Take two...

Playlist
Brian Eno – The Drop
James – Whiplash
David Bowie - Outside
Eno/Wobble – Spinner
Passengers - Original Soundtracks 1
Various - Jukebox Shuffleplay

Back to the infirmary today and it was a successful visit – and so it’s taking a while to type this...



Arrived at 7:30 and seen by a Staff Nurse at 7:45 – unfortunately they’d lost the folder I’d been reading last Tuesday with all my pre-op notes in it and so we had to through it all again...

Around an hour later, a meet with the anaesthetist, again going over all the questions I’d answered last week...

And, to keep my mind occupied while I waited, I re-read Brian Eno’s diary again, this time making it through from January to March...

On the Jukebox, I selected the albums he was working on in 1995, the year in which the diary was written...

A quick chat with the surgeon and I signed the consent form – I tried to raise the issue of the pins and needles in my arm but he said “let’s just deal with this operation first” so I left it at that....

To theatre at 10:30 and I wish I’d been able to take my camera to capture the sight of me in disposable slippers and hat with my disposable dressing gown on the wrong way round over my less than flattering robe...

Wheeled along to the anaesthetist’s room where, unlike last year, he was able to inject a blocker into my neck, having first located the nerve that made my arm jump up and down...

Next thing I knew I was in Recovery and, for some inexplicable reason, asking the nurse about Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band?!?...

It was 1:45...

There was not too much pain as I came round. My entire right arm and shoulder were numb from the blocker...

Snoozed on and off while I waited for the drip to empty into the back of my hand...

I had the best toast in the world (ever) then the surgeon came round and confirmed the operation had been a success...

I struggled to get dressed and had to prove I could pee under my own steam (so to speak) before being seen by the Physio...

I received a variety of painkillers as Anne arrived around 5:45 to take me home...

Still remarkably little pain – although by now I’d had one full dose of the drugs and the blocker still had around six hours to go until it wore off...

I had an insatiable urge for fish and chips and so we stopped off at the Bar-B-Q chippie on the way home..

Watched two episodes of Corrie and a programme on Shared Appreciation Mortgages then caught up with my e-mails and stuff while Anne watched “Doc Martin”. Ended the day with “University Challenge” and “Newsnight”...

However, upon retiring to bed, I found that if I lay down on my back or my “good” side (the only options), I couldn’t breathe – it was as if someone was kneeling full-force on my chest...

I tried sleeping sitting up whilst listening to the jukebox and was eventually able to lie flat at around 1:30, although I didn’t get much sleep as the pain started to kick in – so I listened on to the jukebox in shuffleplay mode...

Eventually, I couldn’t take anymore and got up at 4:28 am for more medication...

Highlight of the Day : Waking up in Recovery...