I don't even know where to start. I am angry at myself for not doing this much earlier. Can't believe it's been over 3 months since I went in for surgery. And now I've got to recall everything, probably not as effectively as I could have a couple of months ago. So, firstly, I am deeply sorry for not writing earlier. I did come over and begin, a lot. I think it's just so much, I have kind of shied away, but not today. So here is the long, long, LONG overdue report, starting from the 6th of April 2013.
I woke up on the 6th of April, to get up and go to work for the last time. I hadn't said goodbye to most of my school friends, I hadn't really talked about the surgery, and so most of them weren't physically aware that I was going in to the hospital on Sunday, which, somewhat embarrassingly, is the way I liked it. Minimal fuss. I went offf to work after a sleep in for the last time for around four weeks. It felt a little bit surreal, I remember. I pretended like it was just a normal day at work, seeing one of my good friends in the shop and I didn't tell her it was finally the big day on Monday. We just had a chat and then she left and kept shopping as usual. Same went with my workmate, I came in, we had a chat about how the morning had gone, and she left. I don't know whether she realised that this would be the last time she would see me for a while, and I was not about to tell her. So that day, I didn't actually get any good lucks! When I came home from work, my Aunt and cousin were there, as my aunt was down for a concert with my mum. I showed them my pre op xrays and talked a bit about the surgery a bit, I could feel my cheeks going red talking about it, and still found the whole concept a bit embarrassing. That night I tested out my "new bed", which for me, just meant a few planks of wood slatted on the bottom to stop the bed from sagging. I thought this would make the bed less comfortable, but surprisingly, despite any nerves I might have had, I slept better than I had for months, having had pain and sleeping troubles leading up to the surgery. So definitely a top tip- any old planks of wood which reach the width of your bed make it as good as new if the mattress sags!!
A few days earlier, I had the occupational therapist, a lady who I frankly think had not much of a clue what she was talking about, not really knowing what I was about to go through, which irritated me a bit. She gave me some gear, like a shoe horn, a "grabber", a sock pulling-on device, and much to my embarrassment, a raised toilet seat. This sat covered by a sheet in the hallway for the entire time before I came home from the hospital.
Finally, the 7th of August - hospital admittance day - had come. I woke early, maybe about 8:30, and chucked on some running gear, ready for my last run for 6 months. There was a frost outside, and so after only two minutes my throat was swelling, my muscles were burning, and it took all my willpower to get to the halfway point. I eventually gave in, and walk-jogged home, just listening to my music and enjoying the peace and silence on the road early on a Sunday, barely anyone was out. Although the run didnt go that great, I was kind of happy about it, because I figured I wouldn't miss it so much because my last one wasn't enjoyable anyway. Maybe that worked to start with, but 3 months post-op, i'm chomping at the bit!! So, I got home and had a shower, put on some comfy pants and a hoody, nike scuffs at the door ready and waiting. I said goodbye to my aunty as she got up and headed home around 11:00am, wishing me luck for the surgery, and promising a visit sometime soon. I was being admitted to the hospital at 3:00pm, so after finishing packing my bag for the hospital, checking off the list I made with help from online forums like www.scoliosis-support.org, youtube videos, and just things I wanted to take, checking the list a few more times, I spent the last half an hour at home attached to my guitar, playing all the songs I knew constantly, trying to get as much as I could in. Finally, it was time to go and meet two of my friends at starbucks at 2:00. I headed into town - in home clothes (Embarrassing!!!), and got my favourite drink cookie crumble frappachino. Even then, an hour before being addmittted to the hospital, I wasn't nervous, in fact, I was actually a bit excited. To my delight, I got some good luck presents! From one friend, some amazing body shop body butter, which has the longest lasting scent EVER, and from my other friend, a gorgeous little bird necklace, which I was instructed to not take off, for good luck. To be honest, my friends were a lot more worried than me when we said goodbye, and I walked over to the hospital which is five minutes walk from the centre of town. I was supposed to meet my mum there at 2:45, and I turned up at around 2:55, so I was stressing a fair bit. Then, sending me into a panic, mum was not where I was supposed to meet, her, not at any of the doors, not even at the Ortho clinic which is where I always go. The clinic was closed, it was dark and eerie, which freaked me out too. Almost in tears and 10 minutes late to being admitted, I went to the front reception and asked if there was a phone anywhere. The lady was pretty distant and unhelpful, not giving a real answer, and eventually let me phone my home phone, not my mum's cellphone. Halfway through slamming down the numbers, my sister rushed around the corner. Thanking the woman and walking away, I tried hard as I could to keep myself from crying as my mum, sister and I finally went up to be admitted at the ward. A bit stressful, but only because I wanted the whole thing to go as smoothly as possible, and still, no nerves! I was very lucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment