Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Bladder Stent, Spinal Ablation -

My Intimate Journey with Cancer Part 13

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Getting things lined up

We had waited several weeks for the appointments to line up at San Javier Hospital in Guadalajara. There was the CT scan, heart EKG, lung x-ray, blood tests and then the doctors to place the stent so that my bladder and kidney would work more efficiently.   

There was also the arranging of the doctors to do an ablation on my lower disc so that supposedly, I would have less pain and more mobility.

There were traffic patterns to consider to get from our Lakeside town of Chapala to the capitol city of Guadalajara, too. The soccer World Cup is being held in the city this year, and the government – in its wisdom – decided to tear up and reconstruct several very well-used lanes to make them wider for this international event. 

Traffic in Guadalajara has always been a big jam, but with this extra construction event, it became more than horrendous. Nothing moved and if it did, it was at a snail’s pace. It was a daily event with no relief.

So, all of this needed to be organized - between transportation at a decent time to avoid the worst of the traffic - and to align with the doctors’ schedules – which seemed to mysteriously keep changing.

Checking in at the hospital

A friend came to pick us up at our apartment at 7:00 am on the morning of February 4th.

Our neighbor, Ron, and Billy, both helped me down the stairs and out to the street. Donna already had the front passenger seat pushed back as far as it could go, I shoved my overnight bag under my back as a pillow for support, and laid down as I would on a bed.

We arrived at San Javier early despite traffic, checked in, and utilized my credit card for a 50,000 Peso ($2,909USD) down payment. This was required before service was rendered since we don't have local insurance and this was a private hospital. Medicare really doesn't cover much outside of the US.

I was laid on a cold gurney in a hospital gown and blood was drawn, CT scan taken, a heart EKG and a lung x-ray were all performed to prepare me for surgery.

Just me and all of them

At this point, 4 doctors and 2 assistants converged on me to discuss what exactly was going to happen in the next few hours.

I recognized most of what the procedures were, but then the docs began to discuss a radiofrequency ablation (RFA) - or now a different procedure - which was to deaden the sciatic nerve. The benefits were that I would “have no more pain” but the negatives were that I could lose movement in the muscle of my right leg.

Billy and I had already thoroughly discussed the option of deadening the sciatic nerve and decided against it.

I kept asking for Billy, who seemed to have stepped out of the room, and someone was looking to find him. I wanted to discuss this with him before I agreed to anything, as these were my legs, my ability to move and my future!

The experience was a bit unnerving to me, as I felt a bit pushed to have something done and I was unclear about it. I mean, it was early in the morning, I felt vulnerable and just a little confused.

Doctors, of course, want you to do what they want you to do (as they believe they know best), and there was just the slightest bit of tension among us as we waited for Billy to show up.

Finally, he arrived, we got things sorted out and off I went to the operating room.

The next phase

I am completely in surrender mode – going in for surgery can do that for you. Completely out of control and dependent on the doctors to do their jobs properly, I’m looking at the ceiling as I’m being wheeled around… wondering, wondering, how all this will proceed. I can't even believe I'm going through this.

My life was continuing to change dramatically and all I could do was to glide with the program.

I was to be awake during procedure, but the lower half of my body would be under anesthesia. The anesthesiologist introduced himself to me and told me what was going to happen next. I was placed on my side by 3 strong men, a little numbing shot was placed in, and then the major-mojo shot was put in place after that.

For the ablation procedure, I was told I could not move, not a nano. At this point, 4 men held me in place while…. The docs did what they did.

The doctor's rendition of my spine

This shows the mass pinching on my sciatic nerve, at the L4-L5 vertebrae and the surrounding areas on which they were going to do the ablation

3 monitors surrounded me at my head and a light plastic mattress pad was placed over my face. Um, wait a second, um, what’s going on? Hello?

Hey doc, I cannot feel my legs AT ALL. Is this normal? I have NO FEELING in my legs, I cannot move them. Hey doc, tell me this is standard procedure.

I was most grateful that the anesthesiologist was responsive to me and assured me this truly was routine. In a couple of hours, I should have feeling back in my legs.

When the ablation was finished, I was flipped onto my back and the stent process began.

FREEZING!!

When all was said and done, I was wheeled out of the operating room, and began to physically shake from cold.

“I’m cold,” I said. (Tengo frio).

“I’m cold,” I said again when no one seemed to acknowledge me to put on a blanket.

My teeth began to chatter and my body rattled.

I’M COLD! I’M COLD! I’M COLD! (Tengo frio!) Hello? Hello? Hello? I insisted.

Finally, a cover was placed onto me and I was wheeled into another room and hoses with forced warm air were put under my blanket to warm me up. I was probably there for 20 minutes just to find my internal temperature balance.

Later in the day, feeling returned to my legs and shortly thereafter, the docs came by to check in on me.

My assessment

In my estimation, the stent placement was a decent success, but in my case, the ablation was a disappointment.

I was “promised” being able to stand for longer periods of time, perhaps I could sit for an hour for a meal, or even be able to take a short trip somewhere. My pain would lessen and maybe even be gone by 80%. None of this has happened, but I’ll stay open to those possibilities.

Release from the hospital and final charges

On the morning of February 5th, I was released from the hospital and paid my bill via my charge card.

Due to an incorrect Peso-to-Dollar exchange, I was overcharged about $500USD. With the $500 correction (still working with our credit card company) the total for the stent, the ablation, the overnight stay, the CT scan, chest x-ray, blood tests and heart EKG test, the total comes to less than $10,000USD.

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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