What's up Wednesday: Operation, complication and recovery

Wednesday marks the mid-point of the working week and the run into the weekend and it seems the perfect time to stop and think. #whatsupwednesday is a snapshot of what's been going on, or will be, in my week based on a little thought and reflection.

Operation

Last Wednesday I had an operation which the surgeon declared a great success. It's one I have had before, on the opposite side, although this one seemed much more painful right away and is still feeling pretty bad indeed.

I knew it was coming up but blocked it out of my mind as I've had other things to think about so it took my by surprise - I turned up though, got sliced and diced, and hopefully it's the last time I have to have this thing done; It probably will be I guess, they can't keep doing the procedure after all - Maybe next time they'll just amputate at the neck?

I wasn't in hospital very long as hospital stays aren't in fashion anymore; They cut you up, patch you up and drug you up then send you home - Good luck with your recovery mate, we hope you make it. No yummy hospital food...Or nurse sponge baths.

Of course, the above doesn't happen until you've paid, in my case $5,547.85AUD. That's the most painful part some may argue and it hurt my bank balance quite a lot. I get around $700 back from Medicare but my health cover doesn't cover any of it at all despite all the money I pay annually for health insurance.

Oh just in case you're wondering, no it wasn't exploratory brain surgery to find out if I actually had one. Or a face lift. Just getting in early before someone suggests it. 😁

Complication

The first day I had the usual post-operation pain once the anaesthetic wore off but it seemed to get worse as the first couple days passed and despite having a fairly high pain-tolerance I decided there might be something wrong and so I called the surgeon who confirmed that there might be an issue with infection. Oh yay, I thought.

This didn't sound like good news though and I ended up having to go back to hospital for some more medical-magic. They opened veins during the operation and there was a look of have we fucked this up on the surgeons face however she waved her magic wand over me and said the words, bibbety bobbety boo, the established medical spell for rectifying fuck-ups, and sent me home with some better drugs that were supposed to help the magic happen.

I'm not much of a pill-popper to be honest but I took the pills to see what happens. On the way I home I stopped in at my favourite bakery for a donut and coffee and it's that donut I'll credit with my recovery, if indeed I survive. [Don't worry I'm ok, I'm tough and will live].

Recovery

It's been a week since the operation now and I'm feeling a little better although there's still quite a lot of pain; The angry redness and heat radiating out of the area has all but subsided now though - Thanks medical magic spell. I'm able to walk about fairly normally with some care but the area is still quite sore to touch which is to be expected I guess.

I've taken a few short walks which was suggested but I'll not be hiking again for probably two more weeks at least and the operation has slowed down my training and practice for a three-gun run and gun shooting event I'm being sponsored to so in several weeks. The surgeon says I'll be able to run by then though and she offered me some more pain killers for the event if I wanted. Great, drugs and guns. I declined and will rely on over the counter pain pills and my high tolerance to pain.

So that's this weeks #whatsupwednesday post. Feel free to comment about anything written here and if you have a good, operation, story feel free to share it - Maybe tales of your own pain and misery may lessen mine? Seriously though, feel free to comment with your own experiences, I'm sitting here waiting y'all - Entertain me.