What is it ‘they’ say? Be careful what you wish for … Well I wished for a definite date for at least one of my operations and now I have it – Monday 5th of June confirmed. So I’ve moved from worrying about not having a definite date to worrying about having one. Sometimes you just can’t get ahead.
I’m writing this on the Tuesday of the previous week and I have a wonderful stew of worries bubbling inside my head. They range from quite big issues like ‘cacking it’ on the operating table as a result of my blood clots returning, to – do I need to take my own dressing gown and PJs.
The operation is on Monday but I have to be there on Sunday at 7 o’clock in the morning would you believe. That will provide some logistical problems with the dogs and all so yes plenty to go at in the worrying category. I believe ‘they’ are supposed to be sending me a letter to give me all the information I need but that’s not arrived yet.
Anyway I’ll stop now if you don’t get this blog you may assume all has not gone well. But no, positive thoughts that is what is needed here.
And so two weeks to the day from the operation (which I am told was successful) I’m going to try and finish off this blog. I can honestly say it has taken this long for me to have any motivation to complete it. I was told by a number of people, professional and otherwise that it was a major operation and I think they were right.
I didn’t see it that way prior to the operation, it seemed relatively minor I thought but if my reaction since is anything to go by I was wrong. Psychologically and physically I’ve struggled. I won’t go into the grisly details suffice it to say, the four days in hospital and the days since have been bloody hard work. In fact more the mental side of things has been the key, in that the pain at the operation site hasn’t been all that terrible. Other physical aspects have been challenging but as I said I won’t go into those. But they needed to be OK otherwise my biggest dread – a stoma – might come into play. And please God I don’t want that.
So here I am with my first written report since the op. I’m supposed to exercise but this is quite a challenge so I’ve taken to walking to the nearest park bench, sitting down while the dogs chase the ball like a pair of maniacs. This Monday morning has been the first morning walk. Again modest but my measures have indicated a slow improvement and when you’ve had a ‘major’ operation that’s all a person has got to hang on to in order to avoid insanity / depression and all those other good things that the professionals don’t really mention. Unless you bring it up that is.
That’s assuming you have a professional to bring it up with. As of last Friday I have a district nurse which is nice – and rare. But let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Silly expression but it will have to do until my next report.