Part 3
The surgeon visited me on Saturday evening and told me that my operation would be carried out at about 1pm on the Sunday afternoon and would take about 3-4 hours. He asked if I had any questions about the procedure to which I answered that I didn't want to know anything, I just wanted it done. Basically I didn't want to know what the risks were as I had to have the operation and I didn't want me or my wife to be worrying about it. My wife, however, had different ideas and proceeded to ask whether the operation was routine and what the risks were! Fortunately the surgeon reassured us that the operation was routine (for him!) and that the chances of success were high, although obviously there were risks associated with working closely with the spine. I have to say that I was never worried about the operation, having spent several days in various hospitals I had immense confidence in everyone involved due to the friendliness and professionalism they had all shown. I cannot speak highly enough of the care I was given at every step of my treatment.
On the day of the operation I was taken out of the ward at about midday along to the operating theatre. This looked very high-tech indeed with fantastic views! The surgeon explained that there would be a short delay as the anaesthetist was delayed in another operation, in the meantime he chatted about what was going to happen. The anaesthetist was only delayed for about 20 minutes and proceeded to give me my anaesthetic. This was an injection and felt at first very similar to the morphine I had been having, but slightly more powerful! Within a matter of a few tens of seconds I was unconscious.
Next thing I knew I was awake in a small post-operative ward, after a quick check that all my limbs still functioned I figured that the operation must have gone at least reasonably well as they all still moved! In the post-op ward everyone had an individual nurse looking after them as well as being hooked up to the usual array of monitoring equipment. My nurse soon arrived to let me know that the operation had gone well and I would just be monitored for a few hours before going back to the ward. I have to say that I felt very well, for which I was very grateful. The majority of the other patients around me looked to be in distinctly worse shape which made me feel lucky even though I considered being laid up in the hospital to be not a very lucky situation!
After about an hour I started to get a bit bored and wondered whether I would soon be allowed back to the ward. My nurse arrived for a check up and asked me if I would like to go to the toilet, to which I replied yes. I expected to have to go through the usual routine with the plastic bottle whilst lying on my back that I had been doing for the last few days! But the nurse then asked if I would like to walk to the toilet. My first reaction was one of surprise, as I had just come out of a fairly major operation and hadn't walked, or even stood up for the best part of the last 4 days. I thought, though, that presumably he wouldn't be asking me if I couldn't do it so I said yes. He disconnected me from all the monitoring equipment and wheeled my bed out of the ward and down the corridor to the toilet. Here he told me to try getting off the bed and walking to the toilet, which was only about 2 yards away. I managed to do this, with his support, and sit on the toilet, then I managed to walk back to the bed and get back on it again with the nurses support. I was incredibly pleased at this, walking about 4 metres was a major achievement and I was really surprised that I could walk so soon after the operation.
After about another half hour I was taken back to the ward where my wife was waiting for me. She had met my surgeon shortly after he had come out of the operation so knew that it had gone well. She said the surgeon had told her that it was fortunate that the operation was carried out as I had been very close to being paralysed in the fall. I think that I slept fairly well that night, partly because of the after effects of the anaesthetic and partly due to relief that the operation had been a success.