The Scream

I hope my dad doesn’t mind me sharing this update he sent via e-mail yesterday:

A few years back, Ruth and I visited the Munch museum in Oslo, Norway dedicated to the artist of a famous work called The Scream. It showed a little man screaming.

I was reminded of that painting yesterday when I went in for a checkup eight days after my prostate surgery. My Doctor studied the X-rays, decided that my bladder was now firmly reattached to my urethra. So, he took a firm grip on my catheter, and with no warning, pulled it out. My audible response was heard in much of downtown Indianapolis and sounded something like AAHHHEEEOOOOUUUEEE!

The pain lasted about two seconds and was followed by knowing smiles from the Doctor and the attending nurse. They had seen this response many times. Then we all laughed and agreed on the great sense of relief.

I’m home now and getting around really well. It’s hard to describe how good it feels not to have to worry about the tube, the harness, and the urine bag that make up the catheter. It affected my sleeping, sitting, walking, and so many other little things.

All the worst things seem to be over and I should be near to total recovery in about three more weeks.