An hour to go… (Monday)

Thank goodness for ear plugs and eye mask. I had the snore chorus in my ward accompanied by the beep nation of monitors. Slept on and off. Had a canular and drip in me all night. Woke at 6 for checks. Had a shower and returned to my freshly made bed with a rather worrying waterproof membrane placed on my bed!

I met the consultant doing the surgery last night. They do these procedures 1/2 times a week. He has done over a hundred and the team that supports him are a seasoned medical team.

He explained that he will make four holes across my abdomen for tools; a hole just below my sternum – that’s the first part of the operation. The second part I will have four holes down my right hand side; and a larger incision (exit wound!) for extraction. I’ll wake up with a drain in either side of my chest; a tube up my nose and in to my new stomach as a drain; catheter and likely to have an epidural in for pain management.

I will remain in Intensive Care until the drains are removed, most likely be Saturday.

Ok, off to surgery now! 👋