My Hospital Story - Part Two

Day Three - First day after the Operation

The next time I woke up, it was daylight and there was a tray on the table in front of me, holding a small bowl of porridge and a cup of tea!

The porridge was quite runny and I didn't find it easy to eat, as I couldn't sit up properly. I managed a few spoonfuls and it tasted really good. The cup of tea was even better, though, and was so much nicer than a few sips of water.

I could see now that there were just four patients in the ward and that it was much smaller than it had seemed to me the night before.

The nurse looking after me was amazing and as the morning went on, she told me that the plan was to move me to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) by lunchtime.

This meant that they had to move me out of the specialised bed of the ICU into a "normal" ward bed.

That was the hard part, as I was still attached to all the lines/drains etc. But I had to get to my feet, hang on (literally!) to the nurse, wait until I could feel the new bed behind my knees, and then collapse weakly onto it! The nurse had asked me to march a few steps while I was upright, which was a lot of effort. I felt really sick as I sat down on the bed, but it soon subsided and I felt better after a few minutes.

The best part about that morning was when the nurse told me that I was a really good patient! In the past I had never been a good patient, having a fear of going into a hospital (even as a visitor!), but the nurse's words made me feel really pleased.

Lunchtime came and I was wheeled off to the HDU, ready for the visit of my husband and my parents later on.

The High Dependency Unit was much the same really - four patients, but just two nurses to look after us. I was on the right nearest the door, as you came into the room. The door was always propped open and in such a position that I couldn't see the clock on the wall above the door, which meant I had no way of telling the time without asking the nurse, as I still didn't have my watch which was on the main ward in the safe!

By the time my parents and my husband arrived to see me, I was sitting in the chair next to the bed. I think they were very surprised to see me out of bed. I managed to carry on a conversation for a while and read many of the Get Well cards that they had brought for me to look at, but I could feel my eyes starting to shut as I struggled to concentrate on what they were all saying. They left soon after that, saying they would visit again the following day.

Day Four - Day Two after the Operation

I slept quite well that night, as I felt really rested when I woke up. I enjoyed my breakfast - porridge again, but this time I ate it all!  The doctors visited and, once again, it was likely that I would only spend one night in the HDU and be back on the main ward by the end of the day.

The worst part of my hospital stay occurred today - the removal of the drains! As part of my preparation for surgery I had read many accounts of what happens in the first few days post-op, and the removal of the drains was something that I wasn't looking forward to at all. The doctor explained to the nurse that she could take them out, and explained to me that it was "a little bit uncomfortable, but even small children find it no problem".

Now, sorry, but that I find hard to believe! As a child following my first surgery, I remember having stitches removed from my chest and it being quite unpleasant, but now I can look back and know that that particular experience was not about stitch removal but about the removal of the drains!

Unfortunately, this time another two patients on the ward had to have their drains removed just before me, so that I had to sit in bed and listen to their moans & groans of what I imagined was excruciating pain, before it was my turn!

Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad as that. I had my self-administered morphine dose, then breathe-in, breathe-out, breathe-in, breathe-out, breathe-in-and-hold....and the first one was out! It wasn't painful, just the oddest & most uncomfortable feeling of someone pulling your insides out very quickly! I had four drains, so had to go through it another three times, but the first one was definitely the worst.

After a quick trip to X-ray in a wheelchair, I sat in the chair for a bit and my husband arrived for his visit and we had a good chat this time, as I was feeling more like myself and not so weak as the day before.

My move back to the main ward was scheduled for 5pm, but before that the nurse from the next shift removed everything that restricted my movement, ready for my return to the ward, including all the cannula's in my hands, leaving just pacing wires in my chest and the central line in my neck.

And then we were off to the main ward, where I was pleased to find that two of the ladies that I had shared the bay with pre-surgery were still there. I retrieved my watch from the ward safe and all was well!