Well I turned up at the hospital at 7 am for my operation. The anaesthetist came and saw me. The consultant came and drew an arrow on my leg to make sure they operated on the right one. A nurse came and 'admitted me' . I changed into my natty hospital gown and got into bed and started reading my book.
Another patient, 'Sheila', turned up and after a brief chat fell fast asleep.
I carried on reading.
Three hours later another patient arrived and was quick to get into her gown and into bed. Sadly the hospital were almost as quick to cancel her operation. She was in her gown, in bed and they cancelled her. I told her that I'd previously been cancelled so she would understand why they'd chosen her instead of me and reassured her they had to do it within 28 days as she was already in hospital. Felt so sorry for her.
Lay there reflecting that if more trauma cases turned up I too could be cancelled. Snuggled under the sheets in the hope that the bed manager wouldn't notice me.
Then read some more. Thanks Bill Bryson for making me laugh.
Hours passed.
Sheila went to theatre.
I read some more.
I grew hungrier.
I read some more.
I tried to sleep.
I read some more.
I grew hungrier and thirstier.
I read some more.
I began to feel really weak,
A nurse came and said they had started the afternoon operations.
I read some more.
I heard someone come into the ward and call my name. Yes! I put my book away and rescued my pillow which had fallen on the floor.
Anothe patient was wheeled past the door. It must have been somebody with a name similar to mine. I picked up my book. A woman in a blue theatre gown walked in:
"I've come to take you to theatre."
It was eight hours since I'd come in, twenty one hours since I'd eaten and nine and a half since I'd had a drink. I wasn't at my best but I had to have an operation.
After a quick journey to the theatre a cannula was put into my hand and a cold liquid sensation began to travel up my arm...
I half opened my eyes.
"Your arm's gone blotchy, must have been when we put the morphine in," a blue-gowned man was saying.
Who was he, where was I and why did it matter if my arm was blotchy?
"My knee hurts!"
More injeccting of drugs, more muttering then whizzing along the corridor to the ward.
More drugs, pain still bad.
"You're staying in tonight," said a nurse.
Consultant appeared at the end of my bed.
"My knee hurts, you told me it wouldn't hurt but it's as bad as when I first broke it."
At this point I was a bit 'off my head' with all the painkillers.
"Well I did take out the metalwork, bent it to 130 degrees and there was a lot of scar tissue which ripped," he said as if to say what did you expect?
"130 degrees?"
He'd said he'd bend it a little.
"Stay in tonight," said the consultant.
"Told you," said the nurse.
So I stayed in overnight in a bay with Sheila and another lady called 'Pat' and P and J came in to see me and eventually the pain was under control and I got some sleep but kept being woken up (why did the staff have to talk so loudly?) and the nurses were lovely and Sheila and Pat and I got on really well and my blood pressure crashed in the morning and there was a frustrating episode with a physio who could hardly speak English and bullied me a bit, well quite a lot I think, even though she didn't seem to know anything about me at all but I won't go into that. I had roast chicken for lunch then P came and got me and I asked the nurses about after-care and exercises and they said to go and get the clips taken out in twelve days and I'll have a follow up appointment at the end of October and I asked about exercises and they looked blank then said "Try and bend your knee a bit and if it hurts you've overdone it."
I looked on another hospital's website and they give patients who've had my op seven pages of advice and exercises.
Anyway it hurt a lot for a couple of days, I felt sick and dizzy until yesterday. Now it hardly hurts, the horrible sharp stabs of pain have gone. The bruising is beginning to come out so it's multi-coloured. I am exercising my quads and bending my knee as much as possible using ice and heat as necessary but managing without painkillers. Feeling confident that it will bend more and more as the internal swelling and bruising goes down.
All in all looking good.
Thank You Lord.
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