The day he arrived... (Part 2)

Continued from here.....

After about 3-4 hours I was wheeled out from the OT, the anaesthetic started wearing off and I could finally feel the pain. Dr Lee mentioned that if needed I can ask for painkillers and the one that would work best would be the suppository type. As the pain was bearable, it was painful but not the end of the world kind of pain, so I decided to be a heroin and refused the painkillers. To be honest, I was more uncomfortable sleeping on the hospital bed than handling the pain from the wound. The hospital bed was so hard that I am sure I would end up with bed sores if I had to sleep an extra night. My buttocks and back were so sore that I have to move and change the pressure point every 30 mins but with the pain it was hard to move. And as I still had the drip on me plus the urine cathether, it was even harder.

I just lied there the entire night, only sitting up slightly assisted by the bed to breastfeed. I started breastfeeding the night itself. The nurse also offered me a glass of milo which I accepted happily. As it was a single bedded room, papa was allowed to sleep with me. He had to sleep on a reclining chair that squeaks a lot (ie very noisy). It didn't look at all comfortable but he will just have to make do. After the 11pm feed, papa went back home for a quick shower and returned about 2 hours later. During that time, the nurses came in to check on me every 15-30 mins, checking my blood pressure, heart beat and temperature. It was quite annoying honestly as I didn't really get to rest properly.

At about 3am the following day, the nurses stopped the drip but left the needle intact in my hand as I still need to be injected with antibiotics. I felt much better being able to move both my hands more freely now. Bun was also brought to me every 3-4 hours for feeds. I was able to feed him quite comfortably too.

The next morning around 6am, the nurses removed the urine cathether. You have no idea how relieved I was when it was removed. After a while I became worried. What if I needed to wee and I still can't walk? The nurses told me I will need to make an attempt to the toilet at least once before 12 noon otherwise they will need to put the urine cathether back in me.

At 8am they came back to give me a sponge bath and to change the sheets. After it was done they asked if I would like to try to sit on the chair. Papa was away for his breakfast. I braved myself and tried to sit up with the nurses' help. It was only 18 hrs after the surgery. I managed to sit on the bed but the moment they helped me up on my feet, the wound hurts so badly it felt like I was being ripped apart. I could make one small step using my left foot but not with my right. Immediately I could see blood dripping from down there onto the floor. The nurses said I must have stood up for too long and told me to get back on the bed. With a lot of pain, I got back onto the bed. My heart sank. I was constantly being reminded by nurses and doctors and friends that the sooner I walk, the faster I would heal. Imagine my disappointment when I could not walk.

Dr Lee came to check on me in the morning and I told him I could not walk as it was too painful. He prescribed me with some mild oral painkillers. The nurses came a few mins later with a little brown pill and 2 paracetamol. I took them hoping that it would help me walk faster. Dr Choy, Bun's paed also came to introduce himself and told me that Bun was doing very well and he was a healthy and heavy little baby.

Then around 12 noon the nurse came again to check if I have used the toilet. I told her I could not walk still and asked her if I could use the bed pan. She brought the bed pan and I cleared the bladder. It was about 800ml! The nurse then warned me that I cannot hold my bladder for so long as the fuller the bladder is, the harder it would be for the uterus to contract. Moreover, if the bladder is full it would hurt the uterus too. After relieving myself, I felt so much better. I was wondering if that was the reason why I could not walk in the morning... could it be because of the full bladder?

The rest of the day got by like usual, lots of nurses coming in and out for the routine checks, cleaners coming in to clean the room, breakfast, lunch and dinner being served. For the entire 3 days 2 nights I was there, I was given tasteless fish porridge for lunch and dinner. For breakfast I got 2 slices of bread with fish porridge for day 1 and 2 slices of bread with oats for day 2. Oh how I miss eating rice. I got milo 4x a day.

Around 5pm, after 5 hours of clearing my bladder, papa asked me to try and sit up again. This time it was just me and him. I held his neck tightly and he helped me up. I managed to sit down for a while and adjust to the pain. After about 10 mins, I was able to stand up and again had to remain standing for a while to adjust to the pain. I finally managed to walk a few small steps to sit on the chair next to the bed. I was so happy. Next mission is to walk to the toilet. As the nurses still needs to monitor my output 2 more times that day, I had to call them to help me to the toilet. Taking one small step at a time I was able to walk to the toilet and cleared my bladder. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

After the first time, the subsequent times of getting up from bed, walking and sitting became easier and less painful. I got up a few more times that night to just walk around the room unassisted. I was so happy as this would secure my discharge tomorrow!

The next morning Dr Lee dropped by to visit and asked if I was independent to walk around, use the toilet etc which I proudly replied yes. Then he told me I could go home today and advised me to continue taking the painkillers for 2 more days just in case.

At around 1pm on Wed, I was finally discharged and was able to walk all the way from my ward to the car park. I was so happy that I don't have to sleep on the hard bed anymore.