Index
FPV: Double Hernia at 76
Men’s Health Journal- A Barbershop Read
Facing my fears along my journey to wellness. My name has been omitted to shield the “naked and afraid”! This is a true story that began on October 31st, 2025. Try not to smile and laugh too much! Talk about a really close shave…..read on.
Bi-Inguinal laparoscopic hernia mesh surgery for 76 yo male who has never been in a hospital since birth.
Many comments and posts on the forum helped me understand what I was facing. I don’t post often but I thought my experiences might help others. The following is my journal and thoughts.
Me, 76 year old male who has never been put under for anything and has never had any surgery or even been in a hospital since birth. Still have my same high school weight and pant size. My whole lifestyle has been very active with most of the time spent working outdoors on our ranch. Spent many hours transferring 7 ton of hay from the flatbed to the barn by hand. On and off tractors and other equipment. Tending to horses and other animals. Fixing fences in all kinds of weather. In younger days, swimming, water skiing, mountain climbing, snow skiing and spelunking was our recreation. All very strenuous activities. We try to live a healthy lifestyle, keep very fit, no drugs of any kind, prescribed or otherwise, eat healthy foods and drink from our “fountain of youth” natural spring water flowing from the ground with all it’s natural minerals.
About 10 years ago I noticed a slight bulge on the right side of my groin area. No pain ever, just an awareness sometimes. Several years later noticed a slight bulge on the left side. As time went on the right side bulge was getting larger. It would disappear when I was lying down. With my engineering background and logical thinking I came to the conclusion that I need help fixing this problem. I knew if it strangulated when I was out in the wilderness, many hours or days from help, it would become life threatening. I decided I would op for scheduled surgery instead of risking a potential life threatening emergency. I don’t recall any particular move or lift that triggered my hernias.
Day 1
Had wife drop me off at 6:20 am at the hospital entrance as I didn’t want her to be exposed to any pathogens. I was escorted to pre op nurse area. Got through paperwork. Taken to a private room. Told to disrobe completely including underwear, put on a hospital gown, cap and nonslip booty socks. Nurse left room and closed the door and told me to open the door when I was in my gown.
This is the part I was dreading the most. I almost decided to forgo the operation thinking about this for many months. Being naked and exposed to many strangers that were going to prep me for surgery and be touching my private parts and working close to them. Plus, we all know what a stressful situation does to a man’s anatomy, it’s worse than a dip in an ice water bath. I felt embarrassed and humiliated. I know, I know, that the doctors and nurses have seen it all before and are only focused on fixing what you need help with, but that being said, they need to treat patients with respect and give you as much privacy as possible without impeding their mission. With respect to my team, the doctor and nurses were at the top of their profession and cared for me in a loving compassionate manner and went out of their way to make me as comfortable with the situation as possible. My hats off to all of them!
I’m a man of principals. We stopped flying when TSA started molesting people at check-in. I was almost arrested when I stepped in and stopped them from molesting my wife many years ago. No flying ever again since that moment!
Still in the private room, nurse puts the IV in my hand, doctor and anesthesiologist check in with me before anesthesiologist says it’s time and pops a vial into my IV. I thought I would at least see all these strangers that would be working on me in the operating room and see what the operating room looked like as they wheeled me in.
Not to be, in what I thought was a momentary blink of my eyes, when they opened the nurse was asking me how I was doing. I said fine but when are you taking me to the operating room? She said, were done and everything went fine! Now I’m missing 2.5 hours of time. No counting backwards from 10, no seeing any of the surgery team or operating room. Did not see them shaving me for the surgery or anything else.
I felt really good and hungry. They gave me some water, juice and crackers. I was not in any pain. When the nurse felt comfortable with my recovery she said she would help me get dressed. I declined, I didn’t need any more embarrassment. Fortunately my wife arrived at that moment and the nurse left the room to give me privacy. This is when I realized that there was no way that I could have bent over to get dressed by myself! Trying to get my underwear and pants on alone would have been mission impossible! I left the hospital sock booties on and with my wife’s help was able to get dressed and slip into my loafers. Nurse brought in the wheelchair and wheeled me out the private side exit used for departing patients.
I very gingerly slid into the seat and we left for home.
