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Monday 19 August 2013

Day 15 Jelly & Morphine

I spent some time in the recovery room until a bed was found back on a renal ward and I found myself in another 6 bed bay. I was still very drowsy and unsure of the sequence of events for a while. My husband had been allowed to stay with me. I remember feeling very sick. The consultant came to see me briefly and this time my husband was able to be with me. The surgeon said the tumor had been removed as a whole with the kidney by keyhole surgery. He said the lump would be sent away for analysis and that they had looked for stray cells elsewhere, I hadn't been aware this would happen before the operation.
I was in a lot of abdominal pain which I was told was due to the gases pumped in to inflate me during surgery. I was given a PCA pain relieving machine that administered morphine when I pushed a button and they put another catheter in.
After my husband left I slept a lot. I couldn't eat and had attempted jelly with little success as I couldn't move myself up in the bed. The staff told me I was supposed to have a special bed that I would be able to move up and down with a control but there were none available. So I had a standard hospital bed with 2 pillows which meant I couldn't raise myself up or get comfortable. I'd like to say that the staff helped but at this time, they didn't. Sleep was fretful and in short bouts, the night was long and I was in a lot of pain.
I was wearing a hospital gown and when I looked down the front all I could see was a large white pad where the wound was. My left side felt sore from the back to the front and top to bottom. I couldn't see anything and was afraid to touch anywhere. One kidney now.