Surgery

So it’s the morning on Saturday 11^th September 2010 and I am up early, as today I will be travelling from my home in Leeds to The Hampshire Clinic, Basingstoke to prepare for surgery on Monday.

Sean and Jo are taking me down by car with Saranne their daughter and we are meeting my at the VW dealership near Elland Road as I am leaving my car in storage. I am not really a MacDonald’s fan but a bacon muffin and latte sounded good.

The journey down was fine and we arrived at the Clinic shortly before 16:00. On arrival I joked with the receptionist that I had a reservation for 14 nights…just like a holiday and I was escorted to my room on the 1^st floor by the nurses station, with the only name on the door being that of my Consultant Surgeon “Mr Brendan Moran”.

Forms completed, bloods, weight and height taken it was now time for my tea which consisted a beef extract, black coffee and green jelly…in fact it seems that chef was a fan of green jelly as that was the one and only flavour on the agenda.

On Sunday Brendan popped in to say hello and to make sure that I was comfortable and to answer any pending questions. Sean  & Jo were great and extremely supportive from day 1. For Saranne it was an adventure and she kept the nursing team entertained for days.  Mr Wilson my anaesthetist cam in to see me and we discussed pain control options and decided on an epidural being the best option.

That evening my stoma nurse arrived to measure me up for where the stoma is to be positioned. This was also the first time that I saw a Colostomy Bag and the nurse provided a demonstration as to how one manages it. This was too much, as within 24 hours I would be doing this for real.

14:30 is my scheduled time for surgery and having completed all my pre surgery prep activities, its not long before I take the walk down the corridor to theatre saying good bye to Sean, Jo & Saranne.

I was in surgery for just over 3.5 hours and at around 19:00 I awake in the high dependency unit. I have my own nurse and of course the first thing I ask was how did it go…a success I am told and during the 3.5 hrs I lost no blood and am told that Mr Moran is extremely pleased with how things went, which put a smile on my face.

I don’t really remember much more about the 18 hrs I spent in the unit. Jo & Sean came into to see me and that pleased me lots. As I was in Basingstoke some 200 miles from Leeds there support was amazing and they were each allowed 10 min with me. Sean then went off to call my mum and text friends and colleagues of my progress.

Once back in my room, I am stating to come round a little more and the realisation of it all kicks in. I have a central line in my neck that is hooked up to a machine to administer morphine. In addition I have a chest drain, a catheter, a line for fluids, a nasogastric tube which goes down my nose to stop me from being sick and of course my stoma…….which I did not look at for a good few days. 32 staples down my chest from the bottom of my rib cage to my abdomen.

The next few days had its up and down’s and I think it was early Wednesday when I got out of bed for a brief walk to the bathroom. It was then that I saw my stoma for the first time and I was assisted by my stoma nurse in how to manage it. It was probably Sunday before I had the courage to go alone.

Sean & Jo left late on Tuesday for their journey back to Wakefield and late Wednesday I was feeling really down. I spoke to Sean that evening and unknown to me on Thursday evening Sean was back in Basingstoke and I was so please to see him. I think the change in drug management was part of it and also the reality that it was going to take some time for me to recover from this ordeal.

My First Meal Post Surgery

The only issue I had post surgery was hick up’s. Imagine 32 staples and hick up’s….not a great combination…and we tried every remedy and old wives tails going…for over 10 days before the house doctor found a tablet that finally worked. Brendan joked as he had never experienced anything like it before in all of his years. I think it was Thursday before I was allowed to have a light meal. Scrambled eggs on toast with fruit was my first meal, shortly followed that day by pasta. Having not eaten for some days, it was like having a birthday meal…..

By the weekend most of the tubes had been removed with the exception of my central line and catheter, which were, both removed on the Saturday. Sean Melvin was the first visitor to come and see me and it was great to catch up. Then Gavin arrived and stayed with me until lunchtime on Sunday. By Sunday I was more mobile and was walking up and down stairs. Mum was being brought down by Kathryn and Aunty Kathleen and they arrive dust before 14;00. I met them all in the car park and they were amazed to see me up and about.

It was during week 2 when Mr Mohamed one of Brendan’s team came into see me to discuss the events post surgery. When they took the tumour out they found one glowing lymph node and it is at this point that I am told that I had stage 3 Cancer. Their recommendation was for me to have some aggressive Chemo and they write to my oncologist with their findings. This will mean that I will probably have to keen my stoma for at least 6 months.

Sean and his brother Pete came that Sunday to take me home and I was so pleased to leave so that I could be back at home with family and friends. In total I had stayed some 15 nights at The Hampshire Clinic and the whole experience was one that will never leave me. From the surgical to the nursing teams and also all the guys behind the scenes, I cannot thank them enough for the care and support they provide me during my stay.