Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Post Surgery

Everything went well at the hospital last Friday. Went in around 7 for all the paperwork and pre-op stuff and my neurosurgeon came in and spoke to me before the procedure so that was a little bit of a surprise then I finally arrived at the theater around 11. All the nurses were very cool and helpful. It was a little scary getting the canulae (IV) as the needle they use is quite large. But other than that it wasn't too bad... just some wires and brain wave monitor. It took me about 20 seconds then I was out.

Remember waking up briefly as they wheeled me down to the recovery room and finally woke up around 3pm or so. Called my mum to tell here I was ok and that everything went as planned...then back to sleep for a few hours. Woke up for the wonderful dinner which I couldn't eat due to the anaesthetic as any time I tried to take a bite I would get nauseous but I'm sure it wasn't worth eating anyways.

There wasn't a whole lot of pain. I had a morphine button I could press anytime I needed it so I was good. But as I found out later in the night...I don't like morphine. I would get up and walk around but the morphine made me almost weak and shaky. So balancing myself with a cut up back, the IV holder and walking was quite a chore. Around 11 pm I decided to stop giving myself the morphine and then I was able to get around ok after that.

I didn't get any sleep as the other three guys in the room would snore all night or pass wind. Either or both or sometimes at the same time. Lots of fun. Plus the nurses came in every 2 hours to check my pulse, temperature and blood pressure. So I got maybe 4 hours total over the night.

Needless to say I was glad to get home around 12 and back to the house Saturday afternoon. I think I took a good 4 hours nap sometime during the day and just relaxed the rest of the day. It was good to have something to eat and be somewhere comfortable. I'm on pain killers in the meantime but find I don't really need them all that much. Just in the morning usually. As long as I don't bend or twist I'm good. Also doing a little Wii-hab but not too much as some of the games are a little too strenuous and might do more harm than good. At least I have a reason to play now.

Probably the worst part is that I can't lift anything. I'm not suppose to lift anything over 3kg or about 7 pounds. So I can't take out the recycle bin or the garbage and have to take my washings out to the line in separate groups instead of all at the same time. And I'll have to get someone to go with me to the grocery store as I can't lift the bags into the shopping trolley or into the car. And it's suppose to be like this for the next 6 weeks. Now I really feel old even more than I did before. Oh well.

Still looking for jobs but not hearing back too much. Hopefully soon. But I won't get my hopes up. So I'm looking to come back home around October or November if I don't hear anything in the next few months. I applied for my tourist visa so that I can stay a few more months and maybe head down to NZ on a side trip before I come back but it depends on how much cash I have left. We'll see.

Ok off to more job hunting and then a nap.

Cheers,
B.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Surgery Day

Yay, I'm scheduled to have my surgery sometime tomorrow. I'm looking forward to having the pain gone in my hip. But the not eating for a day is probably going to be the worst part. But at least it will be over with. Wish me luck. My doc said it will be about a 4 week recovery period before I can go back to work. I should not have a problem with that as I can't find a job. If I can't find something soon I might have to look a little harder for something back in the States eventhough I would really love to stay down here. We'll see. It would be nice to spend the summer here instead of the lovely winter back in the states. And I'll miss all the cricket as well.

Just a short one today. I'll have another one after my surgery. Probably sometime next week. I'll put up a few more pictures for everyone to enjoy.

First Bounce





Cool ant that was very slow as she fell in the icy cold water.


Down here we have parrots (Galah) instead of pigeons or sea gulls on the soccer pitch.


Cheers,
B.