Op Day

Was up a little earlier than usual as Hubby must have breakfast before seven. I let the brats out and then sat with my cup of coffee. It was a perfect day in Paradise. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the birds were singing. I made and took Hubby his breakfast. I had mine outside sitting under the trees again. When I got back inside I realized I hadn’t even noticed my surroundings. Next I decided to give the duck some bread. I went down to the cage and as I threw the bread into the pond realized my mind was definitely not on what I was doing. The poor duck had to dive sideways to avoid getting hit on the head. As the bread hit the water I thought `Oh, oh I didn’t watch out for land mines’. I checked my shoe and sure enough I had stepped into one. Luckily the grass is long and thick so I was able to clean my shoe.
I had better start concentrating but not so easy when worrying about Hubby and his op. People really don’t think! Yesterday someone told him that their mother didn’t survive the op and someone else said how bad the cut was across their stomach. Please! Those are things to say after the op has been done. Poor Hubby is also worrying hectically. Neither of us has slept well this week. His early mornings are more than likely due to this stress. I phoned the Dr’s rooms at eight to get the authorization number for the op (I did have it but don’t ask where I put it) so that the admission forms can be completed. No sooner had I finished the forms when the phone rang. It was a different woman from the Dr’s rooms asking me what time I last ate. I told her Hubby had eaten at about half six. She asked “Oh’ isn’t that Mr. L. What a dis! Do I sound like Hubby? She was phoning to wish him well for the op. Nice of her but now Hubby was even more worried about the op. I cleared up after breakfast , got ready, put the dogs out and we left for Alberton.
First stop was Sars to take in the return and then up to the workshop. We arrived there about half ten and Hubby went to check on things while I was busy in the office. The wreck of an MG car that Hubby had bought for spares arrived. He was so happy and dived straight in to check out the engine etc. I told him to leave it as he needed to stay clean for hospital. Needless to say the plea fell on deaf ears. Diane and I quickly went to get paint stripper for a Lancia that is getting worked on.
When this was done we set off for the hospital arriving just before the check-in-time of twelve. Once the paper work was completed we set off for the ward with his file. All his vitals were tested and recorded and he put on his hospital gown ready. There were three guys in the ward waiting to be operated on by the same Dr. At one we asked the Sister when operating would start and were told the Dr. starts at two so Diane and I decided to go get some lunch. We left the hospital for the shopping centre next door but instead of eating us two shopaholics shopped. The shopping centre was full of clothes shop that we just couldn’t resist and we each got a new dress. We were back at the hospital for two and found Hubby on his own as the other two had been taken through. The first guy was back within 20 minutes. The Sister came and gave hubby his pre-op tablet and then put him on a nebulizer as he is a smoker. Hubby clowned around with the equipment and pretended to fall asleep. Just before three he told us` whatever they gave me doesn’t work as I’m more wide awake than ever’. The next thing his head rolled to the side and he started snoring. We told him we knew he was just pretending again but he just carried on. We tried to wake him and realized he really was asleep. I adjusted his head to a more comfortable position and he stopped snoring. The Sister came in, laughed at him and removed the nebulizer. He soon started snoring again and we were so embarrassed as he is a loud snorer and the guy and his wife opposite the ward just sat and watched him. We were very relieved when they fetched him at about four and followed him out of the ward watched intently all the way by the couple. Diane and I watched him being wheeled into the theatre and then went down to the café for something to eat. We were really starving now.
After we had eaten we went back to the ward to see if he was out but the space was still empty in the ward. We sat for a while and then went to sit in the waiting area outside the theatre. At about five forty five Diane went down to get takeaway cappuccinos for us. While she was gone I noticed the guy who had taken Hubby to theatre and asked him if Hubby was out yet. He went to check and came back to say that Hubby was in the recovery room. No sooner had Diane got back when they wheeled him out. We followed back to the ward. Hubby was awake but in a lot of pain and still very sleepy. The Nurse Aide started checking him and then the Sister dashed in full of apologies for not being there when he got back. The wife of the second guy to be operated on had been in such a state that she had gone and thrown his false teeth in the bin. The Sister had been checking through all the bin bags downstairs and luckily had found them. The things you do in the line of duty! Painkillers were added to Hubby’s drip and he was checked to see all was ok. He was very thirsty and hungry but could only have a drink when he was more awake. As he was still so sleepy we headed for home about seven.
When we reached home it was almost dark. Diane dashed inside and I went to let the big dogs out into the yard. Walking away from the cage I remembered about landmines and didn’t want to walk across between the two paths so I leapt across. While I was in midair Amber decided to run for the gate and barreled into me. I went flying sideways and crashed onto my side. As I landed I felt my foot twist sideways and nearly died from the pain of it. I rolled onto my back and just lay there to recover. The dogs swarmed around licking my face. I was going to shout for Diane but realized she wouldn’t hear me as she was right at the other side of the house. I tried to get up but my foot was too painful to put pressure on it. I rolled over and got onto my knees and slowly and painfully managed to get up. I hobbled to the gate and let the dogs out before making my way inside. The Dr. had said Hubby would most probably let out tomorrow so I decided on giving the bedroom a good clean and change bedding so it would be all fresh for his homecoming. I even scrubbed the shower out. Diane was busy on the computer while I did all this. At about eleven I went into the pantry for some reason or other and was horrified to find the floor full of water. The trip switch for the fridges had tripped and they were busy defrosting. Thank goodness they were still cold. I put them back on and then proceeding to start mopping up the water. There was so much water so I got the broom and swept it all out the back door. Much easier! Well that was the third incident for the day and as things come in threes I was now safe. Diane made us a Milo and then I finished the bedroom and got in the bath. By now my ankle was like a tennis ball so I took an anti-inflammatory tablet and went to bed. Cheers for now…