Arrived home at 1:15 pm. Gingerly got out of the car myself and walked up a couple of stairs into the house. Started eating light foods and drinking water and juice. Doc said I could eat anything I wanted to. Still not having any pain. Yes, I felt pain if I coughed or was in the process of trying to sit down or get up. I did have a sore throat, as they warned me about, due to the breathing tube they put in while your under. Doc said no shower for two days, only sponge bath. Doc said keep moving regularly, so I would get up and walk couple of laps around the inside of the house every 30 minutes of so. Used my arms to help myself get up and down in and out of chairs. The counter collection of pill bottles, including heavy duty pain meds and Tylenol, remain unopened! Slept in a reclining chair to make it easier for me to get upright again.
Day 2
Up at 5:30 am. Made some coffee and had some toast for breakfast. Slept fairly well. Today I ventured outside, walked around the barn a couple of times and then back to the house for more food. Still no pain, other than getting up or down, and pill bottles remain unopened. No pain when walking or going up or down the stairs full stride. Spent the afternoon in my shop doing some light organizing.
Took off the12″ Panel Binder that they gave me to wear snugly around my waist and abdomen to help keep things in place while I heal to see how things looked. Only three tiny incisions about 1/2″ wide were made horizontally. One right below the belly button, another 2.5″ or so below it and the third another 2″ further down all covered with small band-aids. No swelling or discoloration. A look in the mirror is not pretty! With all the shaving they did down there no wonder I still feel naked even while dressed!
I plan on sleeping in the recliner again tonight.
Summary: I am very pleased with my progress. I’m so glad I had it taken care of, even with the privacy and dignity issues that I had to process from my side. I highly recommend it for anyone that has this type of hernia. I plan on hopping onto the tractor and jumping over fences in a few short months!
Day 3
Woke up at 5:50 am. Made some coffee and lounging around until wife makes us some scrambled eggs and muffins. Feeling even better today. The meds are still unopened. Coughing still hurts a lot! The cheesy scrambled eggs were great!
Earlier, I woke up around 3 am with a feeling of some pain/awareness/ pressure developing in my abdomen. Turns out it was an indicator that I needed to urinate which I did, but was still was feeling this pressure continuing to build afterwards. I surmised that it may be gas in my colon building up. I walked around the house for 15 minutes or so and sure enough I started to loosen up in my bowels and a started passing a lot of gas which relieved all the pressure and discomfort.
A very important note that I didn’t get to in the Day 1 update was that the doctor gave me strict orders to get to the emergency room stat if I had not urinated by the end of the day. He explained that it is sometimes difficult or impossible to relieve yourself after this kind of surgery. He said your muscles tense up with all the trauma of surgery in that area. I tried several times mid afternoon without any success. I was starting to stress out that I would have to experience yet another indignity of having a catheter inserted into me, something I have never experienced and don’t want to experience, in the emergency room to empty my bladder before other serious problems developed. Finally, very late in the afternoon, was my do or die moment. With the threat of a catheter insertion looming, I somehow managed to over come the hurtles and made it happen. What a relief!!!
Planning was Key: Here’s my plan that I laid out for me leading up to my surgery this past Friday. This is not internet suggestions or doctor’s suggestions and of course it is not medical advice. It’s me working out a logical plan to make things as smooth as possible for myself. I chose to start eating very light, on Tuesday and Wednesday and almost full fasting except for water on Thursday. The plan was to have a complete BM on Thursday morning, which I did, then just coast along Thursday with just water. That way I wouldn’t need to have a BM before, during or immediately after surgery. Plus, Friday morning I emptied my badder before going to the hospital, 15 minutes away. My plan worked perfectly, and I didn’t need the hospital facilities and I didn’t make any messes that I know of.
More on the specifics and the technical details of the procedure and some of the tools used will be forthcoming later. Off to a walkabout outside. Clear, sunny, 60 degrees.
What I can do and what I can’t:
Able to do:
Stand and sit without pain
Walk around full stride without pain
Walk up/down stairs full stride without pain
Sit down and get up from a chair that has arm rests (so I can raise and lower myself with my arms taking most of the weight). I also do it very slowly so I can adjust my stance depending on what my body is telling me. This keeps me from stressing my abdominal muscles in the repaired area. I can’t stress enough on how s-l-o-w-e-l-y I make the transitions. It may take me 10 to 20 seconds to fully make the transitions. This keeps me from re-injuring tissue that is on the mend.
Unable to do:
Change my underwear, pants and socks without help.
Retrieve anything that I have dropped on the floor.
Bend down to put dishes on the lower rack of the dishwasher
Technical details:
When I went to the doctors office for my pre op visit several weeks before surgery was scheduled I asked to see a piece of mesh and the miniature little screw in titanium spiral short expanded spring like fasteners with pointed ends used to attach the mesh to the tissue and the tool that he uses to insert them. He said the tool was at the hospital but he did show me a 4”x6” piece of the polypropylene mesh, approximately the same size he was going to use on me (one piece for each side), and some of the fasteners.
