In the leading days to my surgery I put in some very long days in the studio in preparation for 19 days off. Thankfully I have some wonderfully understanding clients who may actually be relieved to not see me for a while after a few tough sessions. At this point I have done all that I can to keep my legs strong and sizeable in preparation to have them disappear in just days. Mentally and physically I was ready, just don’t get me started about coverage of private health insurance!
I was admitted to hospital for three nights of which I initially questioned. Only to find out that it was due to pain management and reduction of possible infection. It was at this point I realised this operation was next level compared to last one. Be prepared for some pain.
My hospital experience was memorable to say the least. The joys of having such intrusive surgery meant that I got to have a spinal anaesthesia numbing everything from the waist down. So quicker than I could blink an eye it was all over and I was placed in recovery. At this point feeling rather drunk on strong pain killers I was lulled into a moment of “well that was easy”. I was wheeled back to my hospital bed where my roommate applauded my return, a lovely lady from the country who had a similar procedure to me the day before. With tubes and drip lines having been inserted whilst under anaesthetic, I quickly realised that I had a catheter. Not having had one of these before I was intrigued. A few hours later a nurse visited to check my vitals and asked if I was comfortable. Under the medicated influence I mentioned that my thigh felt a bit sweaty. Only then did we realise that the catheter had disconnected and that I had fundamentally wet the bed. I was mortified! Huge credit goes to the nurse though who magically changed the fitted sheet with me still in bed. Amazing skills!
After a tough night of broken sleep, the next day my surgeon visited and said the operation was a success and that my knee should be as good as new. Let’s hope so! I had the catheter fully removed and it was time to test getting out of bed to use the toilet and have a much needed shower. Using the walking frame I managed to achieve both but the pain was now starting to intensify. Showering wasn’t such an issue but the toilet offered a whole new challenge. Without being able to bend my right knee I could only awkwardly sit on a raised toilet seat frame but needed to lean back slightly. Given there was a gap between the frame and actual toilet seat as I relieved myself I suddenly felt my foot getting wet. Are you serious? I can’t even aim into the bowl! As I climbed off the seat and exited the bathroom red faced I mentioned quietly to the nurse what had happened only to hear my roommate yell out “ah don’t worry about it love, once the catheter is taken out you’re all crooked anyway, no chance of aiming straight”.
I’m ten days post-surgery now, and my recovery is going much slower than I anticipated. I’ve experienced the highs and lows of getting through the early stages off heavy pain killers and am making quite a body dent into the couch as I watch trashy tv and doze in and out. Plenty of cuddles from our cat is definitely helping as is lots of messages and visitors. Tomorrow I get to remove the dressing and get first look at my big scar. Looking forward to seeing how it is healing. Until then I’ll nibble the ears off my Lindt bunny and get back to watching some episodes of Survivor. Happy Easter.
