I was hoping to continue a daily blog whilst i was in hospital for my surgery but sadly this was not possible for a number of reasons.
So this is what i went through.
On Thursday 14 June my hospital admission was a very long day to say the least. I had to be on the ward by 2pm and on my arrival I was told my bed was not available at the moment and would i wait in the day room for a short while.
Over 6 hours later i was finally shown to my bed and a nice big private room. So it was worth the wait.
By this time I was very restless but also needed to build up courage to ask about my stoma care.
Finally did and the HCA came to answer my buzzer. It was hard get th words out but managed it and was told she would let my named nurse know. Few minutes later the HCN returned to take my blood pressure. Oh my it was high along with my heart rate. I was asked if something was bothering me. I explained that i find hard asking for help with my stoma care.
The HCN sat down and said to me. This is not an issue. I have been coming to the same ward for 5 years. We talked about other things to do with my stoma and this helped me a lot. So everything was fine and a few minutes later my named nurse came in and was very supportive whilst doing my stoma change.
It wasn't until nearly 11pm that i finally got to see a doctor to book me onto the ward. She had been so busy all day and had never had time to see me for a chat. As I a regular patient on the ward for this procedure i knew everything was going to happen, just had to make sure they had my right medication written up for the right times. They never are and this was no difference.
So Friday 15 June i was woken up at 6am to be told i was first on the theatre list. Once again i knew 95% i would be as i always am because of my diabetes. But i still get those pre op nerves. It's hard to explain the feeling but those who have had surgery will understand. And once you get into the hospital gown, then you feel its real this time and it's going to happen. Then you get the lovely white stockings to go on you legs to help prevent blood clots.
By 8am i was all gowned up and ready to go. First the anaesthetist came to see me, she is lovely, always get the same one every time. We just talked about if there was any change in my health and was i happy to keep my insulin pump turned on. Answer was always,,no change and happy to keep the pump on. After a few minutes she left and said her usual supporting words,,,don't worry Graham you know I look after you.
Then my surgeon came in to see me to sign the consent form. I am lucky to have one of the most down to earth surgeons. He knows how difficult it is for me being in hospitals with everything i have wrong with me. So he always lets me decide on everything. The question was when do you want to go home. It usually over the weekend or the Monday. I asked if Sunday was ok because of all my problems and my diabetes i like to have the first 48 hours after anaesthetic in hospital should i have complications. And he agreed but said you can stay till the Monday if you want. But i rather be home if I feel well enough. So off he left my room.
Then around 8.30 i heard the dreaded trolly coming towards my cubicle. Trying to keep your dignity whilst climbing into this trolly is nearly impossible. At this stage i wasn't bothered who saw what, i just climbed up and got comfortable.
I was met by the a lovely theatre nurse who asked me all the questions on a check list that i answered only 20 minutes before on the ward. Suppose they have to make sure they have the correct patient.
She untied my gown and started putting on these heart stickers on all over me. This is when i go in more anxiety because i know within minutes someone is going to have full control of my life in their hands and put me to sleep. You can't help but think, will i ever wake up from this. In comes the anaesthetist to start the procure to send me into dream land. First drug is to calm me down, you get a feeling your slightly drunk. The last thing i remember is the theatre nurse holding my hand saying you will be fine.
The next thing i remember was waking up having a panic attack not knowing where i was,,,anaesthetic does this to me every time. On top of that I was in lots of pain. Having botox injections into the bladder can be painful then have a catheter in on top of that.
I had lots of IV pain meds and drugs to relax me and after 2 hours i was allowed to return to the ward where slept on and off for most of the day.
Anaesthetic does lots of different things to the body and for me it puts the bowel to sleep,, so i had no output from my stoma for nearly 24 hours. It wasn't until late Saturday afternoon that it began to work again. It's a catch 22 situation with me on that,,its nice to have a break from the stoma not working,,but on the other side i start to working its not working to what i know is normal and often think i might have a blockage. Shit happens i suppose, but its back to its usual self.
The day after surgery is like an after shock effect, i become very down and emotional for some reason. This is where i get the extra support from the nursing staff to help me through it. I have to get myself focused on getting home on the Sunday.
Having a cubicle is highly important to me because if I on a bay with other patients I find it harder to talk and communicate with the nurses looking after me with my stoma care side of things. And having a cubicle this eliminates this communication barrier, so when i was told late Saturday night I would have to give up the cubicle for another patient my heart dropped. Not ideal, but it was late Saturday night and the patients on the main ward would be settling down soon for the night.
When i was taken in on my bed to my allocated space everyone was still up. The lights had been dimmed so I just closed my curtains around my bed and put my light on and watched tv.
Strange as it sounds, if I can't see the other patients when behind the curtains its not as hard to ask help with my stoma and this time it didn't really bother me. However it was 2am.
Sunday I was up early again known that it was the day i could go home. Everything feeling ok, no problems with catheter. Had to wait for the doctor to give the thumbs up and when he came to see me, he said are you sure you want to go home today. Yes was my answer. All was good for home then he said. Your booked back to return to have all this done again in 4 months. Wow thanks for reminding me..16 weeks to go.
Good to be home, I usually have a catheter in for 7 days, not for medical reasons just to give me a break from doing Self Catheters as it can be a little tender after the surgery. But this time I only having it in for 4 days. Its being removed on Tuesday 19 June as I will be attending regional stoma open day on Wednesday 20 where I hoping to meet up with some amazing friends.