I think he was surprised when I pulled my 35X power eye loupe out of my pocket to examine them closely. The mesh was smooth, even on the cut ends. It was very strong as I couldn’t tear it or poke my finger through it. It would not unravel on the cut ends. The titanium fasteners had sharp points on them so they could be easily screwed into the mesh and underlying tissue. He explained this holds everything together while the body tissue grows together from both sides, bonding everything together, making it a very strong repair.
Here are links to the mesh company and the fastener company that are similar to the samples I inspected.
https://www.jnjmedtech.com/en-US/product/prolene-polypropylene-mesh-hernia
https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/medtronic-protack-fixation-device-23132431597.html
My doctor, in his late 40’s I’m guessing, has done without exaggeration 1000’s of these operations. He shared with me, that he had a friend surgeon of his perform the same procedure on him self several years ago using the same mesh and fasteners. That gave me even more confidence that I got the right surgeon. All the nurses spoke highly of him.
Glorious Day 4!
Woke up at 5:40 am with an exciting eagerness of a young kid in anticipation of having a fantastic day ahead of me! I felt like a new man! No pain, restful night. Wanted to jump out of the recliner chair and go have a long hot shower (first one allowed post op per Doc). Well, I didn’t jump out of the chair but I was able to get standing much easier, and without much discomfort. Tonight it’s going to be the bed with the wife. The recliner is not very cuddle-able!
Turned the coffee maker on and headed to the shower. Was able to get undressed by myself. Had some trouble with the socks, as I still can’t bend over that far yet. With a little foot on foot shuffling I was able to remove them. Took off the three small band aids that the Doc said to remove today.
Amazing how our wonderfully designed bodies can heal! A look in the mirror said it all. Three tiny incision spots where all the work was performed through were barely visible. No bleeding, discharges or discolorations. No bloating. Just three little special self dissolving whitish strips cover the incisions that will disappear in a couple of weeks. I don’t think there will even be any visible scars. The wonder of modern medicine! The best part, no bulges on the either side! Mission accomplished!
Got the shower going hot and enjoyed a long soak. It was great. Was able to get dressed by myself with some delicate balancing and leaning back into a corner and lifting my legs up instead of trying to bend over. Socks will have to wait for a few more days.
The last and final piece of my recovery puzzle fell into place, literally, in the proper receptacle this morning. My first post op BM, and without any pain whatsoever. Took no softeners or over the counter remedies that the Doc had prescribed if needed. Nature took its course. The master plan that I came up with worked perfectly for me! Very light eating and fasting pre op and very light eating easily digestible foods post op. All the meds remain sealed and unused.
Spent all morning out in the shop. Nothing heavy, just planning out the many projects on my list. It’s a great day!!!
Day 5 Slowly returning to normalcy
Sleeping in the bed last night felt so good. I just took it slowly as I got in and out. Did not take off the wraparound 12” support panel around my abdomen before bed and found it to be a little uncomfortable for sleeping. Felt like a straight jacket. Tonight it comes off.
Was able to easily get dressed after my shower today except for the socks. It’s great to be able to dress myself again. Back at the hospital, the thought of being totally naked and having the nurse have to help me get dressed was something I just couldn’t wrap my mind around. I don’t know what would have happened had my wife not arrived in time to help me. Even that felt weird. I’ve always been the type of guy that tries not to ask for help with anything. I don’t like inconveniencing anyone. I just figure out a way to do it myself. I think we all like being in full control of personal care. On the other hand, if wife were to come in and start undressing me, well, that would be a whole different story! Funny how the mind works!
Was able to get to the lower rack of the dishwasher today after breakfast. Was able to pick up something off the floor by stretching out my right leg behind me and stooping with the left leg and reaching the floor without any pain or discomfort. Coughing still hurts, but not as bad. Sore throat was gone yesterday. I have high energy today and plan on being on my feet all day doing light work outside and in the shop. Doc said my weight lift limit is 15 pounds. I have a 15 pound medicine ball that I lifted gingerly without any pain or discomfort.
Although I had both sides repaired, the right side was the worst and the left was barely noticeable. During this recovery process I quickly realized that any pain and discomfort I did experience was always on the right side. I’ve not felt any pain or discomfort on the left side. I’m thinking, did they really do the left side? Obviously the right side was where my intestine was poking through the wall the most and where, through the surgery repair process, the most trauma occurred. Obviously, the amount of pain or discomfort is directly related to the severity of the repair. As I poke both sides gently now with my fingertips I can feel awareness of the repairs but I cannot feel the mesh at all. I can’t determine where the mesh edges are. That’s a good thing.
