| Lochalsh
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Lesley! A gazillion hugs, young lady!
Reply #961. Jul 29 10, 3:19 PM
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flopsymopsy 
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Welcome back, Lesley, I'm so glad everything went well. The people at Papworth are splendid and I'm glad they took good care of you. :)
Reply #962. Jul 29 10, 3:28 PM
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honeybee4
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It is so good to have you back, Lesley. I honestly wasn't expecting you back on here for at least a month. Take it easy and don't overdo. Are you able to breathe and sleep now? I hope so.
Reply #963. Jul 29 10, 3:32 PM
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guitargoddess
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Glad to see you back Lesley, and happy it went well! Take a nice long recovery, make other people do everything for you! :)
Reply #964. Jul 29 10, 5:08 PM
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satguru
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I've been awaiting your arrival a few days now, that's all fantastic news! I nearly phoned tonight but thought you may not be keeping quite the same hours as before so didn't want to risk waking you, but a call will be on its way soon. And knowing me it would have worn you out as well, although I'm sure it won't hurt to laugh by now.
Reply #965. Jul 29 10, 6:14 PM
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MarchHare007
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Lovely to see you back Here, Lesley. :)
(((((((((((((((Lesley))))))))))))))
Motorised scooter? Pah! Go for the motorbike - Much more fun. :)
Reply #966. Jul 29 10, 6:40 PM
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trojan11
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Lesley, so good to see you back, but be careful of those electric mobility scooters, some of them do 8mph. And in one of those, a supermarket is a great place to make enemies, hec-hec-hec.
Reply #967. Jul 30 10, 7:24 PM
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| callie_ross
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Hey Lesley! Glad to see you're back & doing well! Drop me a line sometime! All my love to you! :)
Reply #968. Jul 31 10, 4:53 AM
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| lesley153
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I've just had the supreme luxury of reading through the whole of July here. I'd forgotten how bad I'd started feeling the week before I went in, how naughty it was of me to go off to the local hospital without telling anyone, and what a relief it was when they kept me in, and I knew I'd be looked after till the op.
They did actually work their socks off to get me in optimum condition for surgery. They weren't too bothered about my high blood sugar, because they knew I would go on an insulin infusion for the surgery, but they worked hard to stabilise everything else.
By Wednesday, I felt well enough to sit in the ambulance that took me to Papworth, chatting to my companion about her forthcoming wedding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Jonathan was working his socks off in the house. It was so much more than the daily and weekly routines of cooking and washing that I mentioned before. It was compensating for years of neglect when I just about had the strength and energy to look after me.
I asked him to contact a few people, and to keep FT updated, although I didn't think he would, because he goes on facebook daily but hardly ever looks at FT. His own facebook posts got him a lot of support, which is always welcome. Thank you very much to all the FT people who transferred his facebook news over here.
Nor he did he contact anyone on my "please keep posted" list. So many people were contacting him that he hardly had time to move. If anyone was affronted that he didn't call them, they knew where the phone was too. Nobody has said anything though, and I hope they wouldn't.
He did, however, spend a few days with his girlfriend at my bedside, waiting for me to come to, and a lot of other time simply tearing his hair out. His girlfriend deserves a medal.
Oh and if anyone is wondering what happened to the woman who said we'll get together when I'm well enough to start driving again - nothing. I haven't had a peep out of her since her her sun-kissed visit, With Friend (mustn't forget The Friend), to Kew Gardens, and that was two months ago. No? nobody was wondering? No, I have to confess, she rarely pops into my my mind these days either.
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"OOH, a motorized scooter...did you hurt anyone? :) "
No, but not for want of trying. I just need more practice.
It gave me a whole new angle on how vulnerable people can be in the presence of a vehicle that can go from still to about 4mph in one jerk. You're less vulnerable if you are aware of your surroundings - but how many people take their brains shopping with them? Not many at the best of times, but not a single one where I was that day.
Two adults spoke to me on that trip. They both guessed where I'd been and why. One said her grandmother had had some similar work done on her at Papworth, the other said her husband had. All the others just stared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jonathan was supposed to have spent July on the handover to his successor, but he's got time off on the grounds of special circumstances. He's done some of the handover in person and some in writing, and will be available on the phone if his successor needs him. It's still more handover than he got - his predecessor didn't turn up to any of the handover sessions: just visited the office every so often during the year, and said "Haven't you done that yet?"
He has now gone off to Budleigh Salterton in Devon, to join the college Musical Theatre Society, for the second week of their yearly fortnight. This year they're performing The Boy Friend. No doubt he will come home singing all the songs. I can't wait...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This time he's gone in his own car. It hasn't moved for nearly a year, it's just been sinking deeper and deeper into the front lawn, and looking very sad, with the battery and one tyre both as flat as pancakes. He put the tyre in my car and drove it to the nearest garage with a working pump to blow the tyre up, and he took a jump start off my car and let the engine run for half an hour.
