Friday, 23 May
I'll tell you what was done in surgery in just a while. (You can skip to that part - it is at the end of my day's activities).
I woke up all groggy. I had an apparatus where I had to push a button every time I felt a lot of pain. Within a day the bag was empty and I requested a new one. They refused and said I only get one. Only later (a few DAYS later) did they inform me it was morphine. If I had known THAT I would have restraint myself much more! Not that I could get an overdose, as the machine would only give a certain amount every few minutes, but wow, I would have endured some pain for a while to feel happy later. Haha.
My dad, after sleeping in a chair, went home later the morning. I was sleeping the whole time. I had a catheter and a tube down my nose to drain my stomach. As I didn't swallow, I was quite fine with that. The catheter was heavenly as well - do you know how nice it is not having to get up to pee the whole time??
Of course us CFs HAVE to get our physio. And whether we get it or not, coughing is inevitable.
That was what killed me. Now I had this massive incision on my belly and every time I coughed it felt as if the stitches were ripping apart.
My physiotherapist came to give me physio and supported and held my everytime I had to cough. He was so nice. At some point I heard him talking to my dad, saying: "I would rather have this happening to lots of other people, not to her."
Later, when the surgeon asked how I was, I complained that I was very very hungry.
Okay... so the food. Let us talk about that for a while...
Now, usually the food is fantastic here at Linksfield! I order from the chef special menu. The food really is divine. Of course I knew I had to drink soup, but uhm - the soup I got was a clear, watery colour, only a bit more orange-yellow, and it tasted exactly like beef stock or chicken stock.
It wasn't bad! But hello, I am hungry.
Just to give you an idea: It is 5 days since the pain. I haven't yet had anything to eat, only fluids, and I still didn't go to the bathroom.
At night time Mom came again. The sisters and she gave me a bath: I had to lie down and they took a cloth and soap and wiped me all over, then dried me, and then rubbed a special blood-circulating lotion onto my limbs and back. I did not care about the fact that I was being touched and lying naked on a bed. At some point you just don't care.
Anyways, so then it was Mom's turn to sleep in the chair next to my bed. The sisters brought her a blanket as well and draped it over her nicely. So sweet.
---> Something I found out after being discharged from hospital:
So I just came back to this post to add this in. Mom and I were talking about everything and she asked if I felt any pain during my stay in ICU. I told her that I think my brain tries to cancel out everything because I cannot remember too well. But yes, there were some painful parts. But, for most of the time I was just too tired, so I slept through everything.
She then said that, at some point, my blood pressure was EXTREMELY low. The lowest was 90 over 45, (or lower). It was so low that my doctor refused to give me pain meds. Every time I complained about pain, they would say: "Okay, we'll get something for you," and then they would inject something like saline. I did not even notice that. Just shows you how powerful the brain really is: to cancel out pain just because you THINK you are having pain medication.
What happened during surgery?
Well, when I was 3 days old I was operated on because I had a blocked intestine. Three months later they had to operate again as the scar tissue from the first operation grew over and between my intestines which blocked and strangled everything. The scar tissue had to be removed.
Now, 21 years later it was the same thing.
This wasn't a problem that could have been detected on an Xray. Neither is it a CF related problem, as this is a thing that could happen to anyone who was operated on in the past. It was a good thing the surgeon cut me open. Also, to quote him: "I have never seen an inside like yours in my entire life!" (And he is on the older side).
NO WONDER it took him 3.5 hours fix me! He literally had to move from the one point of my intestine all the way through to the other, cutting away the scar tissue wrapped around everything. He also removed my appendix, saying: "I don't want anyone to cut you open again." (He is so cool! So smart.)
He also warned me that it would be a while before I could eat, as one's intestines are very sensitive to surgery and are paralysed after such an operation.They need a while to work again.
I'll tell you what was done in surgery in just a while. (You can skip to that part - it is at the end of my day's activities).