People are asking me the secret to my rapid recovery, and how did I manage without any meds, at my age. I tell them the age is just a number. It doesn’t represent anything. It’s a combination of a lifetime of healthy lifestyle, eating healthy and staying trim, staying very active daily, having a multitude of hobbies that keep your mind and body stimulated and most important a positive attitude. I’m not retired because I love what I’m doing in a company I founded over 45 years ago. Stopped watching any TV 40 years ago, including sports. I’m a doer, not a watcher or follower. I’m outside every day, dawn to dusk in all kinds of weather from extreme heat and dust, to freezing cold rain and mud. I love it!
A very good friend of ours, a retired surgical pre op nurse at the very hospital surgical center I went to, congratulated me on my speedy recovery. I don’t think she’ll mind me quoting her “That is the difference between a person in good physical condition and has no vested interest in being sick. Most people in our age group are not healthy. Good for you. All the best!” I would have gladly had her tending to me had she not retired! She is the one that alleviated my concerns on how I would be treated. She assured me that I would be treated with dignity. She was right!
Of course we all check out off the rock at some point, but we’re trying our best not to speed up the process. If anyone has any questions that I may be able to help with, post them here. Thanks to all that have given me support, as I’ve always known, we all need some help sometimes and shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it.
Day 6 Status: Upgraded to Active Duty!
Had a great sleep last night, especially without the straight jacket. Leaving it off today. As I mention before, I was never in any pain during this whole recovery process while stationary. Any pain or discomfort I did briefly experience happened only when I got up or down from a chair or bed or coughed or tried to bend over. That is just about all gone now. I was easily able to get in and out of bed and turn over to change positions in bed last night with barely a grimace.
When showering this morning the surgery area looked great. The little white strips on the three small incisions are already starting to peel from the edges. Can’t wait to start being more active to get the lower ab looking more defined again. Getting dressed was a breeze! Was even able to get my socks on by myself. Which means, I will be able to lace up my work boots.
I’m getting in and out of chairs normally now, even ones without arm rests. I can kneel down if necessary. I can bend over to grab my shoes easily. In other words, I’m good to go!
I’m taking me off the injured reserve roster and putting me on Active Duty Status today, albeit on the light side!
Of course I’m going to be taking it easy as long as it takes to give the body time to heal completely. One thing I have learned with my many laps around that big bright ball in the sky, is to take all the necessary measures to protect the injured/repaired area. From my experience, the biggest mistake we can make is to re-injure ourselves before the body is able to heal completely. We have to learn how to listen to our bodies like our life depends on it!!!
Day 7 Final Daily Update!
OK everyone, slept great, not even a grimace when moving around last night, including a big arms over head stretch! Got my jeans and work boots on, gota get to it (lightly). Burnin too much sunlight here at the keyboard. So much I want to do. Not enough hours in the day. Had some rain overnight. I think I’ll go out and “play” in the mud!
Final Thoughts, Acknowledgments
I took the time to document my journey to wellness in the hopes it helps others face their fears of the unknown and their concerns regarding maintaining their dignity as they start their journey!
My very successful journey to wellness was a team effort! I could not have accomplished it without all the very dedicated and caring people, including the doctor, the anesthesiologist, all the nurses, technicians, lab personnel, EKG technician, front office people, the hospital admissions director and even the hospital administrator! I have to take a moment to thank them all for putting in all those years of studies, long shifts, and sacrifices they endured to become absolutely the best at what they do, dedicating their lives to helping fellow human beings! Absolutely the noblest of causes!!! Thank you for all for your efforts and thank you for alleviating most of my concerns and fears I had regarding privacy and dignity issues. More importantly, thank you for successfully repairing my body and bringing me back into this realm! Your efforts were paramount in helping me get through it all. I sincerely owe all of you a debt of gratitude! I wish I could have everyone over for a barbecue!
I also have to take a few moments to mention a couple of standouts without mentioning names! They will know who they are if they read this. I believe the doctor and all the nurses and others were made aware of how uncomfortable I was with what I was about to face, as I told many of them of my concerns. I know my Doctor took special measures to try and address my concerns. Thank you! Also, I appreciated all the time you spent with me explaining my many questions during our first meeting. Most of all, many thanks to your dedication, your skills and your compassion for your patients!!!
