It's all out!

Hands up who’s happy! That’s me! They were my first words just a couple of hours after surgery last Friday. I can’t believe that I can put my hands up and wave them about in the air: I can’t believe that my putting is straight. I can’t believe that it’s better.

But my, what a week? And my, what a great NHS we have! Oh, it could be improved – Sister Suzy and Jean the Peg didn’t inspire confidence, but they did their job.

Friday 9^th: At hospital for 11, in theatre for 1pm asleep in minutes, under the knife for nearly 5 hours – teeth out, cyst gone, lymph nodes gone, muscle and jugular vein gone, nerves either gone or shocked into paralysis and to do all this, a cut from behind my ear to under my chin. In recovery for an hour. On the phone to Row in 15 minutes! Morphine every 5 minutes. My I was happy.

Saturday 10^th: I’m still happy, smiling, eating. A bit unsteady on the pins. But able to use my arm – which I’d not expected. Morphine all day. Great to see Row.

Sunday 11^th: Hmm, not so happy now that I’m on standard pain relief – oh, well. It’s for the best.

Monday: Strangely happy to know that the next operation is for this Wednesday.
Tuesday: Not a lot happened today. Except PING – there come another nerve back on-stream: Ouch – another: Oww – now stop it.

Wednesday: Breakfast at 5.45 (Weetabix). Operation at 1pm: Just sedation, but guess what – I fell asleep: Awake at 3pm – tube now in my stomach. Not much room in it for anything else as I haven’t ‘been’ since last Thursday.

Thursday: Instructions on how to look after the tube – I’ve decided to call it Me-Tube. No video available.

Friday: Why oh why did they need to do a test feed via the tube last night: Starting at 8pm (I’d already had my tea) and running through until 6am. Up every two hours for a pee as there was no room for anything else.

Still Friday: Looking forward to going home soon. But wait! The loo beckoned at 7am and the agony kicked in at 8.30 but no success despite a number of ‘procedures’ until 11.30 by which time Chris was on his way to pick me up. He got me home via Baldock Services at 1pm. I thought I’d made a BIG mistake – but at 3pm some relief – then some sleep – then Row came home from work. Got up at 7pm and we went out into the garden where tears of happiness flowed to be home.

Chicken is a wonder food and Row had made a wonder chicken casserole – which together with a beer made for a brilliant homecoming.

Saturday: What a brilliantly comfortable day. A shower. A shave. A shiver or two. And Liverpool won.

Next: A visit to hospital for progress check with the guy in charge of the Radiotherapy  on Thursday 22nd

Frank