. If I was offered surgery tomorrow I would be a happy camper :)

We told our 6 y.o. daughter two weeks ago that I have to get surgery done and will be in the hospital for a while. She was taking it quite well but has become quite clingy. Family always comes first for me.

Unfortunately the health system in Ireland is not like the NHS in the UK. You have to pay for everything here and therefore I'm quite anxious to get back to work asap  (I work in an office job).

Cheers, 

Dan. 

Hi Dan

Waiting and not knowing is the toughest part I’ve found. Once you know what you’re dealing with whether it’s diagnoses or treatment you will have something to concentrate on. It’s difficult all round but you know children are very resilient...surprisingly so. As a retired primary school teacher I know how this sort of thing can affect them, I guess your daughter is on school holidays at the moment but might I suggest that if you are still undergoing treatment when she returns to school that you let her teacher know. Behaviours can change and it is important that staff are aware so they can offer support where they can. 

As for your work and money concerns..., do you have access to McMillan nurses in Ireland or something similar? McMillan have people who can help and advise you on all of this. Maybe even suggest benefits or help you might be entitled to.

i hope everything goes well for you on Wednesday but if it is difficult to cope, there are always people here ready to offer support and listen because they just know what you are going through.

Look after yourself.

Sundial

Hi Sundial,

Thank you very much for your kind words. 

Unfortunately we don't have such a support system in Ireland. However there are guys who provide counselling services which might come in handy. 

I will definitely inform my daughter's teacher as she is already struggling in the classroom environment (sensory issues) and is getting additional help from an SNA. 

I'm a lot calmer today as I will be seeing the consultant tomorrow :) Fingers crossed that the waiting time for the surgery won't be too long. 

Btw did you undergo kidney surgery as well? If so how long was the recovery process approximately? 

Thanks again.

All the best. 

Dan 

Sorry Dan. Can’t help you on the kidney surgery front. I’m afraid mine was a keyhole hysterectomy and I don’t think you have the requisite parts for that. :-)) . Have you got a nurse contact at your hospital. If you have, you could give them a ring and ask,Sorry I can’t help on that score.I've had two ops with ten weeks in between and recovery for each has been entirely different, You could type kidney surgery in the search bar at the top to see if there have been any posts and if there has contact them.

Look after yourself.

Sundial

Sorry Dan. Can’t help you on the kidney surgery front. I’m afraid mine was a keyhole hysterectomy and I don’t think you have the requisite parts for that. :-)) . Have you got a nurse contact at your hospital. If you have, you could give them a ring and ask,Sorry I can’t help on that score.I've had two ops with ten weeks in between and recovery for each has been entirely different, You could type kidney surgery in the search bar at the top to see if there have been any posts and if there has contact them.

Look after yourself.

Sundial

Hi Dan. I’ve tagged [@caggie60]‍ here as she has been through renal surgery recently altho thankfully hers was benign.