After all, I was able to avoid hospitals and surgery for 76 years. I had hoped and planned on never having to go in one or need surgery. I know the team took extra care to try and make me as comfortable with the situation as possible. Of course, I know that they have seen it all before and are only focusing on trying to fix the problem I came in for. But the awkwardness, uneasiness and embarrassment for me was what I was concerned about. But I had to make compromises with myself and take a leap of faith, and put my life in the hands of strangers and be exposed to the team, as necessary, if I wanted to have my hernias repaired. I know many people have said things like “so what” or “check your modesty at the door” or “no one cares”, and many other similar comments. It’s great that it doesn’t bother them. More power to them. But I know from talking to many people that their dignity is important to them. The dedicated professionals I had working on me, proved to me, that your dignity can be preserved on your journey to wellness. It was obvious to me that they all know how hard it can be from the patient’s perspective. As many of them have had to face the same concerns when having their own health issues resolved.
A very heartfelt special thanks to the nurse that was caring for me in pre and post op. It was her that I spent the most waking hours with, more than anybody else. She was an absolute angel! I could just tell she knew how uncomfortable I was. She was so calming in her tone and demeanor and she thoroughly explained everything she was going to be doing to me. I was in a private pre op room. Once she came back in the room after allowing me to get undressed in private and put the gown on, she had me lay down on the rolling bed. Brought the back of the bed more upright to where I was comfortable, put special blankets on my lower legs and a blanket over my lower body to keep me warm. Bless her heart, she asked me several times if I wanted her to turn on the special warm air blower hooked up to the bed/blankets, that would give me a gentle warm air massage. I politely declined. Being an engineer, I was trying to soak up every detail around me an I didn’t want the distraction, besides I was not cold. She hooked me up to the various monitoring instruments for vitals. As she was preparing to put in the IV into my hand she explained the process very clearly to me. Told me to relax and try not to pull back from the prick, otherwise she would have to do it again and it may be more difficult then. That was a breeze. Felt nothing that made me want to pull away! She obviously has done that a “few” times before!
The surgical center was coming to life that early morning. More and more people going back and forth past my open doorway. I could hear all the chatter. No one peers in my doorway as they pass, not even a glance. Too busy and focused. There was this one nurse that walked past my doorway that I was able to lock eyes with her for a split second. Immediately, she took a step backward back into my view, with this big smile on her face, and said hello, how are you. I think she felt the vibes that I was looking for someone to chat with as my nurse had gone out of the room to do other things as I was waiting on surgery time. I’m the kind of guy that likes to talk to everyone. I told her that her costume looked really great on her and authentic and I said she looked like a nurse. She laughed, and told me my costume looked equally authentic and said I looked like a patient. After-all, it was October 31, 2025, Halloween! That 20 second exchange reinforced to me that I was in good hands and that health care professionals do really care! Our very brief encounter made all the difference in the world for me. When she reads this, I hope she says, oh, I remember that guy. Thanks for being so friendly!
My nurse came in telling me were getting close to surgery time. Again asked me if I had any questions and if I needed anything. She pointed out the private restroom in my room if I needed it. Kiddingly, I told her some bacon and eggs would be great.
The next thing I remember, after the anesthesiologist popped the vial in my IV, was my nurse asking me again how I was doing, and I responded by saying, I’m doing great but when are you taking me to surgery. She said were all done and everything went well! The rest is history. This lady was the absolute best!!! I really hope she gets to read this! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness and compassion while I was in your care!
This hospital has it all together! From the hospital administrator on down to the affiliated doctors and everyone in between, they know how to properly care for their patients with compassion and dignity!
I highly recommend them!
For my own journey to wellness, once was enough. I’m going to try and avoid another visit for another 76 years!
I appreciated the all good vibes I felt from the community as you followed along my journey. I hope that by sharing my experiences, my concerns, my fears and my hopes it will help you navigate, and again quoting our wonderful nurse friend, “your successful journey to wellness”!!! I plan on posting some final thoughts I have regarding the hernia repair surgery as I have more time, plus some weekly or monthly updates. Suggesting checking the Follow button if you want to see them when I post.
Post any questions you may have. Please don’t be shy. Remember, there’s no such thing as a stupid question! I’ll answer them the best that I can. Until we talk again, Best Wishes for your own successful journey to wellness! Take Care!
An Editor’s Note:
You Editor has also been through the “old man under the knife for hernia” (mine was navel). We shared this long report to take some of the bite and fear out of an adverse diagnosis. Every surgery has risk, but at the far side their is relief and restoration of your full potential.
Never delay acting on a better tomorrow!