This post is part of the Epilepsy Blog Relay™, which will run from March 1 through March 31. Follow along and add comments to posts that inspire you!
I am preparing myself for
the surgery on my right collarbone, and I am petrified. I have never had a big
operation before and I am so unsure of what is ahead of me. The surgeon (the
extremely attractive one) has informed me that he will need to place a plate
and insert eight screws into my collarbone. He told me that the scar would be
four inches long and would vertical on my shoulder. I was so anxious about the
appearance after surgery as I have always had prominent collarbones so I was
extremely concerned that the plate and screws would stick out and look very
weird. However, there was no other option than to operate, as the break was so
severe.
My parents take me to our
local hospital in January 2013, a New Year and I was starting it with an
operation, fabulous! I was starving, I hadn’t eaten for ages and I love food
far too much. As the nurses prepped me for surgery, the nerves began to
increase and I started to think the worse, as you do, about everything possible
that could happen during an operation. Will I wake up, am I going to die (awful
thing to think I know) and is everything going to go wrong. The surgeon came to
talk to my parents and I and talked us through the procedure again and
reassured us that everything was going to be again. I felt slightly more
relaxed as I knew he was an experienced surgeon in his field and he was a
lovely man but the nerves were still extremely prominent. Soon after, the
nurses came to collect me to take me down for surgery. I said goodbye to my
parents, my Mum was crying (shock) and I all of a sudden had a huge lump in my
throat. I was wheeled through the hospital, the nurse was talking to me
constantly, she was so sweet and could obviously tell I was nervous and did he
upmost to try to keep me calm. I then arrived at the initial room, which was
small and sterile. This room was where I met my anaesthetist who was the last
person I saw before my operation. She was asking me lots of questions about my
family and friends whilst administrating the anaesthetic and sooner or later, I
was asleep.
Next thing, I can see
bright lights, I have an itchy mask on my face and I am feeling rather sore. I
was in and out of sleep due to the anaesthetic and morphine but I know I am in
the recovery room and being shouted at for taking the breathing aid mask off of
my mouth. It was unbearably itchy but I needed it whilst in recovery,
apparently! The next time I wake up, I am being moved to my hospital room, a
beautiful private room with a delightful view over the fields, the best place to
recover.
NEXT UP: Be sure to
check out Lainie Chait, http://livingwellwithepilepsy.com
for more on Epilepsy Awareness.