I woke up all groggy. I had an apparatus where I had to push a button every time I felt a lot of pain. Within a day the bag was empty and I requested a new one. They refused and said I only get one. Only later (a few DAYS later) did they inform me it was morphine. If I had known THAT I would have restraint myself much more! Not that I could get an overdose, as the machine would only give a certain amount every few minutes, but wow, I would have endured some pain for a while to feel happy later. Haha.
My dad, after sleeping in a chair, went home later the morning. I was sleeping the whole time. I had a catheter and a tube down my nose to drain my stomach. As I didn't swallow, I was quite fine with that. The catheter was heavenly as well - do you know how nice it is not having to get up to pee the whole time??
Of course us CFs HAVE to get our physio. And whether we get it or not, coughing is inevitable.
That was what killed me. Now I had this massive incision on my belly and every time I coughed it felt as if the stitches were ripping apart.
My physiotherapist came to give me physio and supported and held my everytime I had to cough. He was so nice. At some point I heard him talking to my dad, saying: "I would rather have this happening to lots of other people, not to her."
Later, when the surgeon asked how I was, I complained that I was very very hungry.
Okay... so the food. Let us talk about that for a while...
Now, usually the food is fantastic here at Linksfield! I order from the chef special menu. The food really is divine. Of course I knew I had to drink soup, but uhm - the soup I got was a clear, watery colour, only a bit more orange-yellow, and it tasted exactly like beef stock or chicken stock.
It wasn't bad! But hello, I am hungry.
Just to give you an idea: It is 5 days since the pain. I haven't yet had anything to eat, only fluids, and I still didn't go to the bathroom.
At night time Mom came again. The sisters and she gave me a bath: I had to lie down and they took a cloth and soap and wiped me all over, then dried me, and then rubbed a special blood-circulating lotion onto my limbs and back. I did not care about the fact that I was being touched and lying naked on a bed. At some point you just don't care.
Anyways, so then it was Mom's turn to sleep in the chair next to my bed. The sisters brought her a blanket as well and draped it over her nicely. So sweet.
---> Something I found out after being discharged from hospital:
So I just came back to this post to add this in. Mom and I were talking about everything and she asked if I felt any pain during my stay in ICU. I told her that I think my brain tries to cancel out everything because I cannot remember too well. But yes, there were some painful parts. But, for most of the time I was just too tired, so I slept through everything.
She then said that, at some point, my blood pressure was EXTREMELY low. The lowest was 90 over 45, (or lower). It was so low that my doctor refused to give me pain meds. Every time I complained about pain, they would say: "Okay, we'll get something for you," and then they would inject something like saline. I did not even notice that. Just shows you how powerful the brain really is: to cancel out pain just because you THINK you are having pain medication.
What happened during surgery?
Well, when I was 3 days old I was operated on because I had a blocked intestine. Three months later they had to operate again as the scar tissue from the first operation grew over and between my intestines which blocked and strangled everything. The scar tissue had to be removed.
Now, 21 years later it was the same thing.
This wasn't a problem that could have been detected on an Xray. Neither is it a CF related problem, as this is a thing that could happen to anyone who was operated on in the past. It was a good thing the surgeon cut me open. Also, to quote him: "I have never seen an inside like yours in my entire life!" (And he is on the older side).
NO WONDER it took him 3.5 hours fix me! He literally had to move from the one point of my intestine all the way through to the other, cutting away the scar tissue wrapped around everything. He also removed my appendix, saying: "I don't want anyone to cut you open again." (He is so cool! So smart.)
He also warned me that it would be a while before I could eat, as one's intestines are very sensitive to surgery and are paralysed after such an operation.They need a while to work again.
I believe, that You are strong and wise young person! God bless You and may He give You strength.
ReplyDeleteWith warm greetings from me - from Poland, Europe.
Thank you for your kind words, Zim. Amen :) Please feel free to read the rest of the story. I have completed each day's blog and everything is now posted.
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