Many of you for sure wondered why I did not take part in the Finnish Cross Country Marathon Championships. Some of you might have noticed I was in Lapland and it would have been easy for me to continue to Luosto, also situated in Lapland, where the National Championships were held. But I did not show up. The reason for that was on upcoming surgery. I have been complaining about my right leg for a while and the reason for that has been a flow limitation in the iliac artery.
The surgery was done in Holland 3 days ago, by Dr Bender, a specialist in this type of surgeries. On the day of the surgery I was supposed to be the first patient of the day. I already got the pre medication and was waiting for being rolled in. That morning there was an emergency and my surgery was postponed with a few hours. So back to the ward and try to keep calm. The pre medication also made me very sleepy so I slept almost the whole time before I was called back again.
As the nurses pushed me for the second time I started to become a bit nervous. But there was no way back anymore. Dr Bender came up to me and I can still remember how he told me that the theatre is being prepared and I just thought at that moment that the show can begin. Narcoses and everything was black for some hours. As I woke up the first I had to do was throwing up. The nurses was pushing me back into the bed and I wanted to get up. I was sweating, that I can remember, because they were wiping my forehead with a wet and cold towel. Probably the morphine was the reason for throwing up. I got some medication and it helped. Still I was throwing up several times during that evening and early night, but luckily it stabilized quickly and the next morning I was able to have breakfast.
The first day after the surgery I stayed in bed. I had an catheter so I did not have to think about going to the bathroom. Easy, but still a weird feeling when the bladder was emptied by itself. Later that day I got rid of all the tubes. The most painful was when the drain was pulled away.
As the catheter was pulled out it meant also learning to empty yourself the normal way. I fought for several hours before I managed to do it the natural way. Also a diarrhea made the next night difficult as I wasn’t allowed to stay up and go to the toilet. The work all nurses are doing is of such a big importance. I have noticed that the days I have been so helpless and dependent on their help.
Today is the third day after the surgery. I had a shower this morning, I can walk a little bit and the day looks a lot more brighter already.
Pia Sundstedt 