Post Op Blahs ..... Day 0 A.S. (after surgery)

It has been a hell of a day today. I raced to the hospital this morning for half past seven and then A's son and I lurked in corridors waiting for the scary sister to go to another end of the ward before we snuck in to give my lovely A hand squeezes and extra hugs before the op. At about quarter to eight we made the mad dash from the waiting area, across the ward and hid behind a half pulled curtain near his bed. It was enough though - we had made it, and it was so lovely to see him, but I really had washing machine stomach with nerves. It was moments before they had him put on his dressing gown and start the walk down to theatre, dragging his diabetic sliding scale with him - we must have made an odd procession. Then it was the tough bit where we has to leave him at the doors to theatre. We made our goodbyes and then P (A's son) and I headed out into the sunshine to find something to do with ourselves for the next 8 hours. We did pretty okay - first visiting a friend and her two newish Westie puppies and having a cup of tea - then back down into the town to have some breakfast and more cups of tea, a spot of shopping which managed to get us to midmorning. Then we went to the cinema to watch Ice Age 3 in 3D. They gave us really hilarious geeky schoolboy 3D specs (so uncool you would not believe) and we laughed heartily throughout. It was good actually as in bits of it I forgot totally about the operation (sorry A!). We walked out of the cinema at around half one, picked up another couple of things from town and then went to the local park for a leisurely walk around the boating lake and woods. And at almost three o'clock the surgeon finally called to say that A was in recovery and the op had gone well. ;-) I was extraordinarily relieved and felt myself let go of the partial breath I had been holding since lunchtime. We were advised that A would not be out of recovery for about half an hour and then would need time in ITU to get settled, so we should arrive sometime after 4.30. I had no idea what to expect when we arrived at the ward but A was awake and talking a lot - some of it coherent, some of it not - but all (for some reason) about sex. There were lots and lots of tubey bits and apparel linked to both him, an array of beeping monitors and the bed. Still, although he looked tired he was much better than I anticipated. His stats are all okay although he does currently have a bit of a temperature - but hopefully with the antibiotics and paracetemol this will soon be coming down. I left just after nine, as A looked ready for a doze and to be honest - so was I! I'm home now and feel so tired I am almost slurry. I'm just about to call ITU in a minute to check A is settled down okay for the night and then I will be up to bed myself. Yawn. I hope he is well enough tomorrow afternoon to transfer back to the main ward as ITU is not a place in which to get good rest - far too many beeps and bells and alarms really. Still, the important bit is that he has started his journey of recovery, and that can only be a good thing. Thank you all for such wonderful messages of support - I am sure they make a difference. Sleepy hugs in appreciation. T x