Stand By Your Man blog part 2: Patrick Campbell

By Patrick Campbell, ITV news blogger

So the big day arrived. I was on the ward at 7.00am and walked down to the theatre just after 9.00am. Bill Cross had warned me that he might have to resort to traditional surgery as an appendix operation I'd had at 12-years-old could have left “sticky” tissue behind which his probes may not be able to cope with.

The “Da Vinci” machine is very high tech. Four probes are operated remotely minimising the incisions and a fifth collects the removed prostate and extracts it just below the navel. It took just over five hours and I remember little of the following few hours other than Janet visiting. I was told that, if everything had gone well, I could go home the following day. I was determined that everything had gone well. The only real unpleasant pain was having the drain removed. This runs under your skin for about 20 centimetres.

Just after 2 o'clock I was given the all clear and we left. I should have used a wheelchair as I had no idea we had to run the krypton factor to get to the car. By the time I reached it, the wound was bleeding. I live on a dirt track and I felt every bump as we drove along it. I was catheterised of course. All being well, I would be back in a week to have it removed. I have never been so pleased to get into bed. The wound wouldn't stop bleeding so Janet rang the hospital. They told me to go back. There was no chance of that. Wonderful district nurses came to the rescue.