Day 1 after the operation
I was sick during the night – just all the water I’d drunk, but still not very pleasant, although I felt much better straight afterwards. I was also catheterised as I couldn’t manage to wee in the bedpan. That was another pressure off me and I was very happy to have it done.
I was awake most of the night but as you would expect, as soon as I finally dropped off, I was awoken to have a cup of tea and to be given all my medication. One of the nurses gave me a wash and propped me up for the first time since the op as I felt that I wouldn’t be sick if she did.
I still had an oxygen tube-thingy in my nostrils to raise my oxygen saturation levels and the machine that automatically took my blood pressure every 30mins.
The morning was spent just dozing and my pain was finally under control and very manageable. I think I rated it about a 5/10.
Then a nurse arrived and said she was going to remove the drain from my knee. I was told to breathe in and out deeply and regularly and to try not to hold my breath – and then she started pulling. It was uncomfortable and unpleasant but not too bad. But then she stopped and said that it seemed to be stuck. She pulled again but it wouldn’t shift, so she stopped and got another on duty nurse to try – who also couldn’t pull it out. They said they wouldn’t do it anymore, but that afternoon another nurse was coming on shift who was good at getting them out and she would do it for me. I can’t say I was looking forward to the experience.
A little later on a physiotherapist came in along with 2 nurses to get me to stand by the side of my bed. I knew this was going to happen so wasn’t surprised. One of them helped to lift my leg as I shimmied around on my bottom to the edge of the bed using my good leg as leverage. Then the moment came for me to lower myself gingerly to the ground and hold on for dear life to the zimmer frame.. I was then told to put my hands back on the bed, push up, take the weight on my legs and then hold onto the frame. I was scared but my leg held up well and it wasn’t very painful at all. The physiotherapist then asked me to put all my weight on my leg with the new knee and actually lift my other foot off the floor slightly, which I did with some trepidation. Luckily it held (as they all knew it would), and then I was helped back into bed, which had been changed while I stood up, and now had lovely fresh sheets on it.
I felt exhausted after all that exertion and had a nice snooze again only to be awoken by the expert drain-removing nurse.