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Published: October 8th 2023
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Post Op
Wrapped and wearing special sock things that inflate and deflate to help prevent blood clots. The time is here and (you have to have the music to the bionic man in your head) I'm finally getting a new knee! The last set of blood tests are being done tomorrow in readiness for admission on Tuesday 5 September at 6.00am (what nooooo breakfast!).
I shared a room with a lovely lady, who turns out was as bat shit crazy as me - I know, more than one! We had all of the nervous getting to know you conversations, all being very polite, but when hunger and boredom both hit us the sillies came out. I was due to go down at 10.30am, and Pam at 12.30 (same surgeon). I'm changed in a very fetching open backed gown and before long it was time. I was so impressed that everyone who was involved in the operation explained what they were doing and why and it really did make me feel a lot more comfortable. The only thing I was apprehensive about was the epidural. Turns out I needn't have been, although they did have to give me two - the anesthetist kept on spraying this cold spray on my knee 'can you feel that?' he says, 'yep'
says me. Two minutes later he's pinching my toes 'can you feel them?', 'nope'. Excitedly he then pinches my knee; me 'still feel you and I really don't to go through the next door until I can't'. He paces around some more and then we go through more rounds of the cold spray testing - still can feel my knee. 'Oh well, we'll just pop another epidural in' he says and I totally agree - within seconds of the second one, my legs have left my bods. Happy days.
The thing with an epidural is that you can opt to stay fully awake, which is what I wanted to do (I really would have liked to have been able to watch the op) and the noises were amazing, but also were the surgeon and his team's conversations. Apparently one of the team has some amazing dance moves and promised to show them off at an awards night on Thursday!
Back on the ward and doped up the eyeballs with painkillers I felt good. I'd spoken to Chris (he wasn't allowed on the ward) and said that everything was OK and I'd be out tomorrow. Next call,
Icing the knee
The last exercise I had to keep my leg straight as poss for up to 15 mins and ice it at the same time. Kelly who asked if I had a catheter fitted. 'No, I don't need one of those, I know when I'm going for a wee I can feel it' or so I thought. What I could feel was my wee on my leg, which when explaining this to Kelly resulted in fits of giggles from the pair of us which as you can image then caused a tsunami of wee to escape. 'Stooooooppppppppp making me laugh, its not funny'. No such luck. I had to call for a change of bed linen - so embarrassing.
Nurses are just the best and kindest people and I know they've seen everything, but they haven't seen my everything. I'm chatting away to a male nurse about 'Below Deck' and 'Selling Sunset' and all the different characters, whilst the female nurse has rolled me over, whipped away the incriminating evidence, cleaned me and rolled me back. 'That wasn't so bad' I'm thinking. Nope all dignity I had left is now going to disappear - male nurse now rolls me the other way and finishes off my bed bath (I know they've everything and now they've seen my everything). Clean and comfortable we finish off
Leg elevating
The only place I could comfortably elevate my leg was on the bed - not so much room for Chris. our chat about other crap TV programmes and off they go. Oh man I think I'll never recover from that. Ha! Commode next ..... with some feeling returning, I was confident that I knew I needed a wee. Out comes the commode. With a little help I'm on with the nurse standing next to me. Nothing! 'It's no good you standing there, its like you've popped a bung in it'. Off she goes and behold, hallelujah I have a ten gallon wee (actually 750ml - yes they measure it). I always will take the small wins, and feel quite triumphant!
Pam's returned - yeah I'm not on my own anymore. The food was amazing and we nattered away like we'd known each other for years. Drugs kicking in and we both dozed off only to be bright as buttons at 2.00am. Back to the nattering for another couple of hours before giving in to sleep. Jesus blinded - I know they have to do their checks, but it is nighttime and putting all the lights on is a bit off.
In the morning, I was signed off following a visit from the doctor re meds; physiotherapist with a
Multi-tasking
Soon worked out how to move from one end to the other in one go. whole host of exercises that I must follow and I had to demonstrate I could walk (with crutches) go up and down a step and bend my knee and finally the consultant. Pam and I looked like a couple of 'Angry Birds' bustling around with our zimmer frames! Lunch, nice and then off I went.
Chris met me and then the next hiccup - getting into a Fiat 500 when you can't bend your leg! I'd deal with getting out later, I just wanted to go.
The next 4 weeks we stayed at Cheddar - Chris volunteering on site and gleaning some valuable experience in readiness for our interviews and me - physio - ice - elevate leg and repeat 4 times a day. I couldn't get in and out of Bob on my own, so was stuck inside for the first couple of weeks, until I mastered the steps. Yeah freedom. I had to use the disabled facilities as I still wasn't able to stand independently and I wasn't allowed to get my dressing wet for 14 days. That first full shower was like heaven - sitting on the little plastic chair under a waterfall of water
That damned ball!
Just sometimes I forget the bloody ball! and scrubbing my skin was bliss.
Finally the day had come that we could move on and really start our journey. A quick pit stop at Rookesbury again to dump the trailer at Chris's brother's house, and then Black Horse Farm a 20 minute journey to Le Tunnel. No idea where we're going but we're finally off.
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