Since I am now down to one hand for the next several weeks, I will give you a brief update of what's been happening since I had my shoulder surgery on Friday 13th of July 2012.
Surgery kicked off at about 9:45 in the morning on Friday 13th of July. I was in theatre for approximately an hour and a quarter. The surgery went very well and the surgeon told me later that day that he was very pleased with how the operation went. I had minimal pain that day because I had a nerve block which was inserted through the right side of my neck. My right hand and arm were completely numb until this wore off just after midnight on Friday 13th of July.
Unfortunately Saturday was not a good day for me. I was absolutely chock-full of opiates which make me extremely sick. I straddled with pain relief all day Saturday and Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Nursing staff were uncooperative at best, did not really wish to help me solve my pain problems, and I struggled to get ice packs all that day and night.
I was rather unceremoniously kicked out of hospital on Sunday morning and sent home. I had issues with the pain relief that the pharmacist was trying to get me, but this was to do with the change in my medication on the Saturday as I was so sick. I finally got the correct pain relief, however they did not complete discharge procedures correctly and I was not offered any support at home. This was very disappointing to me, it was a situation I had worked very hard to avoid.
I have now been home since late Sunday morning. Because I had done a lot of cooking and preprepared meals and froze them, I have been able to feed myself quite adequately. I have become an expert at making "one arm porridge". I am also very good at making coffees with one arm, although I am too scared to fill the kettle all the way in case I drop and burn myself. The home help and attendant Care that I had arranged weeks ago through WorkCover has come through and has been absolutely invaluable and assisting me to remain independent and in my Own house.
As I am using dictation, it is very difficult for me to get my words down correctly. The phone does not really like my hybrid Kiwi-Aussie accent and it is causing dramas. Once I am able to type I will definitely fill you in more.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Surgery Week
It's surgery week. On Friday this week (yes, Friday the 13th) I am finally having my shoulder reconstruction surgery. One year, two months and 28 days after the accident at work that busted my shoulder.
This process and the unreasonably lengthy wait for surgery have taught me many things. My pearls of wisdom are below.
The only person that truly has your back is yourself - closely followed by your BFF. I bet that the person who could have cut down on the time I've been waiting for surgery by actually doing their job and the paperwork that would have expedited the process 14 months and 28 days ago won't a) visit me in hospital, b) care that I'm having surgery or c) even wish me well on the road to recovery. I'm still very disappointed that I trusted this person. Oh well, lesson learned, move on! Ps I'm un-friending them on Facebook today. Whatever. YOLO.
Organisation and planning and preparation prevents a veritable tonne of frustration post-op. I consider myself to be extremely well prepared for the aftermath - meals cooked and frozen in portioned containers, paper plates and plastic cutlery, mugs with lids, a long-arm reacher, front-opening bras (sorry boys, TMI, I know!), clothes that are easy to put on with one arm, light but warm blankets and doonas on the bed, elastic lace locks for my shoes, electric toothbrush - etc.
Of course, there will inevitably be stuff I've forgotten about. But I'll deal with that later. At least with a long arm reacher in the house, if I drop anything on the floor it won't be sacrificed to the floor gods now.
Side-splitting comedies and dance flicks are not good to have on your iPad post-op. Fits of laughter will result in pain, and dance flicks will result in attempts to boogie in the bed and chair, which will result in pain.
Making sure you have entertainment for the hours you will be spending alone in hospital with only beeping machines and overworked nurses for company is imperative. Poor nurses. I'm converting my movies into an iPad-friendly format as I type. Obviously not the funny or dance ones. More stuff like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The Bucket List, etc, is required.
That's about it. I'm sure I'll be far more amusing next week on painkillers, using Dragon dictation for blog posts, seeing as I won't be able to write, type or use my right hand properly for weeks. Did I mention I'm right-handed. Oh yes...that's another little challenge to deal with!
This process and the unreasonably lengthy wait for surgery have taught me many things. My pearls of wisdom are below.
The only person that truly has your back is yourself - closely followed by your BFF. I bet that the person who could have cut down on the time I've been waiting for surgery by actually doing their job and the paperwork that would have expedited the process 14 months and 28 days ago won't a) visit me in hospital, b) care that I'm having surgery or c) even wish me well on the road to recovery. I'm still very disappointed that I trusted this person. Oh well, lesson learned, move on! Ps I'm un-friending them on Facebook today. Whatever. YOLO.
Organisation and planning and preparation prevents a veritable tonne of frustration post-op. I consider myself to be extremely well prepared for the aftermath - meals cooked and frozen in portioned containers, paper plates and plastic cutlery, mugs with lids, a long-arm reacher, front-opening bras (sorry boys, TMI, I know!), clothes that are easy to put on with one arm, light but warm blankets and doonas on the bed, elastic lace locks for my shoes, electric toothbrush - etc.
Of course, there will inevitably be stuff I've forgotten about. But I'll deal with that later. At least with a long arm reacher in the house, if I drop anything on the floor it won't be sacrificed to the floor gods now.
Side-splitting comedies and dance flicks are not good to have on your iPad post-op. Fits of laughter will result in pain, and dance flicks will result in attempts to boogie in the bed and chair, which will result in pain.
Making sure you have entertainment for the hours you will be spending alone in hospital with only beeping machines and overworked nurses for company is imperative. Poor nurses. I'm converting my movies into an iPad-friendly format as I type. Obviously not the funny or dance ones. More stuff like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The Bucket List, etc, is required.
That's about it. I'm sure I'll be far more amusing next week on painkillers, using Dragon dictation for blog posts, seeing as I won't be able to write, type or use my right hand properly for weeks. Did I mention I'm right-handed. Oh yes...that's another little challenge to deal with!
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