Last Thursday I was admitted to The Avenue Hospital for my screw removal surgery with Jit Balakumar. Leading up to the surgery I was surprisingly calm, almost looking forward to getting in and having the procedure done. It is funny how things can change so much purely from past experience and knowing what to expect. I remember back to 7 years ago before my first hip surgery - I was terrified. Waiting for my surgeon I felt like I was going to be sick, so scared because I didn't know what what going to happen. This time around for my 4th hip surgery it was like going through the motions- fast from 7am (which is always a struggle as I love my food and continuously graze throughout the day), arrive at hospital to go through the pre-admission paper work and the financial side of things, get admitted where the nurse runs through your forms and takes baseline measures of heart rate and blood pressure etc.. and then they come and take me through to the waiting bay ready for my anaesthetist and surgeon to chat to me.
From behind the curtains of the waiting bay pops in a familiar face.. It is my anaesthetist Doron who was also my anaesthetist for my PAO surgery. He asked me about my last experience with a general anaesthetic and I informed him about my body's tendency to get "clogged up" as a result of the GA but also from the analgesic medications. He informed me that he would administer something along with the anaesthetic which should help prevent that this time. Like a well oiled machine as soon as Doron is done talking to me in pops me surgeon - Jit. As per usual he has a friendly smile on his face which automatically makes me feel further at ease. I was keen to ask whether he was going to go through the same scar as the PAO or if a new inscision was needed. He told me that he would only need to use the top half of the PAO scar due to the position of my screws in my ilium. I was happy to hear this as I think I have enough scars as it is already!!
For this surgery I was wheeled into the theatre where I transferred onto the operating table prior to being put to sleep. As I woke I could feel my body trembling, one of the side effects I experience after a general anaesthetic. I remember my surgeon coming to talk to me about how my surgey went however I cannot remember what he said, and more frightening I cant remember what I said!
That evening my family made the trek into the hospital to visit. My hip was feeling great - tender to touch and covered with dressings. I on the other hand was tired and felt lethargic. My blood pressure was very low and I was encouraged to drink a lot of water that night. The only problem with increased fluids is the increased number of times I had to buzz the nurse for the pan.. not the most elegant parts of being in hospital!! I was discharged the following morning after being visited by the physio and given the all clear to mobilise.
Still feeling nauseous, the car ride back to my dad's place near by felt like a journey across Australia. I was glad to get into bed and stay there all day. That evening I returned home via another painful car trip to my husband who was ready to once again look after me. He is definitely up for Husband of the year award - again having to put up with me and my moods after surgery, especially being that we have only been married for 6months!! I came to the realisation that I do "pain" ok but im not very good at "sickness". I am not looking forward to the day I become pregnant and have morning sickness!!
I spent most of the weekend lying in bed due to the fact that every time I sat up for too long the world would start spinning. It took a few days for my blood pressure to return to normal and gradually I have been able to do more. Throughout the past week my hip has not bothered me much - occasionally I have felt tender through the operation site and I am lacking the final degrees of flexion due to this tenderness however it has only been a week so I'm not expecting a miracle. I have managed to work this week however I have been conscious not to over do it and take rests as I need to. I have a post operative appointment with my surgeon on Wednesday where the stitches will be removed.
