Post operative opera.

So I was wheeled down in the morning but later than expected as they had not taken bloods for cross matching so one of the doctors had to come down and take it before I went down. It turns out I have a particular antibody and they had to check that they had compatible blood in case I needed it, they thought that maybe I received it in a previous transfusion.
So finally head down around 10am and am wheeled into the pre op room. It was really cold in there, but I met with the aneasthetist again and her colleague both ladies and both lovely. I had to have the epidural again given awake sitting in the edge of the bed, not the best feeling but manageable. They were pleased with where it was sited. We chatted away whilst all this was being done and they answered any questions about the procedure including one about my allergy to chloramphenicol eye drops. I didn't think that this was particularly relevant in terms of my op but she y do said that actually it really was as during the op my eyes would not be blinking and can dry so they would inset eye drops and usually chloramphenicol to hydrate them.
So then then they do the knock out injection and as happened before the next thing I know I am waking up in recovery.
As I woke in my stupefied state I could hear people asking how I was and there seemed to be some concern, I remember feeling a strong urge to pass a motion which I knew I couldn't but there was this huge pressure down below and also that my stomach felt like it was covered in bee stings. I drifted in and out and then gradually woke up more fully, for the second time my epidural hadn't worked properly so they set my up with a pump with fentonil.
I had one to one nursing through the night and towards the early morning, two of the nurses were concerned about my pain relief, they still thought that the epidural was delivering some pain block to the abdomen, but they were not too sure now, I should have not been feeling anything but I was. They sprayed a cold spray onto my abdomen and I nearly went through the roof, on each spot the feeling was the same as the next. They mumbled to each other and said that someone needed to come and look at this.
I can't remember who came next but they did the same with the same result and they came to the conclusion that the epidural hadn't worked at all.
At handover in the morning a lovely nurse called Dora came to look after me, she usually worked in itu but they were short in recovery so she was working there for a bit to help out. She couldn't have been nicer and more professional. One of the staff nurses questioned my continued placement in recovery as the other patients had left and was told it was because that had to sort out my pain control.
Dora washed me, got me drink checked the dressing and removed the epidural. Did my observations and chatted through the day.
Someone came to see me from the pain relief team, they suggested that ketamine was a good pain reliever if I didn't have hallucinations.
After they gave it to me I felt fine whilst my eyes were open but when I closed them It would be like watching a movie screen, I saw ants marching in line down a rock and remarked to myself at how the
high definition, there were other little scenes all completely different to each other, but as I was fine when asleep or when my eyes were open I didn't worry.
I the afternoon my middle son Adam arrived to see me with a paper and my favourite Lindt chocolates, my appetite was quite gone and at that point they were not sure whether I could eat or not as a care plan hadn't been put together. So I asked the nurse to pass them round the recovery team, ther was no polite refusal they went within minutes with squeals of delight and 'oh just what I need!' It was quite satisfying. After staying for an hour or so Adam headed home and I waited further whilst they got me sorted.
Finally around 7pm I was ready to go up onto the ward, Dora came with me and I felt quite emotional saying goodbye to her after she had spent the day caring for me so well.
On arrival at the ward Leon and tash my two salsa friends were there in he corridor as they wheeled me in in my bed then Alyson a neighbour , Trevor who I used to work with and my cousin sue appeared. Alyson and sue had made friends in the day room whilst waiting. It was nice to have such a welcome.
They all remarked on how well I looked which I guess was true, for someone who had been through such major surgery I felt quite awake and with it, more so than I did last time, there was a mention that I might not be morphine tolerant which would explain why I was so out of it after my last op.
After a while equine left and I settled down for my second night on the ward. I was to be woken at around 3am by pat calling for the nurse, I told her they were busy and later asked why she didn't use her call button......this didn't go down too well as I was to find out later.