Day 13 - Fed up

Monday 21st September 2009

Today was the last day of putting Zovirax ointment into my eye. There was still a little bit of redness below my eye but the swelling had gone.

I just wished my operation was over and done with. I had been in hospital for 11 days, nothing to show for it and was getting fed up.

I felt a bit isolated being in the side room. It was great having privacy, but it could also get lonely at times.

The time just dragged so much. Although I had my needlework (I was making a cushion) to keep me occupied even that became boring.

I was now passing on lunch. I couldn’t face their cold soup or horrible sandwiches anymore so just had some fruit. For dinner I actually managed to eat more than a couple of mouthfuls of food. It was Cornish pasties and jacket potatoes. The pastry was quite tough but the filling was ok. As for the small jacket potatoes, they were lovely.

I was told that I would be returning to Ward 43 after my operation and that they try to keep the side room for me. I was happy with that as although the night nurses were miserable, the day staff were lovely.

Tony, the physio, called in to see how I was getting on with the new bed. Once I had had my operation he was going to show me some new sleeping positions which wouldn’t put any strain on my hip or back.

Deb, the Ward Manager, popped in and asked if I had got my new bed sorted. She said it had been on her mind all weekend as she had to leave early on Friday before the bed was delivered.

Because I have low blood pressure it was decided that it would be best to give me two units of blood. This would build up my blood supply as they expected that I would probably loose some during the operation.

I was still feeling low when John arrived. My hip, leg and back were hurting me, and I was just so tired. I lay on the bed and John pulled up his chair close and we just held hands in silence. It was lovely.

After John left I slept for 40 minutes. It was probably the best sleep I’d had in all the time I had been there. Then I noticed that my dressing was leaking again so buzzed for a nurse.

At least half of all the staff nurses working on Ward 43 during the day and more than three quarters during the night were foreign. They were mostly from Asia, having done their nursing training in their own country, then came here because of the pay is significantly higher here. There were a couple of Filipino nightshift staff nurses who were so miserable. They never smiled and it was extremely hard to talk to them, even when it was about medical queries. I found this really strange as the Filipino who worked on the Silversea cruise ships were lovely. They were always smiling and happy to talk to you. Must be the North East weather !!!