So this is what i went through.
On Thursday 14 June my hospital admission was a very long day to say the least. I had to be on the ward by 2pm and on my arrival I was told my bed was not available at the moment and would i wait in the day room for a short while.
Over 6 hours later i was finally shown to my bed and a nice big private room. So it was worth the wait.
By this time I was very restless but also needed to build up courage to ask about my stoma care.
Finally did and the HCA came to answer my buzzer. It was hard get th words out but managed it and was told she would let my named nurse know. Few minutes later the HCN returned to take my blood pressure. Oh my it was high along with my heart rate. I was asked if something was bothering me. I explained that i find hard asking for help with my stoma care.
The HCN sat down and said to me. This is not an issue. I have been coming to the same ward for 5 years. We talked about other things to do with my stoma and this helped me a lot. So everything was fine and a few minutes later my named nurse came in and was very supportive whilst doing my stoma change.
It wasn't until nearly 11pm that i finally got to see a doctor to book me onto the ward. She had been so busy all day and had never had time to see me for a chat. As I a regular patient on the ward for this procedure i knew everything was going to happen, just had to make sure they had my right medication written up for the right times. They never are and this was no difference.
So Friday 15 June i was woken up at 6am to be told i was first on the theatre list. Once again i knew 95% i would be as i always am because of my diabetes. But i still get those pre op nerves. It's hard to explain the feeling but those who have had surgery will understand. And once you get into the hospital gown, then you feel its real this time and it's going to happen. Then you get the lovely white stockings to go on you legs to help prevent blood clots.
By 8am i was all gowned up and ready to go. First the anaesthetist came to see me, she is lovely, always get the same one every time. We just talked about if there was any change in my health and was i happy to keep my insulin pump turned on. Answer was always,,no change and happy to keep the pump on. After a few minutes she left and said her usual supporting words,,,don't worry Graham you know I look after you.
Then my surgeon came in to see me to sign the consent form. I am lucky to have one of the most down to earth surgeons. He knows how difficult it is for me being in hospitals with everything i have wrong with me. So he always lets me decide on everything. The question was when do you want to go home. It usually over the weekend or the Monday. I asked if Sunday was ok because of all my problems and my diabetes i like to have the first 48 hours after anaesthetic in hospital should i have complications. And he agreed but said you can stay till the Monday if you want. But i rather be home if I feel well enough. So off he left my room.
Then around 8.30 i heard the dreaded trolly coming towards my cubicle. Trying to keep your dignity whilst climbing into this trolly is nearly impossible. At this stage i wasn't bothered who saw what, i just climbed up and got comfortable.
I was met by the a lovely theatre nurse who asked me all the questions on a check list that i answered only 20 minutes before on the ward. Suppose they have to make sure they have the correct patient.
She untied my gown and started putting on these heart stickers on all over me. This is when i go in more anxiety because i know within minutes someone is going to have full control of my life in their hands and put me to sleep. You can't help but think, will i ever wake up from this. In comes the anaesthetist to start the procure to send me into dream land. First drug is to calm me down, you get a feeling your slightly drunk. The last thing i remember is the theatre nurse holding my hand saying you will be fine.
The next thing i remember was waking up having a panic attack not knowing where i was,,,anaesthetic does this to me every time. On top of that I was in lots of pain. Having botox injections into the bladder can be painful then have a catheter in on top of that.
I had lots of IV pain meds and drugs to relax me and after 2 hours i was allowed to return to the ward where slept on and off for most of the day.
Anaesthetic does lots of different things to the body and for me it puts the bowel to sleep,, so i had no output from my stoma for nearly 24 hours. It wasn't until late Saturday afternoon that it began to work again. It's a catch 22 situation with me on that,,its nice to have a break from the stoma not working,,but on the other side i start to working its not working to what i know is normal and often think i might have a blockage. Shit happens i suppose, but its back to its usual self.
The day after surgery is like an after shock effect, i become very down and emotional for some reason. This is where i get the extra support from the nursing staff to help me through it. I have to get myself focused on getting home on the Sunday.
Having a cubicle is highly important to me because if I on a bay with other patients I find it harder to talk and communicate with the nurses looking after me with my stoma care side of things. And having a cubicle this eliminates this communication barrier, so when i was told late Saturday night I would have to give up the cubicle for another patient my heart dropped. Not ideal, but it was late Saturday night and the patients on the main ward would be settling down soon for the night.
When i was taken in on my bed to my allocated space everyone was still up. The lights had been dimmed so I just closed my curtains around my bed and put my light on and watched tv.
Strange as it sounds, if I can't see the other patients when behind the curtains its not as hard to ask help with my stoma and this time it didn't really bother me. However it was 2am.
Sunday I was up early again known that it was the day i could go home. Everything feeling ok, no problems with catheter. Had to wait for the doctor to give the thumbs up and when he came to see me, he said are you sure you want to go home today. Yes was my answer. All was good for home then he said. Your booked back to return to have all this done again in 4 months. Wow thanks for reminding me..16 weeks to go.
Good to be home, I usually have a catheter in for 7 days, not for medical reasons just to give me a break from doing Self Catheters as it can be a little tender after the surgery. But this time I only having it in for 4 days. Its being removed on Tuesday 19 June as I will be attending regional stoma open day on Wednesday 20 where I hoping to meet up with some amazing friends.
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