Operation over
Well that went well. After waiting and fasting on Tuesday until 3.00 I was taken in my bed to the operating theaters. On entry to the outer room where the anaesthetists knock you out, the surgeon was waiting to greet me. We exchanged a handshake and I said I would see him the following day. For some odd reason, and I don't know why, I got chatting to the anaesthetist about tri-athlons. He apparently used to do them a few years back. Whilst we were talking he was putting a canula in the back of my left hand, and then suddenly there was a mask over my nose and mouth, and the next thing I knew it was 10.00 and I was in the High Dependency Ward.
I had a bad night in that I couldn't relate to time. It was really weird, the night seemed to on for ever. When eventually the blinds went up and we were woken at 6.00. I was in a little pain, but not to bad, fortunately a member of the pain relief team came and adjusted my pain treatment. I went on to oramorth which is morfine in a syringe, and it's just squirted into the mouth. It starts to start working in about 10-15 mins. So that was sorted.
Later in the morning around 11.00 two young physio girls came and got me out of bed, to mobilise me. Bearing in mind I only have one leg, and also had the operation some 18 hours earlier, and It was a fairly major operation, I wasn't to pleased. Anyway I persevered and tried the crutches without success, it was to painful. So into the wheelchair and round the hospital. They left happy. In the afternoon they came back and we had another session, but again the crutches were to painful.
Today was totally different, I felt really good, devoured a large breakfast, and was feeling up for the physio girls. Oh I forgot, yesterday they also had me doing deep breathing exercises to release the mucus in the lungs. We also did this today and I managed to clear myself. I then did a circuit of the hospital on my crutches, albeit slightly slower than usual.
In the High Dependency Unit there is one nurse to two patients, and I have mention my nurse because she was without doubt one of the hardest working people I have seen. Her name was Catarena Soares, and she did 13 hour shifts, never complained, was always there, nothing was a problem, and she worked continuously for the full 13 hours. I can't praise her enough, and she helped me through a rough day on Tuesday.
This afternoon I had lot of the tubes removed from the various bits of my body, and finally at around 5.00 the last of the tubes were removed. It's not just the tubes, I also had various pumps and drainage equipment attached to them, so getting around was a bit of a challenge with them. I had to go to the X-Ray department twice, once with the lung drain line in and again after it was removed.
Also this afternoon I was discharged from the High Dependency Ward back to the original one. Except that I was given a private room, with a TV, This was because they thought it would give me more room with a wheelchair. That was nice of them.
I also saw the surgeon this afternoon and he said I could be discharged on Saturday, so my son Tom has volunteered to drive me back home, which is a slight problem as the Olympic cycle race is coming past the hospital twice on Saturday and a lot of the roads are closed all day, so we have decided to leave it until it's over and leave at 6.00pm.
So now it's a bit more physio for the next two days, then home.
Today was totally different, I felt really good, devoured a large breakfast, and was feeling up for the physio girls. Oh I forgot, yesterday they also had me doing deep breathing exercises to release the mucus in the lungs. We also did this today and I managed to clear myself. I then did a circuit of the hospital on my crutches, albeit slightly slower than usual.
In the High Dependency Unit there is one nurse to two patients, and I have mention my nurse because she was without doubt one of the hardest working people I have seen. Her name was Catarena Soares, and she did 13 hour shifts, never complained, was always there, nothing was a problem, and she worked continuously for the full 13 hours. I can't praise her enough, and she helped me through a rough day on Tuesday.
This afternoon I had lot of the tubes removed from the various bits of my body, and finally at around 5.00 the last of the tubes were removed. It's not just the tubes, I also had various pumps and drainage equipment attached to them, so getting around was a bit of a challenge with them. I had to go to the X-Ray department twice, once with the lung drain line in and again after it was removed.
Also this afternoon I was discharged from the High Dependency Ward back to the original one. Except that I was given a private room, with a TV, This was because they thought it would give me more room with a wheelchair. That was nice of them.
I also saw the surgeon this afternoon and he said I could be discharged on Saturday, so my son Tom has volunteered to drive me back home, which is a slight problem as the Olympic cycle race is coming past the hospital twice on Saturday and a lot of the roads are closed all day, so we have decided to leave it until it's over and leave at 6.00pm.
So now it's a bit more physio for the next two days, then home.
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