Going Under the Knife

At 6 am, the nurse who woke me up told me to eat breakfast fast because I would have my laproscopy this morning.  Anxiety hanged over me, I could only finish one piece of bread and some scramble eggs.

A man in white came with a bed on wheels. I signed a form declaring the cash and content in my handbag before I left my bed. Unsteady, I almost fell down trying to get onto the surgical bed which was rather high. The man told me. “You should not simply step up and down, if you fall, they will scold me.” 

But why didn’t he helped me in the first place instead of doing SMS on his handphone?

I was wheeled away.

The waiting room was cold. My bed was one of eight in the waiting room. I wasn’t the only one who strained my head high up to see what was happening around me.

Don't look at these
when you are in the operating theatre

"Wrrrrrr”, I was in the operating theatre. A medical assistant asked me for my name and ward number, and had me signed a consent form.

Dr W stood in front of me. “This is Dr TXY who will give you the anesthesia. It will be over in a few minutes.”

The aesthesis doctor introduced himself to me. I pleaded to him to be gentle on my arms by showing him all my bruised veins.

“Don’t worry, I will be gentle, I know how it feels when you are scared.” He calmed me down by massaging my arm where he was going to inject the pain killer.

I asked about the big computer on my right side. “This computer will show us the condition of your ovary,” Dr W explained patiently.

 My view from the bed. Trust was what I had.

I closed my eyes when the pains from the needle prick became intense. “Ah Ba, give me your tai chi energy” I said to Father and saw him standing there with his palms facing me, transferring energy to me. 

“Uum mani pak meh home.” I chanted.

When I woke up, I was in my ward.

“Don’t move, you have to lay like this with a stone on your thigh for at least two hours,” a nurse came in to take my blood pressure and temperature.

My leg was tied to the railing and a sort of stone was resting on my thigh. Since laproscopy is minimally invasive, I should be able to walk after two hours!

I asked for foods because I didn’t have lunch. “Lunch is gone.” She said.

“I’ve some crackers in my drawer, can you get for me? And let me sit up a bit to eat the crackers.”

She took the crackers out of the drawer and put them on the table. I couldn’t reach “Can you bring the table nearer to me and open the cracker bag? My hands are very numb today, I can’t do many things.” She did, reluctantly. Then I remembered I forgot to ask for water. “May I have some water?”

“Wait, I am buzy.”

I never got my water. It was Sara who poured me water from her flask. Then she rolled down the bed for me to rest.

Two hours passed, the nurse didn’t come.  When she came, she said, “We will let you rest like this for six hours!”

I felt like a deflated balloon. It is no fun laying on my back in the same position for six hours.

A urinary clip was inserted in me so I would have to carry a urinary bag around besides the ascitis bag

I felt confused when I went to the toilet. I had to remember to clip the ascitis bag’s hooks, and pull the standing trolley with the urinary bag.

How a urinary catheter works.

The catheter with very long tube,
kind of makes me feel uncomfortable

I asked for help from a nurse“Please, tolong”, I pleaded. “I need help today because the surgical hole is still painful.” She brought a vomit container for me to rinse my mouth. Just as she took out my tooth brush, it dropped on the floor. She picked it up and gave it back to me without washing it.

“Can you wash the tooth brush? I will get infection in my mouth if I use a dirty tooth brush. You know all of us patients are getting bacterial infection all the times,” I pleaded again.

“You are a nuisance,” she said but she rinsed my tooth brush for may be one minute under the tap.

I heaved a long sigh when all was done.

Pong’s smiling face came to my mind, “I’ve so many surgeries I can’t even count. The wounds are painful but as patients, we have to bear with the pains. Just let things be, and keep your mind strong so you can use your mind to get well!”

By Ching Ching