Friday -- after brain removal

It was about 3pm yesterday when I was moved down to the operating theatre. No visible clocks so I don't know the exact time, 3-ish had been the prediction.

Pushed along narrow corridors. Into lifts which are only just big enough for me and my bed. Past a few people also lined up for ops. Nod, smile, wish good luck.

Meet the Irish anaesthetist (again). I'm lined up for general anaesthetic, various needles (cannulas?) in the arm, a catheter for peeing. I ask them to do the catheter after the anaesthetic. Vaious needles are no problem. The nurse maintains distracting conversation while I complain of getting dizzy. Next thing I know...

Next thing I know I'm in ICU, Intensive Care Unit. Catheter feels weird but only when I pee through it. Various other needles and tubes -- left inner elbow, left back of hand. A heart & blood gas monitor on my finger. A strip of sticky bandage round my wedding ring during the opn, glad to get rid of that, I notice it whenever I clench my hand.

There's a bandage on my head. As I understand it, a biggish flap of skin was lifted up, a smaller hole drilled into the skull, the lump removed through that hole. None of that hurts but I prefer to not lie on that side. There are also hard plastic shells on each leg, providing regular massage, to prevent clotting. I also -- when awake -- twitch and twist a lot to keep circulation circulating.

Morning. I'm cheerful -- and relieved. All very simple -- from my point of view.

Early morning, the night nurse needs arterial and venous blood samples -- front and back of hand. Both sides are tubed but the front of hand has kinked. A more senior nurse pulls out the kinked tube. A doctor takes the blood sample. All a hierarchy of expertise :-)

The doctor is wearing a Garmin GPS watch. I ask, are you a runner? He tells of his run -- trying for better than 4min/km, twice as fast as I can go -- when he ended up overheating, travelling by ambulance, waking up 20 minutes later still with a 40 degree plus temperature. Sheesh! these runners!

The day nurse worked in Halls Creek in 1997(?) but doesn't know Keith. Liked the area but worried about the state of the people living there.

Mid morning. My room is between ICU and C (coronary) CU. Several visitors next door. I hear, Do you have a view? The curtain opens... all they can see is into my room... disappointment... curtain closes.

I email family & a couple of friends. Let them know that I'm feeling well. They've all sent various supporting & loving messages :-)

Breakfast is "clear" food: broth, jelly, funny fruit juice, black tea. Oh well, better than nothing. Then I'm wheeled off to a CT(?) scan. My head is scanned, I'm wheeled back to my room. Scan shows that the lump was sucessfully removed.

Deb arrives :-)

Mr Lam -- surgeon -- arrives. He still needs a week's histopathology. If the head and balls are independent lumps that's (a) good, less to worry about and (b) will need chemotherapy, radiation, whatever to prevent/fix further spontaneous lumping. Which means, today, no comment on the future.

I did say, yes, find a urologist who works at St Johns. Mr Lam expects that a urologist will want to wait till my head is fixed before tackling his end. So I guess I'll go home -- with some pills and lots of instructions... sometime.

A real lunch arrives: fish, vegies, pudding, icecream, sandwiches... Deb gets some cafe lunch while I bog in. Later I add tea and biscuits. Still a bit of eating to catch up on :-)  I get to place an order for tomorrow's meals. I may have over-ordered, it's easier to leave something than to go hungry. So I say.

Robbie arrives. Then leaves to get me a new phone. One that works. He & Deb seem to think that I need a working phone. It looks good, I'll try not to destroy it...

Deb heads off. She has to drop off some papers at a rental management office. Luckily most of that stuff is taken care of via emails. And I now have the tablet, working on the hospital wifi. Keith phoned, we chatted, I still prefer email communication. Various family have phoned Deb.

My next stage of recovery is to stand up. To get to the shower and toilet. I promised to call a nurse first. Could almost be time.

No idea when I'll be let out of the hopital... Maybe Sunday? Deb & Robbie will work out a Will-watching schedule after I tell them that I probably won't be ready help... But who knows?!

I'm still in cheerful denial :-)

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"Wow, I never thought of it like that before." … Joan D. Vinge