Finally a blog post from me instead of Kirsten on how I am progressing. Going into this operation I thought after a few days I would be fine to be browsing the internet, watching tv, have visitors etc… unfortunately the operation took it out of me as I worked hard to deal with what it threw at me day-to-day and work through the challenges.
Right now I am in a really good place having just come through the last 24 hours with only 5 hours of real pain which is great. Arguably I am now in the best shape of my life as I am now 76 kilo’s which is the lightest I have been since I was about 13 J
Over the next few days they will be removing a tube they put down me last Monday to see if I can start to really eat and drink something without suffering from an overload of phlegm, pain from swallow or swelling that will stop me from swallowing. It will be an apprehensive couple of days as if I don’t get that right the tube will be going back in, and, believe me, that is not fun. If everything goes well from that, then I will be on my way to being out of the hospital by the end of the week!
On the off chance anyone going into this surgery every reads this blog these are the things I have learnt that might help someone else going through the same thing in the future.
- It’s not just the pain – The pain although significant is not the hard thing after an operation like this. It is dealing with the basics like clearing enough Phlegm to breath, careful movements to stop yourself from being sick, working through treatments that may or may not work 100% of the time and managing sleep as you are lucky to get more than a couple of hours a day.
- 2 steps forward 1 step back – I presumed that as I recovered it would be a gradual improvement. I got really frustrated that after a good 24 hours I would then have a really bad 48hrs.
- Relax don’t fight – You know the rhetoric “You are strong, you can fight this” in reality when going through it I should have been more like “Just relax, accept what is happening and let it happen”. Not to get all new age but if I were to do this operation again, I would work out some relaxation techniques that helped when you needed them to. i.e. when you thought you were drowning or a doctor was putting a tube down your stomach.
- Nurses are great, but you need to know what you need and how you need it – I can’t talk highly enough about how great the nurses and the people around them are. However, you need to know what medication you are being given, why you need it and how it needs to be given to you i.e. together, apart, only if you are suffering from a problem. Nurses only have a list of what they need to give you in a shift unless they have nursed you in the past they don’t really have a background as to your specific circumstances and requirements.
BTW: The crap they do on a day-to-day basis is amazing. As as a poor nurse had to do stick something where you don’t want it to be stuck I thought she does this every day with no complaint and yet where I have worked people throw a mental about having to put paper into a photocopier! - There are many more, but I think they are the main ones for now.
Last first note after surgery, Thank God for the amazing people around me. I can’t believe one how great a wife I have who has tirelessly helped me while dealing with a multitude of issues on the home front, communicating with people everywhere while always being here when I needed her to be. My Sisters and mother sending me happy notes daily. My Dad coming to spend time with me every day. My great friends either visiting or wanting to visit on a daily basis. And Allen and Unwin who have been amazing group of people (buy a book from them http://www.allenandunwin.com !!!)
That’s all the enegy I have for now, Until the next time.
BTW: Excuse the bad grammer, pubishing friends if it is too bad edit it and I will update it J
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