Friday Saturday Sunday
Friday was discharge day for Natalia and I if we could manage
three things; successfully ascend and descend stairs, inject
ourselves with our anti-DVT medication, and finally go to the toilet (did you
know that morphine and other strong medication makes you very constipated?). We
looked at each other and laughed because on Tuesday we were in agreement that
there was very little chance we would be going home Friday. The progression we
made from Tuesday to Wednesday, and then Wednesday to Thursday was unbelievable
so there was every chance we would be discharged. Natalia and I conquered the
stairs with ease so it was onto the next challenge. If we couldn’t manage it
ourselves, we were told that our partners could give it a go. Natalia couldn’t
inject herself but knew her husband would be capable. Andy hates needles too so
I knew he couldn’t help me and that I needed to overcome one of my fears. The
nurse talked me through what to do and after a 5 minute self –pep talk I
actually did it. It hurt more than when the nurses did it, and I gave myself a
bruise but at least I managed it. I’m sure by the 24th time I’ll be a pro. Then
we still had the number two issue… We’d been on two different laxatives since
Tuesday which resulted in no end product so you can imagine we were pretty
bunged up by Friday. We had to wait for the doctors to prescribe a suppository
which would help us go, so until that time came, we needed to wash, eat, have
our dressing changed and wait to be discharged. Friday was the first day I managed
a real shower, got to finally wash my hair, and dressed (including socks – once
I learnt the knack) myself unaided. I was glad to be semi-independent because one
of my concerns was relying on someone else to do everything for me. My dressing
was changed and it was great to see my wound looking so good! The nurses
thought I was crazy taking pictures of it, but I wanted to share it with you
guys...
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| I can't believe this is only after 5 days! It looks like the scar will be tiny. |
Fast forward to discharge time which took 3 hours for the
pharmacists to finish preparing our goodie bag of meds. When the nurse
eventually walked in, it was like Santa had come early with our stockings. She
emptied the contents on the bed and I couldn’t believe how much medication
there was – some lasting until Christmas Eve!
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| Meds: two types of morphine pills, anti-DVT syringes, paracetamol, ibuprofen, two types of laxatives,& anti-sickness |
Getting discharged from Guy’s Hospital in London at 4.15pm on a Friday was not the most convenient, so it took almost three hours to make it home to my Dad’s in Reading, Berkshire. The ordeal of this long car journey and not having any meds for six hours caused me to feel very sick and tired Friday evening so unfortunately I couldn’t manage much dinner. I felt very weak and struggled to cope using the toilets at home as they didn’t have the disabled rails that I’d become accustomed to at the hospital. I struggled up the stairs to bed and was glad to get some shut eye.
Due to the lapse in medication and lack of fuel the night
before, when I woke early on Saturday for the toilet, I was violently sick
after ‘walking’ to the bathroom. Every time I attempted to move using my
crutches, I got the hot and cold sweats again and needed a bucket fast. Once
sitting or lying for 5 minutes I would begin to feel ok. But every time I
stood, I would feel this weakness in my arms and upper body (which is usually
pretty strong), quickly followed by the urge to throw up. I knew there was no
point in having the meds until I was comfortable on the sofa downstairs and had
finished being sick, so I had to make it down the stairs as quick as I could
and get a bucket ready. That’s exactly what happened. Literally as soon as I
reached the sofa, Andy passed me the bucket and rubbed my back for the next 5
minutes. Then I had breakfast and a cup of tea and decided not to move until
lunch time to give my body the chance to re-fuel. Sure enough, I was fine from
then on. Natalia and I were exchanging stories from the last 15 hours via
WhatsApp which was great. - Except that she’d been having a good morning and I’d
been struggling.
After the initial events of Saturday, the day was generally ok and I
was really looking forward to my nephew’s Christening on Sunday. It was really
important that I ate at regular intervals to counterbalance the side effects of
all the medication. In hospital it’s all regulated and I didn’t realise until Saturday
that this needed to continue because if you’re organised with your food intake and
timings of medication, then you can manage your pain and sickness levels.
Sunday was a huge success and thankfully my Dad had organised
a wheelchair for me (we still hadn’t managed to repair the flat from the
previous wheelchair). My nephew Jacob is a very well behaved little cutie and
he had an amazing special day. It was pretty cold outside but I wrapped up warm
and the pain was bearable throughout the day. It was good to get out of the
house and great to see family members. Getting in and out of the car is ok, as
long as I sit behind the driver’s seat because I need to get my bad leg out
first when exiting the car. The day was topped off nicely with a visit from my Uni
friend Kelly and my longest neighbour Michele. Another Sunday Funday I would
say J
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| My gorgeous nephew Jacob and boyfriend Andy |
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