Hi Tim & Kathy,
I was just thinking about you guys yesterday!
Things are going great for Shawn. He is back to his regular routine & work schedule. His daytime control is 100%, although it is still time consuming for him to empty his bladder (5-10 minutes - no big deal). Nighttime is still a challenge...most nights he wakes up wet IF we don't set the alarm. Still, not a big deal. I don't think it is bothering him too much because he is not really as strict about not drinking in the evening as he was. I think since we have been setting the alarm, he is used to waking up because most nights, he wakes up the alarm before it goes off. However, on the few occasions we have forgot to set the alarm, it happens to be the nights he doesn't wake up. Go figure! We have a plastic mattress pad under our regular mattress pad and he has this liner thingy that is quilted to absorb if it gets wet.
Shawn is continuing to have difficulty in the sexual department. We are following your advise and trying different things and not making it a big deal. He has tried the viagra and it was not successful. Dr. Koch explained that it is not a "magic pill," that there has to be something there for it to work with. He is going to continue to try it because Dr. Koch said one day it will just come back! The penile injections work, though. Shawn said it is a pain in the ass but definitely worth it. Not the most convenient.
Shawn still isn't doing any regular exercise. We go for walks and he plays basketball but that's about it. Hopefully once Spring sets in we will both be able to get out and exercise more. He doesn't seem that interested in it and Dr. Koch didn't emphasis the importance to Shawn, so me yapping at Shawn about it isn't really going anywhere. He is still pretty skinny too. Weighing in at a whopping 151. His appetite is great; he is eating me out of house & home.
Unrelated to post-cancer business...
Shawn got a promotion at work! We are both really excited. This has been something Shawn has worked for his entire career and I was so scared that he was going to miss his opportunity because he was sick. Not that his company would do that intentionally while he was sick, but someone left WHILE he was off and I was afraid they would replace him while Shawn was recovering. Thankfully, they waited until he was healthy & back. We also celebrated our little boy's first birthday with a huge party. It was probably way too much for a first birthday, especially since Patrick won't even remember, but I felt like we had A LOT to celebrate.
How are things with you? Do you still struggle with nighttime? Dr. Koch said one day it will just figure itself out one day, maybe that already happened for you. Something else I have often wondered about you, do you/did you ever smoke? Shawn was a social smoker, smoking when he drank. His parents have smoked all of his life and still do. I never knew that smoking was related to bladder cancer until Shawn was diagnosed. I always thought lung cancer, never bladder. What a crappy way to find out. Anyway, just curious if smoking was a factor in your cancer.
Hope all is well with you both. I am looking forward to hearing YOUR update!
Stephanie