Wednesday, May 25, 2011

possibly TMI

Thanks all for the good wishes, both here and on FB

As it transpired, six days of heaving up my toes after the massive surgeries of '09 [ because no-one had made the connection that I was having what is euphemistically referred to as an 'adverse reaction' to morphine / oxycontin, as a result of which, they kept me well topped up with more of the same ] didn't do my then newly eviscerated insides any favours

quelle suprise !!

anyway, the net result was last weeks reprise repair of some of the same portions of my battered carcass ...

Apparently I am something of an anaesthetist's nightmare now [ three of the fetching, red alert bracelets, each with multiple entries ] ... there were no general anaesthetics that he was willing to risk so I had a spinal.

As promised, I don't remember anything between having the ice cold pink stuff washed over my back and waking up with everything below the bellybutton not answering directions.
It was a very strange experience as bits and pieces came back on line.
At one point I could make my legs respond, but not the blocks of heavy ice that were subbing for my feet/toes and tush.

There were no private rooms available initially, so I had the 'pleasure' of sharing with a locally notorious, extraordinarily demanding, little old lady who was both physically and verbally incontinent and deaf [ loudloudloud tv] , and a fragile young lady going through some health and lifestyle issues that were totally none of my or any one else's business, but which, because of the flimsy illusion of privacy offered by a drawn curtain, we were all fully aware of.

After three days of feeling like a voyeur [ and 2 hours sleep a night due to little old lady's nocturnal wanderings ] I was less than sparkling, so one particular staff member iniatiated the opening of a closed 4-bed ward just for me.

It would have inconvenienced the cleaning staff who suddenly had one more bathroom to cope with, but, to tell you the truth, I was past caring.

A couple of days of peace and quiet ensued and I came home on Monday.

I'm trying to behave: bedrest with periods of moving around, trying not to 'just pick up this' or 'move that' and to find the balance between adequate pain medication [ I am invincible, I can do anything ... ] and somewhat less than adequate [ owowowowowow ]
It's a delicate dance known, I now realise, to all who have ever had to recover from major surgery.

I am:
reading [ Cassandra Clare: City of Glass, and during the last week, Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs, Keep The Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell and Side Jobs by Jim Butcher ]

knitting [ currently a scarf for Nadie - hospital knitting was a shawl from last week's alpaca/samoyed, now temporarily on hold until I am up to spinning some more ]

and catching up on 3 seasons of NCIS

and you should all make yourselves a pair of these [ fabulous freebie pattern from Mindie ].


Pattern: 19 row slippers from Knitting If Not Eccentric
Yarn: vintage Thorobred Celtic 12 ply /bulky pure wool from New Zealand
Needles: KP Options 8mm
Mods: I used a slip1, k2tog, psso as the left leaning double decrease instead of the SSSK, and added a few rows of garter at the cuff before casting off.

and the colour is actually not as grey blue as this nightime picture would imply. It's both clearer and brighter.

I made Nadie's first and then a 'taking to hospital' pair.

So that's m'week!

12 comments:

Lynne said...

Im glad Nadie is there to look after you and do hope that you are feeling as good as new very soon. *hugs*.

Lindi said...

Hugs and sympathy. Post op is a horrible time. Just keep resting up and let Nadie do things. Hopefully the pain will ease for you soon.

(Coincidentally, my word verification is achex)

Rose Red said...

Wow, not an ideal hospital stay (if there is such a thing). I know the feeling of having the spinal wear off - weird hey!
Hope you are recovering nice and easy. Nothing is more important than looking after yourself!

Unknown said...

Glad to hear you are on the road to recovery. Hope you are back to yourself soon.

Hawthorne C said...

Glad you are home where you can rest. It is difficult to sleep in hospital at the best of times. Take care and don't over do it!!

Jan said...

Take care and get lots of rest. Hospital is no place to rest.

Marcie said...

Glad you're on the mend. Take all the TLC on offer - you've earned it!

ozjane said...

Take care and time to get really rested and well while you can.
Moggie 4 would curl up under your chin if we were closer....so there are some things to be thankful for...LOL

Alwen said...

Ow, hope you're feeling better and I wish you no re-do this time around!

Alice said...

Whatever else they took away, thankfully they didn't take away your sense of humour, Susan.

So glad you survived - especially your 'ward mates' - and are home again safe and sound (well, pretty sound .... lol). At least it's the perfect time of year to be housebound!

Richard and I both wish you a full, speedy and permanent recovery.

gayle said...

With roommates like that, I would have been willing to sleep in the broom closet... (Do you call them broom closets in Australia?)
Glad you're on the mend!

catsmum said...

we have broom cupboards Gayle :)