Start Essay@
IntroJust got back from the hospital a while back and thought I'd make a new thread about my surgery experience and pics. This will probably end up being a very long post so if you cba read it just scroll down for the pictures but if you haven't had your surgery yet I'd recommend you at least skim through it. Also I'm writing this extremely tired and still a bit drugged up so cba check grammar/spellign mistakes. Apologies if I don't make sense at times.
Before hospitalI didn't sleep a minute before 3 am because I thought my alarm, set for 4:15 am (train was at 5:50), wouldn't go off. From 8 pm to 3 I was just reading this forum to try and prepare myself the best I could and wasn't really tired but at 3 my eyes just shut by themselves. Guess what? my fucking alarm didn't go off...
I had bought a one way ticket for £23.50 as that was the cheapest I could find and was gonna worry about the return ticket later (BIGGEST mistake ever, read on). So, I missed that train. Suddenly woke up without any alarm and it was 6:50am and started panicking cause I had to be at the hospital at 9 and after that 5:50 train the peak times started and tickets went up to £50-£180. I thought fuk it, took a quick shower and ran for the train and caught the 7:10 one.
Now, this is the ultimate peak time train and it was packed as expected. Up until the last 10 minutes there was no ticket collector and I thought I'd gotten away with it but then suddenly heard the dreaded words "tickets please". I showed him my off peak ticket hoping to get away with it but he clocked on and told me I'm on the wrong train. Also asked me to pay £55.50 or I'd be held until police arrived. There was no way I was missing this op so I paid up after a bit of arguing. Now so far that's the £23.50 ticket that never got used and a £55.50 ticket, along with the £5 tube ticket, taking just my outward journey cost to £84. I got off the train, caught the tube and went to the main reception (30 seconds walk) where they took my name and I was taken in to my room after 10 mins.
In hospitalThis very smartly dressed woman was escorting me to my room and took a quick glance at my chest so she probably peeked through my paperwork and knew I was there for gyno (her only job was taking me to my room...). I wasn't really pissed about this just a bit bemused but no biggie. I went into the room and she explained what everything was/how to use it, the bathroom, etc. and then left. After this Tess, the nurse who took care of me all day, came in. She told me Karidis had done one op already (Namsoni?) and that to make myself comfortable, change into the paper shorts (see-through lol) the gown and wear the robe on top. She then asked a few questions, got me to sign a form, took my blood pressure and left. After that the man himself came in. He marked me, got me to sign the consent form and told me they'll be ready for me soon and left.
Waited for about 30 mins after he left, while my blood pressure was checked numerous times. Then Tess came in, asked me to wear the robe and took me downstairs to the theater room. In there was only one nurse (can't remember name) that seemed very worried that I hadn't told anyone lol so I just lied and said I had told my mum and that my dad was picking me up. I said this to numerous people tbh, even Tess thought that a friend was going to be with me.. I knew I'd be fine so didn't want them to worry for no reason. Ok so this nurse injected me with something and then stuck that thing in my vein that they inject the drugs through. Tbh that thing was the most discomfort I had felt all day because it was in an awkward spot and couldn't be taken out till they were sure that I wouldn't need any more drugs.
After that the anaesthetic came in (nice guy) and reassured me about everything and injected something through that thing in my vein and the next thing I know I'm in this hall with a nurse sitting by me (very caring woman) and 3 other people just laying in that room who I assumed had also had some sort of surgery but I was too drugged up to give a shit so didn't really look at them. So, after about 15 mins in that room I told her my chest was hurting a bit and she gave me some morphine and it calmed everything down. Then I got rolled back to my room and lay on the bed and drank water till the food came in. I was also getting my blood pressure checked every 20 mins or so. Food came, munched all of it in 10 mins lol and then got some coffee and watched tv for a few hours. I really wanted to go home because I never feel comfortable unless I'm in my own bed (or a woman's.. :p) so I kept on asking them and they finally caved in around 4:30 pm and gave me all the pills, the extra vest, explained when/how to take the dressings off, etc. and Tess INSISTED that I get a taxi. (btw I didn't get any arnica pills, should I have been given any?)
After hospitalThis was by far the worse part of my day. I left the hospital and got a cab and the cab driver, bless him, saw the blood on my shirt (see pic below) and got super worried. I told him it was nothing and that I'd be fine and to just drive me to the train station fs. Half way through, the car just stopped working. He told me to wait while he checked and I waited 15 mins and then just got out and called another one (he asked me to give him £10 I told him to fuk off and walked away). So the other cab came and finally got taken to Euston. Guy asked for £10 even though it was like a 5 min journey and I didn't feel like talking so just gave him the money.
Now this is what ruined my day even further. I normally buy a ticket for £20 return MAX when I go to London so I assumed that just one way it couldn't be that expensive. What I didn't realise was that I book a week in advance which is why I get it that cheap. The cheapest ticket there that I could buy, and not have to wait 5 hours for off peak times, was £40 and it was a London Midland train so took TWO HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES. The other cheapest ticket was £80 for Virgin Trains and I really didn't want to waste a single penny more so bought the £40 one. So that's £84+£40+£10 cab, £134 so far to travel from Birmingham to London the slowest way possible. I am now £900 into my student overdraft.
In the train, because it was London Midlands and I was the only idiot who had paid £40 for a ticket on that train, it was filled with the kind of people I'd never seen before on a train. Women who were no more than 20 years old with 2 kids, shouting on their phones while their kids were crying.. school children running all around the train and I'm pretty sure I saw some guy fingering a woman twice his age in the corner seats. Imagine two and a half hours of that just after you had a major surgery. Finally the train reached New Street and I took a cab home, taking the total to £139 for a day's journey to the capital and that especially hurt because I've paid £5 return numerous times on the fast Virgin Trains.
ConclusionI'm glad I got the surgery and even with the compression vest on you can see the massive different but I'm also pretty pissed about how miserable my day was, other than while in the hospital. It doesn't matter though it was definitely a one off and taught me a valuable lesson that I can now pass on to the guys having the surgery after me and have to travel a long way.
PLAN YOUR ENTIRE DAY AND BOOK THE TRAIN TICKETS AS SOON AS YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU'RE HAVING THE SURGERY. Book a return ticket with open return and never, EVER catch a train that takes a longer time than another train you have access to because time is of essence when you're travelling alone after this op trust me. If you want extra luxury, travel first class but I really don't think that's needed. As long as your journey time is relatively short and you have a seat, you'll be absolutely fine with no one with you and also, catch a tube to the hospital. Tube took me 9 mins (timed it) and cost half as much as a cab which took more than 20 mins.
End Essay. Well done if you read all of that lol.
PicsOf the tickets
Pre-op:
Post-op:
Day 1:
Topic: Surgery done! w/ pre/post op pics (Read 7256 times)
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