And it is done!

There has been some eventful few days, a little recap of Thursday and Friday.

We were all up at 5:30 am and out of the house at 6:45 am to be lead along a meticulously planned journey by Mr Gin. My mother and I sort of sailed along in his wake and we embarked on the 2 hour public transport trek to Epsom.

We got there in plenty of time and played in the star trek chairs before Mr Gin and I headed up to the Pre surgery unit. There we had to answer all the questions and then meet the anaesthetist, the registrar and finally Mr Jonathan Hutt, the man of the moment.  The anaesthetist, Mr Singh was lovely, very through and then explained that they generally do an epidural instead of a General Anaesthetic.  This was a bit of a new one for me, it is not something I have done before and was feeling a little apprehensive about, I had no experience of them and frankly major surgery is not something I want to listen to. In the end he convinced me and I opted for it with heavy sedation.

There was an x-ray of the CAD program that Mr Hutt had used to plan the drawing. When Jenny the registrar came in to mark my leg, I added the smiley face to add good luck to the surgery.  Mr Hutt explained what he was going to do and that we were looking at two to three hours of surgery and possibly a blood transfusion.  The words complex and difficult were bandied about but Mr Hutt was confident and everyone I spoke to, nurses and other staff said he was very good.  When speaking with medical staff I have learnt they don’t give high praise unless it is deserved, they are more likely to say just good or okay if they are not that impressive.

I was wheeled into surgery after saying good bye to Mr Gin. In the theatre there was an array of cloth covered trolleys and a bed for me. On my side and bent into an uncomfortable position I exposed my spine (and bum) and once in position sedated. And that is it.

I woke in recovery feeling pretty good in the grand scheme of things, not the normal heavy nasty feeling after a general. The leg felt pretty good too. Very numb as they inject the area with local anaesthetic and touching your own leg and not feeling it is very strange. Mr Hutt and Jenny checked in on me. He was pleased with the outcome and there was one minor hiccup . I have a piece of wire around the femur because a crack developed. My femur is not as big as he expected.  He was very pleased with the outcome and felt it should last me 20 years!  That is great news.

The other big surprise was that he did manage to take the screws out in one piece! And I have them, my companions for thirty years and they will continue, I think the form of earrings! (Need to get my ears pierced first.)

Once I had something to eat I was taken down (or up) to the ward. I was still feeling fine, very unusual, legs a bit tingly and the dead wood feel of the local still happening. I had chosen to have a catheter for avoiding the dreaded bed pan. This is also a weird experience and one I am not sure I want to repeat again.
My Mum and Mr Gin met me on the ward, a three bed with two older ladies, E, 80 having a hip done and M, 72 having her knee done. I was given morphine and unsurprisingly that made me a little spaced and chatty. All in all I felt okay, not completely comfortable but not as uncomfortable as I thought. My leg was a remarkable red colour from the disinfectant. The wound site is covered in a water proof bandage and stuck together with glue! The bruises are amazing and continue to be so, high lighting the old scars running through them.

They left and I was exhausted and ready to settle for the night. The lights were bright and I could not get comfortable. My right knee became more and more sore. Once the lights finally did go out I desperately tried to go to sleep but just could not settle.

I rang the bell and the night nurse gave me some morphine which helped a little and I waited an hour and was almost in tears by this stage. She hooked up a paracetamol drip and I finally got some sleep, about 3 hours worth!

The day started early as they do with hospitals.  All three of us started the same routine, breakfast, and the bed baths. The amazing red disinfectant was removed and the bandage checked. The sexy TEDS (dark green stockings for stopping my legs swelling and halt blood clots forming) were applied with a bit of wrestling.  Then the physiotherapy team came in and there was in bed exercises and then there was Zimmer frames! Walking! You read that right. Up walking in about 16 hours of surgery. Not that painful as there was still local anaesthetic rattling the joint.  Although very awkward with the catheter.

The oddest bit for me is it felt all cock-eyed when I stood up. Mr Hutt had almost made me completely level. A very surreal and distinctly odd feeling. It has taken my brain a little time to catch up.
There was more physio after lunch, walking with a Zimmer frame and generally a bit of exercising and drinking all water because if you filled it enough you could get it out.

I was taken to x-ray which proved to be a difficult, I felt very much pushed around and put into an EXTREMELY uncomfortable position that upset me a bit. But I did get to see the x-ray and it looks amazing. A nurse came in and told me that Mr Hutt was pleased with the x-ray.

By Friday dinner time I was pretty over the catheter, uncomfortable and annoying and I was drinking heaps and filling it up. The Physio was happy I could walk myself to the toilet. I asked the nurse if I could get it out and she said I had to wait till morning. I was a little disappointed with that and willing to wait morning but it was driving me bonkers. The head nurse then decided to do it then and there because she felt that I would be okay. Not the most comfortable experience but very thankful for the nurse to get it out quickly and understand that I was over it.

My visitors went and I collapsed for the night it had been a long couple of days.