He booked an MOT in Milton Keynes, about a 40-minute drive away, and asked if I'd like to come too. Four miles from home, it stalled at traffic lights and wouldn't start again. So he pushed it off the main road and called the RAC, who came quickly and gave him another jump start. Half-way round the corner, it stalled again and wouldn't start, so he waved the RAC man back, got another jump start, and drove home with the RAC man behind.
When we got home, the RAC man offered him a new battery for £70. That's how I got my last two batteries - a hunky man on the drive, putting the new battery in so I didn't have to, and disposing of the old one. He and his pal decided that they'd be able to get a similiar one from Halfords for about £40. In Halfords they found the one one they'd been offered for £70 on sale for £70, but the next grade up was £78 so he got that... How to save money on your old banger. He then booked a local MOT. Amazingly the car only failed on one thing - the wiper motor. So he repaired the wiper motor, took it back for a re-test, and it passed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He then loaded his car and disappeared into the sunset - well, Croydon - for the President's Dinner. He was Deputy President (Education) last year, and it's a tradition for the President to wrap up the year with a dinner for the DPs.
He spent the night in his flat, then went to Berkshire to his girlfriend's house, and she drove them both to Devon this afternoon. He'll finish the tour, do a bit of work in London, and be back here in about ten days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm OK with this. I have enough meds and food, and nice neighbours if I do get stuck. He wouldn't have gone if I'd still needed him.
This is the first time I can remember coming home from a hospital with enough pain-killers. The most I was offered in hospital, once I was awake, was four doses each of two paracetamol and two dihydrocodeine. They obliterated all the pain and put me to sleep.
So I cut it down to four doses each of two paracetamol and one dihydrocodeine, and have now cut it down to three doses. It doesn't mask all the pain, but I wouldn't want it to, in case that meant I was taking more than I needed to. The only discomfort now is coming from the two mending zones - sternum, and leg where bits of vein were removed - and they're getting easier by the day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you, David, for your phone call. It doesn't hurt me to laugh. On the contrary, it does me lots of good; although I am wondering if that's what the Victorians really meant when they said a minute before midnight was worth two after: phone calls, not chat!
Thank you Claudia for your gorgeous get-well card, which has only just arrived. It must be what Santa's Little Helpers do in their spare time - visit hospitals, readressing cards to patients who have gone home - and it was a lovely surprise.
And thank you everyone for all this encouragement and support. I shall cherish it. |
Reply #969. Aug 01 10, 3:05 PM
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Deunan
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Oh, Lesley. It is so lovely to read your post. You sound so much better (and I hope you are).
I thought of calling. I don't believe the operator would have been at all helpful with my "her name is Lesley, she has a son named Jonathan and she is having surgery on her heart", may I have her number please? So, I am sorry for not calling.
You've been missed so much. Do you feel "differently"? I mean, in spite of surgery and pain, do you feel any stronger?
Giant hugs and tons of them....
Reply #970. Aug 01 10, 3:17 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Are you up for Robert Downey, Jr., yet?
Reply #971. Aug 01 10, 3:25 PM
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honeybee4
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Lesley, I love it when you write a book, like this posting. It is great that you are doing so good. I know a lot of it is to reassure us because that operation hurts worse than anything I ever went through. The vein harvesting sites are terrible. THey harvested five from me, two on one side and three on the other. Every time I turned over the drains would get tangled and I was afraid I would pull them out.
Reply #972. Aug 01 10, 4:05 PM
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| lesley153
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Deunan, you never know. I didn't have much more when I put my deerstalker on and found Rowena and Gary, but they're both in England. It's a lovely thought, but you can't start making phone calls from Colorado! Hugs are just as good.
And then I had every single piece of identifying information anyone could have wanted when I tried to ring my niece in Homerton, except the name of the ward she was in, and they refused to look for her. No ward name, no message. (It's a famously rubbish hospital, though. It has the highest neo-natal mortality rate in the country, and got pretty close to killing my niece when she had gastric surgery a few months ago.)
Yes thank you, I can see some improvements already - I am sleeping like a log, and I can lie on my back without sitting up or waking up gasping for air. I'm not very strong, but that will follow. I've managed to do a laundry load, and to empty and fill the dishwasher, and both were a little easier than they were a month ago. And something really nice that Jonathan and Lyndsey noticed - my skin is soft! I guess it's just started getting more oxygen and whatever other goodies than it's been getting for a while. Cuddle, anyone?
