When I had a stiff neck I was comfortable. Perhaps, like a stiff back or joint, its nature's way of preventing distress. As the movement returned the discomfort increased with it until the movement was free and time had healed it. The same can be applied to my surgery wound. When it was swollen and tense it was numb and it is only now that the tissues are soft that I can feel the deeper bruising. That hurts more than it did at any previous time. If I don't poke it, it doesn't hurt but it is there and I know it is and I can't see it behind my ear so I go exploring! I must learn to keep my sticky fingers away but I can feel the bump now. The generalised internal bruising (not visible) is now being recycled, leaving my face soft and natural again, as is my scalp.
The natural free movement of my head still brings about an instant, short lived resettlement of my eyes. I don't think of this as dizziness. It's more like learning to adjust to new vari-focal glasses that need specific viewing angles to work best. My tinnitus is now back to its normal low key whistle on both sides. This is easy to ignore with conversation or louder background sounds through my, struggling but working, hearing-aid on the opposite side.
Feeling good, I forgot myself and bent down in the garden which made me light headed and wobbly.
I didn't really want to do that!
So how could I have done it differently?
Well, of course, it went so well that perhaps I could not have done it better, so differently perhaps. On reflection there is always something, so here are my suggestions.
Firstly, do your homework. The advice given out cannot be specific because we are all different, which makes it repetitive and formulative. What we get is statistically likely, the things that people report over the years adding to the database of possibilities. At least that means we are not taken by surprise and their impact is less if we expect it.
What we don't get (without a lot of deep searching) is the unofficial line and that is probably a good thing. Some of the problems can be very nasty to endure and last a long time. I am happy to say they are, nowadays, few and far between so I will not dwell on them here.
This is my take on what I did for what happened to me, when it happened and if it worked. The emphasis will be different for others but there is a common theme with some variables. This may help to prepare those who are unsure of what to expect and want to be prepared, realistically, for what may happen. Those most likely things rather than the obscure.
In no particular order:
Medication.
Take the pain relief offered at night even if you feel none or just minor discomfort at the time. Few people are at their best in the early hours and even small levels of discomfort can prevent sleep and leave a disturbed night. What you might ignore at three in the afternoon can feel much worse at three in the morning.
Dry mouth.
Combined with a sore throat this is common, often made worst by oxygen masks. It can be a big problem if it stops you swallowing and you may choke on food that won't go down. Choose fruit or wet foods rather than bread, potatoes (mash or chips) etc. and use plenty of sauce or gravy with the vegetables. Fruit juice is nice but it leaves your mouth with an unpleasant coating that needs water to wash it away. Perhaps water is best from the start.
Yogurt with fruit for breakfast not cornflakes or porridge unless you have lots of milk with it. Mine lasted so long that I used Saliveze artificial saliva to help out for a while. Talking adds to the dryness too, so;
Communication.
Use a note-book to be sure of instructions and information given to you. Ask for questions to be written down because it saves headaches when trying so hard to concentrate without hearing properly. It gives a record to show others if there is doubt later about mis-hearing.
Glasses and hearing-aids.
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| Peeper Keepers |
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| foam tubes |
I used fabric pull tight holders to enable my glasses to fit over the large bandage and one ear. The adjuster needed to be to one side to rest my head back comfortably. For later a cushioned tube helped cover the arm near the wound.
Bear in mind that if you have a hearing-aid to use (on the other side) swelling of the head may make the molds temporarily sore. You may prefer to be completely deaf for a couple of days and that notebook will be well used.
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| gripper socks |
These were given to me but you may want to supply your own. They add confidence to uncertain steps and are safe on hard polished, and sometimes wet, hospital floors. If you prefer your own slippers be sure they have good gripping soles and bear in mind that bending down to put them on can make you dizzy.
Exercise.
Walk about, even though the excuse to be in a comfortable bed most of the day is wonderful. Nurses cannot always come with you or follow you at busy times like morning admissions and ward rounds.
Ask before doing and again if in any doubt before setting off.
Until proven safe, be sure to let them know where you are going. Get out of bed slowly and sit on the edge. Plant your feet firmly and get up, test the feeling and if all is well walk slowly and be vigilant so that people and things don't bump into you. Take your time, have a stretch but don't bend down, bend at the knees instead.
Travelling home.
You may be carefully attended to but on the way home you can meet problems you were not expecting. Exhaustion, fatigue or lack of stamina makes carrying or pulling your bags on the way out much harder than on the way in.
You can't do it alone, make sure plans are made well in advance to avoid last minute problems and if you live a long way away from the hospital, consider a hotel for the first night out so that the minimum journey is necessary. A taxi ride may be best. If, during the night, there are problems or in the morning there are questions you forgot to ask, you can easily go back to the hospital and deal with it while you are still close.
I hope this goes a little way towards making this momentous step forward as uneventful as possible. No one wants to be an expert surgical patient by getting too much experience in hospitals so let it be someone else's experience.
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