The other side


Well surgery day was pretty much as expected. A lot of waiting around in a variety of different rooms. Laying in the final waiting room listening to the techs trying to get the robot to work despite the error tones, and eventually fixing it by turning it off and on again. Finally getting wheeled into what was a very impressive surgery room with a lot of high-tech equipment & competent looking people around me. And then a blank space before waking up in a bed surrounded by machines going bleep.

The doctor was apparently there to check that I was OK and reassure me that all went well, apart from a 'bronchial episode' that I need to find out more about but may explain my sore throat. My wife was also there and worried sick so it was lovely to be able to hold her hand, and also to post an instagram post from my hospital bed (because if it ain't on the socials did it ever happen?).

My wife left at around 9pm and I dozed until around midnight when a room mate was wheeled in in a lot of pain with kidney stones. I slept pretty fitfully after that and was woken up regularly by the nurses to check blood pressure and get drugs for both of us. Speaking of which - whenever you have surgery take whatever drugs they give you. There's no prize for being tough and the benefits of a good relaxation outweigh the ego boosts from refusing!

Sleeping after an operation is tough anyway. I had a drip in my left elbow, a catheter venting to a bag strapped to the bed and my calves were wrapped in a pulsing network of tubing that stopped my getting blood clots but also gave me dreams of being eaten by a snake.  It's pretty freaky sleeping like that particularly when you're disorientated and sore and with the noise of an active ward outside. But the nurses are amazing. Try and learn the nurses names (it's often written on their badge) and thank them by name, because they do wonderful things.  

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