Surgery in Singapore...The gory details....

Yes, I'm still here. Survived the night and the extra transfusion had my blood count high enough for them to take me down for an Endoscopy and a Colonoscopy to try and work out what was happening to me. They discovered a thing called Diverticulitis and as I was still bleeding internally it was decided that most of my large intestine needed to be removed. The Dr explained that if they only took out the affected bits there was the risk that it would just move and the next bleed would be fatal. Sort of makes up your mind for you, doesn't it. So Bill took his 2nd walk of the day to Theatre with me that afternoon.

It is only now that I realise how terrible it all was for him. Even though I understood to a degree what was happening I was drifting in & out of reality for the better part of 4 days. Bill however was having to cope with seeing me attached to all sorts of machines, having me coming & going as they did their tests, subsequent surgery & X-rays. He was there for me every time I opened my eyes to let me now that I was going to be OK. I knew there was a reason I love that man!

Once I returned from surgery I drifted in & out for the next 24 hours. The Dr was pleased with how it had all gone and by the second morning I should have been a bit better than I was. I was feeling sick and during the day this got worse. After gaining a few more tubes to remove the waste I finally remembered that Pethidine after surgery makes me very sick. Once I spoke to the Dr we lost the drug and almost immediately I started to come good. I did try to tell them on my way to the theatre that I couldn't tolerate it but I think I got the name mixed up. Never mind, we got there in the end.

It was a much happier Rhossie that greeted Bill & the Dr the next morning and while I still had tubes coming out of every orifice, except my ears, I was starting to feel better. Now if only they would feed me.

Two days later I finally got to taste my first liquid other than sips of water. It had been 9 days since my last lunch with the kids. You have no idea how good a glass of apple juice can taste and just how great the broth was I had for dinner that night. It was the best thing I ever tasted. From there on it was all good. More broth for breakfast and then I was allowed a veritable feast for lunch. Cream of Mushroom soup and Lycee jelly. Yum!

Day by day we lost the various tubes that were attached as we increased the amount and type of food I ate. Then on Friday the last tube came out of my arm. No more veins to find so I was told as long as I could keep the fluids up it could stay out. Needless to say I drank like a fish (only water) and it never had to go back. At this point the Dr had declared me fit to travel and let the insurance company know that I could be discharged and flown home. It took them a day to work this out and I was finally discharged at 3.00pm on Monday afternoon. We were on a flight home that night. Direct to Melbourne arriving around 6.00am on Tuesday morning.

At this point I can only say how wonderful all the staff at the Raffles Hospital were. The Dr was a wonderful young man who never seemed to be stressed by whatever I threw at him. He was happy to explain everything to both Bill & I everyday in a way that we could understand and relate too. The nursing staff were just an amazing group of people. I was a lot of work for them in the early days and never once did they make me feel like I was an inconvenience or a bother to them. My name kept them all amused for the entire time and I really don't know if they ever figured it out. I was know as Harris, Harrie, Rose, Lynette and very occasionally I did get Rhoswen. I just answered to everything so it really didn't matter. I think the crazy Aussie lady kept them all amused and of course they just loved Bill. Especially as my heart rate & temp kept going up when he was around. He took the credit and they always laughed out loud at him.

Bill was accommodated in the hospital also. On the 8th floor they have a number of rooms which are suites for the families to stay. Just like a basic motel room with a queen size bed, tea & coffee making and daily cleaning. It sure made life much easier for him just to be able to pop up and down to see me without having to find his way to and from the hospital each day. As you can see from the picture at least I had a colourful view to look at each day. Once I could sit by the window I watched all the people as they came and went throughout the day. It was always busy, Singapore never seems to stop.

So now you have all the gory details I'll leave you here. Back tomorrow for a quick finale of our time in Singapore...........