Surgery at any time is pretty traumatic but surgery in COVID conditions is downright terrifying as you feel like there are a million and one extra variables that could throw things for a curve ball.
I had my COVID test (negative, thankfully) a couple of days before the operation and then it was a case of waiting until op day. A 5 am start, in the hospital by 7 and done and dusted by half past two in the afternoon. The first time I've had a major op, the first time I've had anything removed, and the first time I've been properly 'under'.
After nearly a year of being in and out of hospital, and in and out of doctor's surgeries, I've learned a few things...
1) I'm allergic to the sticky on plasters. Particularly the extra sticky stuff they used to hold my canulas in
2) Anyone can now stick me with a needle and I won't bat an eyelid. I've had it done so many times that even if someone sticks one in the back of my hand (which is a horrible place to have a canula) I just blink and get it over with. As for injections, pah, not even worth a wince.
3) Major abdominal surgery hurts like heck. Well duh! Having four entry points in your abdomen takes a bit of getting used to. My beautiful belly button is a hideous wreck, but the other tiny little holes / scars aren't too bad. Slightly embarrassed that they had to shave my tummy though, yipes!
4) Not being able to shower for 48 hours was horrible but maaaan my bath this morning felt great.
5) The first thing I ate when I came round was a cheese sandwich, a banana and a packet of bourbon biscuits. As strange as it sounds, this was the best sandwich I'd ever eaten. Being able to eat cheese again without going through chronic pain was...quite frankly...amazing. Since then my wonderful mother in law has come up with a selection of cheeses for me to scoff at my leisure and god, if there was one thing I hadn't realised I'd missed so much it was blue cheese. Stuff of the gods, and probably one solid reason why I'd never be able to turn vegan.
6) My in-laws are incredible. Jeff and Angela took me to hospital / brought me back and have been helping us with our grocery shopping during this tough year. I'll never be able to thank them enough for all they've done for us this year and feel such a mixture of guilt and gratitude. Guilt because we should really be the ones looking after them, not the other way around, and huge gratitude at their generosity and thoughtfulness.
7) My wife and daughter have gone through the mill with all this. Now it's over, I still have to rely on them to do things around the house I would normally do and I can't wait for that to be over. Being cared for when you're so used to being a carer is really hard, way harder than I thought it would be but they are reining me in and keeping me from trying to rush back into things
8) I miss my workouts!
9) Before I went into hospital I was 10 st 6. When I came out the same day I was 10st 11 (mostly fluid retention) and it's dropping daily (today I'm 10st 9). Bodies are so weird!
10) The NHS are amazing. All the staff in the hospital were awesome particularly the nurses and the anaesthetists who looked after me, calmed me down and addressed my anxieties. It feels like the theme of this year to say this again and again, the NHS is worth protecting because the alternative really doesn't bear thinking about.
11) Last but by no means least, after a lifetime of avoiding doctors or anything medical, and with there still being a weird question hanging over my health about my liver inflammation (I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't eat meat so what the hell?!) it's a valuable lesson that when you think you're out of the woods, you still can't take your health for granted but we'll see what's to come next. Whatever it is, after the year I've had, I'm ready to fight - and fight hard - to be properly healthy again.
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