It's been a whole week since I went into hospital to have my suprapubic catheter changed.
Being the pessimist that I am, I was expecting the worst. When I say 'expecting' the worst, I mean preparing for the worst.
I first had the operation in January and the first time they change it, you have to have it done in hospital.
It should be changed every every three months, but because of an admin error and an infection or two, it didn't get its first change until a week ago.
I have written since I had the procedure bitching and moaning about the problems I've had since it was done. I've said it before, but I can honestly say that the first three months post operation were the worst three months of my life.
Anyway, I'll get to the 'silver lining' part of the story now and that is that despite my concerns, the catheter was easily removed, pain free and just with minor discomfort. "A good start, the job is half way done" I told myself. The nurse then proceeded to put the new one in. I had previously told myself, that if there were any problems inserting the new catheter, I would ask the nurse to not bother with the suprapubic entry and putting an Indwelling catheter in (one that enters your bladder via your urinary tract).
Before I had a chance to grit my teeth, the nurse informed me that it was in and started to blow up the balloon that holds it there. After the day bag had been attached, I had to hang around for a while, to see if the bag filled up.
A blocked catheter was one of the many problems I had with the last one, but all my concerns were to no avail, as it started to fill straight away. All that was left was to eat my hospital lunch (cheese an ham sandwich and jelly) and go home and hope that the trouble free procedure continued to be trouble free. The aftermath was my biggest concern, so I was far from being 'out of the woods' just yet.
It's been a whole seven days since I had my catheter changed and everything is tip top. I've not had any blockages, I haven't had any infections and my wound is pain free! Dan is indeed a happy man.
Before I go, I'm sure there is still a question that you're dying to know the answer to. A question that is burning away at your insides. A question that will cause large amounts of insomnia. You must know what flavour jelly I had for afters at the hospital? Well, I'm not telling you.
Regards,
Dan
No comments:
Post a Comment