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Friday 9 October 2015

Anyone for a Game of Operation?

Well, they said they took out my gall bladder. I have no proof that they did. I cannot prove who they were, they all wore masks. I can't remember going under. I can't remember coming too. All I know is that I have some dressings on my stomach, a tube dripping blood into a bag and a helluva sore gut!


I'm sure they mucked up my internal clock though. My op was due for 11 in the morning, should have taken about an hour but it was well on in the afternoon before I became aware of the time. It must have been wrongly set. My dearly beloved visited me between 6 and 8 but exhaustion took me under as soon as she left and I dozed off. I remember making a conscious effort to get into a proper sleep about 11, I was really tired.

I think I had a really really long sleep as I woke up in darkness but with a glow of light in the corner behind my bedscreens. Dawn I thought, I couldn't see the ward clock but my phone led me to believe it was 7.40. Damn, I've missed my 6 am blood pressure test and the start of my timed drug regime. A second look at my phone suggested it was actually 1.40, you know a 1 is a slim 7. OK, back to sleep, that didn't work, I gave up trying at 5.30 and started to read my book as I knew they'd come for me at 6. They did.

They've let me home, took a box of chocolates as part payment, they didn't let me have my gall bladder or the gall stones. The only proof of the operation is a typed sheet of paper with some illegible signatures, the dressings on my belly and the pain.

And we didn't win the footie!





17 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Glad for the successful surgery. Hoping you get well soon.

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    2. Yes, the op was meant to be a quickie, one hour. home later the same day.

      It took a good bit longer and I had to stay overnight.

      It's pretty painful.

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  2. Hope you are back on your feet soon , Tony

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    1. That's the main target at the moment.

      Can't drive until I can do an emergency stop!

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  3. Jim take care and hopefully see you at Kirrie.

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    1. That's the main target at the moment.

      Can't drive until I can do an emergency stop!

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  4. Sounds like all went well! - after an abdo op, don't be too surprised if you feel weary for quite a long time, its a common post op symptom. I think they will have given you advice on analgesia, don't be afraid to take them!
    Post op pain tends to drop off after a few days, and become an ache or mild discomfort.
    Hope you are feeling excellent again very soon!

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    1. The surgeon said the gall bladder wasn't as inflamed as he expected but it was very well attached so had to cut a lot more than normal producing more blood loss than normal, not enough to warrant a transfusion though.

      Getting up from a soft chair is a challenge. Coughing is painful and since I am asthmatic I have to clear my throat from time to time.

      They've given me plenty of paracetamol and some Dihydrocodeine to back it up if need be.

      I don't really need to drive until second weekend in November, the Kirriemuir show.

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  5. At least they left your sense of humour intact it seems! Did you hear any of them shouting "once more into the breach"?
    I hope you feel better soon!

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    1. Nope but I had a chat with one of the surgical team in the pre-op room. She looked awfully young and I said this is not your first op is it? Yes, she said and just smiled.

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  6. Ask for proof, you need to see a gall bladder in a jar and the smell of formaldehyde.

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    1. The surgeon thought my gall bladder was unremarkable, just well attached.

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  7. Get well soon. Just don't buy haggis within a 15 mile radius of the hospital.

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    1. I get all my haggises specially imported from the free province of Inversnecky. I particularly like the free range haggi netted on a northern slope in either Spring or Autumn.

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