Surgery - eek!!!!

We got to the clinic for 8am and I was sent up to my own ensuite room - nicer than some hostels we've stayed in! They put me in a gown, wrapped my legs in compression bandages and put me on a drip. Anna was sent away and came back a couple of hours later to find me bored senseless, still waiting.

Just before midday they sent Anna away again, gave me a fetching hair net and plastic slippers and led me to the operating room - bum hanging out for all to see!

The anaesthesiologist starting talking about how he was going to stab me in the back which made me nervous but then they injected a sedative into the cannula and I went all woozy and don't remember much else.

I came round in my room, not being able to feel or move my lower body. It felt like twitchy leg syndrome without being able to shake your legs for relief - very uncomfortable. I fell asleep and when I woke up the horrible sensation was gone thankfully.

I needed the loo but couldn't get to the bathroom; the nurse didn't know what to do but eventually sent Anna out to buy me a giant nappy!! However, my bladder muscles must have been asleep so I couldn't go anyway. Anna went off to get some dinner and the nurse didn't check on me again.

After a while the pain from needing to pee was unbearable so I decided to see if I could walk as I had some feeling in my legs. Turns out I couldn't! I fell over and smacked my face on the floor! Luckily I hadn't pulled my cannula out, but couldn't get back up and fell over again. Due to the numbness I bounced well and didn't feel much. It did make me laugh (possibly somewhat hysterically) trying to get my floppy legs to work. Eventually I managed to pull myself back onto my bed and lay there feeling sorry for myself waiting for Anna to come back and rescue me.

When my knight in shining armour returned, my legs were just about back to normal and she helped me to the loo. After a long time, my bladder eventually woke up and the intense pain went away, only to be replaced by the pain in my bum as the anaesthetic wore off.

They gave me more drugs at 10pm but they didn't seem to help. I insisted Anna went home and lay in pain for ages. At midnight I asked for more drugs but the night nurse said I couldn't have anything else. I turned on the waterworks so he phoned the surgeon who said I could have some more so eventually the pain went down a little.

I didn't manage to get much sleep though. In the morning they inspected me, cleaned me up and then sent me home about 11am.

There was a bit of a welcoming committee back at the bungalows as we'd got to know a lot of people. One very lovely couple had gone searching high and low for flowers but couldn't find any so brought us a bag of fruit - she said she hadn't slept from worrying! (she also said she could feel my pain in her intestine as she was a healer!!).Read more