Don’t worry, this is a planned visit
We had an early start today, as Heather needed to be at the hosptial by 7:30am. She was understandably nervous (as was I) and neither of us spoke much during the trip to Canterbury.
We arrived at the KCH just before 7:30am and made our way to the Clarke Ward where we were expected and were quickly moved into Side Room 6 (we believe this is because Heather has a history of MRSA). Elaine (whom we remembered from our previous visits) told us that Heather’s operation would be at around 10am.
At 8:20am, the anaesthesiologist and her consultant (whose name I can never get right) dropped by and filled us in about what was going to happen and answered any questions we had. Essentially, the kidney stones would be broken up by lasers and the stent would be removed. A catheter would be inserted to act as a temporary stent to allow the broken stones to be passed over the next 48 hours.
Just after 9am, Heather’s sister Nicky arrived to perform “babysitting” duties. Heather didn’t want me being on my own during her operation and Nicky offered to be with me during the morning. I took Heather downstairs for a pre-operative X-ray before returning to her room to get changed.
A porter came for her about 10.10am to take her to theatre, so Nicky and I took the opportunity to get a coffee and a banana (as neither of us had eaten much that morning – more than Heather I could say, who had been nil by mouth since the previous night). As we drank coffee, Nicky and I did some 11+ papers to pass the time. She gave me the Non-verbal reasoning exam (72 questions requiring logic skills). It was fun and it killed a good hour which would otherwise have been spent worrying.
At 12pm, we went back to the room and found that Heather had not yet returned, but it wasn’t long before her consultant popped his head around the door. He told us that it had all gone well and that Heather was in the recovery room and would return once she had woken up a bit. She took her time over it and didn’t make it back until 1:20pm. She was very groggy from the anaesthetic, but otherwise fine. So much better than last time when it took nearly three weeks before we could speak to her.
At 2:20pm, I had gone to get some lunch and returned to find the anaesthetist talking to Heather, praising her for the weight loss she has achieved so far, but urging her to continue. I thought “Give her a break, she’s just come out of surgery”. He was also concerned about her asthma and said he’d write to her GP about getting more regular medication for it.
Heather’s Mum arrived at 2:40pm after spending 20 minutes trying to find a parking space. The staff wanted to remove the canvas sheet from the bed, so Margaret and I went to get a coffee, where we chatted about the upcoming cruise among other things. We got back to Heather’s bedside about 3:36pm and found that she was out of the surgical gown and into one of her own nighties and more comfortable.
At 4:20pm, I went down to the shop to get some sandwiches for Heather, as the sandwiches they usually provide for supper are usually horrible. I also tried to get two days worth of credit on her PatientLine TV, but it had a fault (which has been reported and an engineer will hopefully look into it tomorrow)
Margaret left about 5:10pm. At 5:30pm, Heather had one of the sandwiches I bought her. A little later and she also had a raspberry yoghurt, which she enjoyed as her throat was feeling a little icky after the operation. The water doesn’t taste very nice either.
I said goodnight at 6:55pm and came home after dropping by Sainsburys to get some cash and dinner.
All in all, it’s been a long day, but a productive one. And at long last, there is light at the end of a four month long tunnel. You never know, this time next week, Heather could be back at work!!!
I’ll fill you in tomorrow with any news worthy of note.
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