To Hell and Background

It has been a heck of a ride! I have been through the wringer and come back. The trouble started on the 23rd of February. On that Sunday, we started the day as usual. I made us a McMary Sandwich, a copycat version of the McDonald’s McMuffin, which we have every Sunday with a side order of hash browns. We planned to go to Church as we do every Sunday. Around 9:30 I got this bloated feeling around my groin. I went to the bathroom, thinking it was wind or something. We went to church as normal but I kept getting this sharp pain around my groin area. When we got back home, I made some porridge, which Alex loves. My pain got worse and worse as the day went on. I also felt nauseous and couldn’t hold anything down. I also vomited a few times during Sunday evening. I thought it was due to my Endometrial Cancer. I didn’t sleep during the night. On Monday morning I rang the doctor. She said to come in straight away. The doctor examined my stomach and sent me to the hospital. alt text I was admitted to the Surgical Emergency Unit at the Radcliffe hospital. The surgeons examined me and to my horror, it wasn’t due to my Cancer but I had a Very Large hernia that was causing a blockage! They said it had to be operated on immediately. They suggested that they operate on it the following morning and gave me a suppository to try to calm the area. They also inserted a nasal gastric tube! I thought I’d die! It was so horrible! I gagged when the two nurses inserted it down my nose and into my oesophagus! I thought it was barbaric, but the surgeon said it was necessary for the operation because it stopped me from vomiting during the operation. I had to wear it until after the operation. The anesthesiologist came and explained the procedure. She said I would be given a spinal tap! I hook my head and told her that I have scoliosis and a spinal tap would hurt. The operation was very complicated. They worried about my excess weight, my asthma and my other chronic conditions. But the surgeon said it was a necessary operation. The anesthesiologist said that it was very very risky. She ran through the possible scenarios if I were given the anaesthetic. She said I could die during the operation. She said there was a possibility that the spinal tap could paralyze me from the waist down! The surgeons explained that it was a very complicated operation and it was possible they may need to put a colonoscopy bag if they couldn’t put my intestines back into such a small torso. That scared me! I asked the anesthesiologist if she could talk to the surgeon to postpone the operation. The surgeon came by a little while later and explained that it was necessary for me to have the surgery. He eased my mind when he said that the risks were only 20%. He said if I didn’t go through with the operation and went home, I’d probably be back in the hospital and it would be too late to do anything about it. My surgery went ahead on the 26 of February. They tried to give me a spinal tap, but when they got a picture of my spine on the screen, my scoliosis showed. My lower back was worse than ever. My spine was an S-shape with my lower back curved in an awkward position. The anesthesiologist ran her bony fingers up and down my spine and I screamed! The main anesthesiologist said to the other to forget about the spinal tap because of the state of my scoliosis and told me that my lower back was sore! They gave me local anaesthesia before putting me to sleep. I said to God: ‘’ Father, into your hand I commit my spirit!’‘ When I finally woke up I was in the Intensive Care Unit. They took me off the respirator. I never slept so well! The operation lasted 4 hours. It was a success. They didn’t need to put a colonoscopy bag, but they put two drains to drain the tissue fluids. I remained in ICU for four days! Alex was so scared! He was an angel! He came every day to see me. He said I looked so vulnerable lying there with all the tubes in. They finally removed the nasal gastric tube out the second day. It didn’t hurt as much as when they first put it in. After the fourth day at ICU, I was finally wheeled back to the regular ward. A young nurse came and tried to insert a catheter. I screamed when she inserted it! She tried three times but couldn’t get it in! One of the nurses asked me if I had children. Finally, one of the senior nurses came in and inserted it right. The catheter made me bleed! I did warn the young nurse that I have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and had a merino coil inserted! I was afraid that the coil might be shifted with the catheter. She asked me if I had my period. I said I was post-menopausal. The bleeding stopped a few days later. alt text I remained at the hospital until the 6th of March, a day before my birthday. They had removed one of my drains but the other had to be left on until all the fluid drained off. They gave me an ultimatum. Either I go home with the drain or stay at the hospital, but warned me it could take 6 weeks! I wanted to go home on my birthday so they discharged me on the 6th of March. I named the dreaded drain Side Show Bob, as in the character from the Simpsons, played by Kelsey Grammer (Fraiser). After the operation, the nurse weighed me. I lost 9 kilos! The surgeon said that the hernia was the size of a football! I was so over-joyed! I went into hospital weighing 86 Kilos and came out weighing 76 kilos! alt text I had to go back to the hospital to check the drain. I went to the Ambulatory Surgical Emergency Unit. My asthma flared up and I began coughing, as I normally do. The nurse at the SEU Ambulatory ward gave me the Covid19 test. It came out negative. I do not have a fever nor a sore throat. It’s just my allergic asthma. The drain took a month to finally drain before they could take it out. It was a slow process. I was getting sick of having to drag the bottle everywhere I went in the flat! It was like my sidekick! They finally took it out two weeks ago! I was so relieved! I spent my birthday sleeping half the day! Sue, my husband’s sister and her husband came to pick us up from the hospital. She gave me a present as did her daughter, Emma. Kim, Alex’s other sister came up just before we were all quarantined. She made me some cupcakes and gave me £20 inside a Birthday card. I couldn’t believe the things that occurred in the midst of the CoronaVirus. I received the Government letter telling me that I was at high risk if I got the Virus and to self-isolate for 12 weeks on March 23rd. I also am receiving free food parcels from the government until this Virus blows over! I’m so grateful! I’m so grateful, too, for all the surgeons and nurses who took care of me at the Radcliffe Hospital. It has been a complete ordeal. I’m convalescing at home now. There’s no pain, except for my normal aches and pains. I should be grateful to God for giving me another chance of life and pulling me through this ordeal. I’m finding this Covid19 surreal! I can’t wait for this nightmare to be over! It’s getting scary! It will be Autumn and beyond until this thing blows over.