This week is potentially full of hospital visits….appointments and surgery for my husband, and various appointments for me!
In fact, October has shaped up to have more than our usual share of seeing the inside of various hospitals!
Today was all about preparations for my husband’s hernia operation, which is currently scheduled for tomorrow.
If you don’t know what a hernia is, it is when an organ such as the bowel or intestines squeeze through a weak spot in the abdominal wall.
In my husband’s case, he has what is called an incisional hernia as it is as a result of an incision.
Not surprisingly, hernias are very common for liver transplant patients so it is all pretty routine, however these patients have to be looked after with special care, due to being susceptible to infection as their immune systems are suppressed.
We fronted up to Clinic 4 this morning for my husband to be checked over to make sure he is healthy enough for surgery.
First thing on the list was an ECG…waiting room number 1…have I ever mentioned how much I hate daytime TV….thank goodness for the ipad!
Didn’t have to wait too long thankfully, and my husband soon emerged with his chart….heart is all good!
Back to Clinic 4 to wait to be called to meet with the nurse…waiting room number 2
Not sure how, but the nurse knew all about my husband competing in the Australian Transplant Games…needless to say, they aren’t too worried about his fitness levels!
Blood pressure and temperature taken…all perfect!
He signed all the usual forms, and then it was across the corridor to see an intern, who asked heaps of questions…including about what the Transplant Games were like….and had a look at his hernia.
She gave him the all clear, pending the results from the blood tests which were the usual liver function test, plus another one in case he needed to have an blood infusion.
Which meant our last stop was Pathology and waiting room number 3….this area is a very familiar one as my husband has been a very regular customer!
While waiting to be called, we caught up with the guy who took all my husband’s bloods just before transplant….over two years have past, yet he still remembered my husband’s name!
The picture on the left was a couple of hours before transplant….my husband was so yellow, he almost glowed in the dark…I took the picture on the right today…how much healthier does he look!
All is now in place for our next trip to the hospital tomorrow…he is fourth on the list so probably won’t be done till after lunch.
Surgery can take anywhere from 45 minutes, to two hours or more…all depends what the surgeon finds when he opens him up!
And of course, the surgery may yet be postponed…because my husband is a liver transplant recipient, he has to have a liver transplant surgeon do the repair.
If there is a liver transplant or a related emergency, then they will cancel any elective surgery for the day.
We certainly can’t complain if someone is receiving that life saving transplant, just like my husband did back in 2012….but I am keeping my fingers crossed that the surgery does go ahead with no issues, and I have my husband home again safe and sound….and healthy!!
John Mears
All the best Jason you will be fine.