Day 10 - New mattress

Friday 18th September 2009

What a surprise !!! I was still in agony with my back, and what a surprise that I had had no sleep…

Kermit arrived and was delighted with how my eye was healing. I told him I had had enough of being in agony with my back and said I wanted a firmer mattress, otherwise I would be sleeping in the chair permanently.

“That will be a little difficult”, he laughed, “as you will probably need at least three days of bed rest after the operation”

He thought for a moment then asked if I had had any kind of lumber pain before.

“Never - until I slept on these beds”, I replied.

The physiotherapist who was accompanying Kermit on his rounds asked if he could come back and see me later that day.

The physio agreed that the soft mattress was causing my back problem so would arrange for a firmer mattress to be authorised.

Later that day a ‘firmer’ mattress was delivered. It was still soft compared to the mattress we had at home, but it was a thousand times better than the other two. The physio then advised me on the best positions to sleep in bed so I wouldn’t aggravate my back.

I wasn’t expecting miracles overnight but I was really hoping for some slight improvement by the time I went for my operation on Wednesday.

Yesterday Karl had said that he was concerned that I hadn’t done a ‘number two’ since I had been in hospital. What is it with hospitals and your bowel movements !!!!

I explained that I wasn’t a regular ‘once a day’ person, and that I would go when I was ready. He was having none of it and said that questions would be asked as to why I hadn’t been, especially since codeine and morphine causes constipation. Consequently he made me take some laxatives.

Since taking one yesterday I was never off the loo !!!!! Thanks a lot Karl….

One thing I noticed that was different from when I was in hospital to have my hip replaced twelve years ago, was the issue of cleanliness. The last time it was average at best. This time they really did seem to be making an effort.

The nurses all wore plastic aprons whenever they came into contact with patients, such as changing dressings, and they were constantly washing and disinfecting their hands. This certainly didn’t happen the last time.

There had also been big changes to the overall cleanliness of the ward. Two domestic cleaners now worked on the ward during the day and each day they gave it a through clean. The commodes in the toilets were cleaned and disinfected after every use and the entire toilets were cleaned three times a day.

There were even spot checks on the cleanliness of the ward. Two domestic supervisors, both wearing white gloves, came into my side room and rubbed their fingers and hands over every surface and nook and cranny, to check for dust and dirt. I’m pleased to say my room was deemed clean and up to standard.

Whilst they were taking steps to combat cross contamination between patients with the use of gloves and disinfectants, they seemed to have forgotten about the medical equipment.

When the nurses came round to do their ‘obs’, they took your blood pressure, checked your temperature and pulse. To take your temperature they either used plastic disposable thermometers or a ‘gun’ which was pressed against your ear and the plastic ‘gun’ covering was disposed of each time.

However they used the same blood pressure wrap for every patient. They weren’t keen on putting it on top of clothing so more often than not it touched your skin. Cross contamination every time…

To take your pulse they now use a sort of finger squeezer. This again was passed from patient to patient and wasn’t cleaned after every use.

It doesn’t bear thinking about where fingers could have been. Ugh !!!!!!