Mets Day 165 - Did the surgery work?

I've been asked several times if the surgery to clear my stricture worked.  The short answer is it's too soon to tell.  I won't know for more than a month.  Keeping the Foley catheter in for a week ensured it would stay open.  Doing self-catheterizations twice a day for two weeks is intended to keep the urethra unblocked.  After that, I'll self-cath once a day for another couple of weeks, again to keep the urethra open.  Only after I stop daily self-cathing in a month or and see if if I am having increasing difficulty in urinating will I know whether the stricture is growing back.

Meanwhile, with the catheter out, I have a near-normal urine flow.  I am not yet confident enough in my nighttime continence abilities to avoid wearing Depends.  The Hopkins doctors told me that I should get up at least once during the night to empty my neobladder.   I've been doing that, but find that I occasionally still spurt or squirt urine at night, especially when rolling over.  Even with the Ambien, I still wake up when that happens.  As a result, I have not been getting consistent sleep this weekend.  I was intending to do a good deal of work this weekend, but got very little accomplished.

This reinforces my decision to apply for disability.  I feel like I am in no condition to deliver predictable, consistent and quality services to my clients.  The more I have thought about it, the more I am reconciled to the idea that, assuming I qualify for disability, I should put the full-time practice of law behind me, and focus on other things, like my family, friends, and faith.