.....It was a week ago today that I had my ACL operation. A week that has really flown by despite my lack of activity and mobility, maybe it's because the week has been unusual in that regard that has made it fly by?
So the operation last Friday was a success, I went in on the Thursday night and was first on the list for the Friday morning. On the Friday morning I met the consultant who, worryingly, drew on the leg that they were going to be operating on an arrow pointing to my left knee and wrote ACL.
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| This is the right leg er no it's the left |
Next up was the anaesthetist, a nice chap. He checked me over and listened to my chest. If he's not happy it doesn't happen. He gave me the all-clear and 20minutes later I was being wheeled down to theatre. Straight in and the anaesthetist was there with his greens on. He put something into my cannula to make me drowsy and that was me out. I barely remember him finishing.
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| No wonder i fainted |
Next thing I remember is waking up in the ward at about midday. I say waking up but I was out of it. Completely wasted. I phoned home to let them know I was still alive and still believed that I would be leaving hospital later that day. The rest of the day is a bit of a blur. I was hooked up to a sliding scale insulin and glucose drip and had oxygen being fed through my nose. I felt nauseous and was disorientated. I was also upset at how bad I felt. There was an old gentleman sat by my bed waiting for his op. He was chatting to me and I kept falling asleep. I had to keep apologising to him and reassuring him that he wasn't boring!
At 3 o'clock Sue and the kids came in. I was so desperate to see them. Unfortunately they were expecting to see me ready to leave to come home and what they were confronted with was a very different image. I was pale, hooked up to the drip and oxygen and as they came in just about to throw up. Poor Luca got very upset seeing me this way and had to go outside to compose himself. My being in hospital hit him the hardest, he really was stressed out about the whole thing and very upset.
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| Feeling bad |
Now more natural I started to feel better. It was obvious that there would be another night in hospital but I was definitely on the up.
I was meant to be working on Saturday morning, remotely, but that was not going to happen. Sue phoned work for me and then I followed up when they had left. Fortunately I have really good colleagues and one of them stepped up to the plate. Good man!
The kids stayed in with me for an hour or so then left for the evening. I was really sorry to see them go.
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| Pee-Pee Bottle |
Saturday morning I was up bright and early - why do they wake you up? Had breakfast and then via the Blackberry kept in touch with the work I was supposed to be doing. There were some minor glitches but ultimately it seemed to go very well! Cheers Dashers!
I then had to get out of bed - a couple of physio's came along. they had doubled up as had heard I was, and I quote, "...a little fainty..." - I had to point out that I had fainted once because of the pigs ear the guy had made with my cannula! I apologised in advance for being 'grungy' and also in case anything popped out as they lifted back the covers. I was still in my hospital gown and had not moved in more than a day. They helped me out of bed, everything stayed in, and I was to use my operated leg as it was "weight bearing".
On crutches they took me for a walk around the ward and to their rig where they had some practice apparatus. I had to practice going up and down stairs and using the crutches to manoeuvre. I was very nervous at the start but actually got moving pretty quickly.
Given the clear by them I managed a visit to the bathroom. Seems such a non-achievement but considering how I felt it was far from it.
The next step was an x-ray. Wheeled down in my bed my knee was x-rayed from a couple of angles. This was to make sure that the pins were in the correct position and everything was as it should be. they cannot check the ligament by x-ray as they do not show up - you'd need an expensive CAT Scan for that. I was still in bed waiting to be collected when I needed to go again. No one was around. The nurse came and I asked her to step on it so I could go. It was agony but fortunately I managed to hold on.
Back on the ward and feeling human and with some confidence I spent the morning on the ward chatting with the guy in the next bed and counting down to visiting time. I never thought I would miss and need my family like I did but man was I so desperate for them to come in. I have never needed them like I did over this couple of days. The chap in the next bed was a nice guy with some interesting tales to tell. as we were chatting it became apparent that I know (tenuously) his wife and daughter! His wife used to work in a department store and sold us a dinner service, we remembered her as she was so good and knew everything about the products! His daughter is a friend of a friend that we have seen on a few occasions and our kids are at the same school. Small world.
I came out on the Saturday afternoon. Sue and the kids came in at visiting with magazines and some decent food but within about 10mins of them arriving I was given the clear to go home. The only delay was that a doctor needed to see my x-ray and give me the all clear. As it was a Saturday and a busy one at that it took a bit of time to sort this and at one point looked like being delayed to the Sunday which would have meant another night in.
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| The Ward |
Once home it was the sofa where I stayed for the next 3-4weeks! I had exercises to be doing essentially around straightening the leg and getting mobility back. I was very nervous of doing these but quite quickly I could feel an improvement and my confidence growing. The worst pain was in my hamstring where they removed the graft to make the ligament. It felt like a tear which is exactly what it was/is. A couple of days on crutches and they were dispatched - my mobility around the house greatly improved (albeit slow).
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| Neat scar |
Everything else will be guided/led by the physio's.....
The hard work has started and continues....Happy New Year!