Lochalsh, have I ever given you the tiniest clue that I wasn't? that I would have let him go without a struggle? I hope you haven't confiscated him, because he might be quite good for me right now. Purely medicinally, of course.
Thanks Judy. Five? OUCH! I've just had two bits taken, both on the same side, and one was too thin to use. These sites are probably the most painful bits right now. If I sit still for too long, the skin tightens up, and it takes a minute or two of standing up before the skin relaxes enough for me to be able to move in reasonable comfort. I'll probably find vitamin E soothing - should have thought of that as soon as I got home. Although it might be the fluid retention rather than the healing.
If you had drains, they must have been big wounds. If I ever thought my drains might have got tangled, I'd have had something to say about that, and I hope you did too. Although I do remember once or twice, when I had drips everywhere and I needed to be moved, the drip tubes went round my neck. I'm sure that was accidental!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsflash I forgot about.
About a month ago, my haematologist sent some of my blood off to be tested for gluten antibodies, but getting the results was like getting blood out of a stone, so I gave up.
When I got to Bedford hospital on the 11th, one of the nurses checked my records, including allergies, so I told her I'd been tested but hadn't had an answer yet. All she had to do was find a screen, because the result had been put on the system. Clever!
The result is that there was no evidence of gluten antibodies! I am so pleased. It means I can get get back to eating "normal" food at normal prices, and the sheer convenience of picking up a sandwich.
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Reply #973. Aug 01 10, 4:59 PM
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Deunan
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Turkey, roast beef or chicken sandwich? Cheese? Lettuce or tomato?
More good news, Lesley. Too bad it took so long for you to be told the result.
Reply #974. Aug 01 10, 5:49 PM
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satguru
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Glad my call was welcome, and as it goes until the tariffs were changed this year it cost me a lot less to phone America than here during the day. My ex (Grace's sister) lives there now and miss our long chats until I can find a new way to get cheap calls.
And I should be meeting my next member here in a few weeks, it's only happened every couple of years since 2004 and does add a new dimension to each one when we meet again here. I think you'll confirm I'm a lot quieter and less opinonated in real life. I've always loved writing and tend to use it far more as a way of communicating my views where people are likely to see them than just with a few people in person who probably agree with me on many things already and agree to disagree on the others. And of course I can get away with far more bodily function jokes in real life as well than here, which is why I have managed to keep my membership...
Reply #975. Aug 01 10, 6:43 PM
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| veronikkamarrz
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Lesley, you sound wonderful! Jonathan and GF did a good job.
Your companion in the ambulance had a forthcoming wedding? Tell now, was it Chelsea? :)
Happy you're doing well, and look for more very entertaining posts...More entertaining if you'd caused a little trouble with the motor-chair!
Reply #976. Aug 01 10, 7:07 PM
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MarchHare007
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Lovely, Lovely News! :)
So nice to pop in and find you'd finished a new chapter. :D
I agree honeybee. :)
And no gluten intolerance is Marvellous.:)
Reply #977. Aug 01 10, 7:32 PM
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| lesley153
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Yes pleased, Deunan, all of those. Of course we might have made a start if my EX! (yippee) GP had try to find out why I had raging anaemia more than two years ago. The iron pills he threw at it were welcome, but a reason would have been as useful in the long run. Wholemeal bread and unsalted butter. Thank you. :)
David, always happy to stand in for an ex who costs too much to phone. :p Would it be dreadful of me to ask if she knows how to use a phone?
*sticks tongue out and runs away*
Are there's me thinking you were quiet because because we frightened you! :)
Thanks, VM, I feel good, although I'm back to my old habits of being up at 2.30, and the two of them were perfectly wonderful. She must be besotted!
My ambulance companion was most definitely not Chelsea. She's a very sweet 23 or 24, with a daughter of 14 months, and she's about to marry the child's father, who's only 21. Alarm bells ringing yet? OK, let's have another go.
She broached the subject by saying that he's selfish but she doesn't mind because she loves him. AAARGH! And I'm thinking: how much more selfish will he be with a slightly older wife he can lean on just like a substitute mummy? And can I tell a complete stranger to get her running shoes on, pick up her daughter, and get as far away from the man-child as she can run?
The only ray of hope is that she knows something's wrong, otherwise she would be telling people she was getting married, not that she is marrying someone she already knows is selfish. I hope she hears her little voice and acts on it, preferably before she's signed the certificate. |
Reply #978. Aug 01 10, 7:33 PM
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| veronikkamarrz
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Poor thing. My advice is...RUN!
Reply #979. Aug 01 10, 9:06 PM
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honeybee4
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Maybe she thinks she will change him. Don't they all?
Reply #980. Aug 01 10, 9:34 PM
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