Hospital Day 3: Back to Ward

14 Sep 2011

The Professor and his team came to the ICU about 8:30am and I told him all was OK, and that there was no pain, just a little discomfort, like a little tummy ache. He told me the op went perfectly and that I could now go back to the Ward.

About an hour later a nurse came and washed me, then removed my catheter (glad that was gone). I was asked to stand and walk to the corridor where my own bed was waiting. This was achieved with surprising ease. The fresh sheets were nice as I had sweated a lot in the ICU bed. I was then taken back to my 2-bed Ward. No-one had moved in, so I was still on my own. The nurse gave me my watch, reading glasses, and mobile phone, and I immediately called my wife and then my friend at work to let them both know I was OK.

At 1:00pm I asked to get up for a walk, so they pinned the drainage bag to my gown, and pushing the drip-stand I had my first real walk. I was a little suprised to find my knees ached (I was told later that this is common, as during surgery, and mine lasted 2 hours, the position they put you in on the operating table is like the missionary position, with knees raised and I assume held in place in some sort of stirrups). I was still wearing those surgical stockings and they do make you rather hot and sweaty. After walking about 100m of corridor and back, I then settled down to write these notes.

The Professor came to visit about 3:30pm and told me I could have my first drink, just 50ml of water (that's about an inch in the bottom of one of those plastic water dispenser cups. He told that tomorrow I could have 4 x 50ml of drinks.

Had my first pee. I was expecting it to be bloody and to sting like hell, and I was not disappointed.

The day passed with walking the corridor, watching a little TV (some nature programs are OK as language is not always needed to enjoy them), doing some Chess and Sudoku on my tablet (so not entirely useless), another pee with less blood in it and stinging much less each time. Then rinse and repeat.

I later went into the en-suite bathroom, and took a camera-phone pic of my wounds. OMG! My hair!

Day after surgery, showing the six incisions, drainage bag, and my awful hair!

Later in the evening a nurse came and gave me another jab in my leg against thrombosis, and an hour later I switched off the light and hoped I could get some sleep.