Isolation Journal 87

Today has felt hard, I woke up ok and got signed on for work and went straight into a public sector meeting.  We were also doing a BD day so lots of things to organise, calls to complete.   I had coffee and then I had skyr and granola for breakfast.  Seeing my Mum sharing an ignorant post on facebook set me up for a day of feeling frustrated basically "I don't care if you're gay, but don't rub my face in it" I pointed out that if it wasn't for suffagettes protesting quite violently we wouldn't have the vote as women - she's not replied.

I had a morning of sorting out lots of issues rather than being able to be hugely productive, but then I had a meeting with the other Mental Health Champions and discussed some of the things that we were seeing people experience and discussed concerns about going back to the office.

I made burgers and salad for lunch and Alan had ordered an Amazon Echo Dot clock to entertain us.  I then headed out shortly afterwards to have a smear test at the doctors, I ended up there 10 minutes early and so I had to wait in the car and took a call about rolling out some MH Champions stuff specifically in the North.  

I went into reception at my appointment time and had to then wait outside, the smear was a standard test, I just made sure that I'd worn my mask.  When I got back the veg box order from the Organic Pantry had arrived with carrots, kohl rabi, cabbage, potatoes, yellow courgettes, apples, potatoes, satsumas and bananas.

I had an ice lolly when I got back and then worked through until around 7.30pm and Alan made aubergine tacos from Hello Fresh for tea and we ate at the dining room table.

We went for a walk of about 2K and 30 mins and then I watered the plants and was a bit sad that the potato plants had slightly swamped the carrot seedlings and I'm not sure if they will have survived it.  The tomatoes I planted from 1 cherry tomato at the start of lockdown are now doing really well.  

I came inside and tidied the kitchen and sat down to watch some TV - South Park and Storage Hunters.  My throat is feeling sore, I feel a bit naseous and tired and so I booked myself a Covid test for 8am tomorrow.  I realised today I have 15.5 days of annual leave I need to take still, but Alan only has about 8.

Operation - don't read if squeamish!

After the burglary last week on Thursday I was debating whether or not to go ahead with an operation that I'd had re-arranged several times on the following Saturday, but as my cousin pointed out - there probably never was going to be a good time to have it done.

Again I'm not blogging for any sort of sympathy, but more because it's one of those things that I've experienced and hope that by sharing it, someone else who might be nervous about it - can read a realistic account of what happened.

I wrote a few months back about my colonoscopy which was to investigate a skin tag, they also found some Internal Haemorrhoids which needed removing.  At the time they'd suggested initially removing the haemorrhoids whilst conducting the colonoscopy, but they would need to remove the skin tag under a general anaesthetic, so I made the (obvious to me) suggestion of doing it all when I was under anaesthetic.   I was initially due to be having the procedure before I went to Bali - 3 days before flying out, but decided to reschedule, and on reflection, I'm pleased that I did.

I had to get up early on Saturday morning having fasted from midnight with nothing to eat or drink and I got a taxi over to The Spire for 7.30am.  I signed in at reception and was shown to a private room - the procedure was all on the NHS, but had been allocated to The Spire for it to be carried out.  The private room was almost like a hotel room - it had a telephone and a TV as well as an en-suite bathroom with shower and bath.  

I started to settle into the room, logged into the free wifi and messaged a few people that I'd been meaning to catch up with.  A lady came in to ask me for my lunch choice - I went for a tuna sandwich on brown bread, but I could have chosen from ham, cheese and even smoked salmon.  I then had a snooze on the chair and then the consultant came in to talk me through the procedure which he said should take about 30 - 40 minutes and that I should be ok to leave at around mid afternoon.  His demeanour was friendly, but incredibly efficient, I get the impression he is a very capable doctor, but has a very short attention span!  He was concerned I'd not been checked in by the nurses yet and so very soon after he left a couple of the nurses came in to tag me up with wrist bands with my name and address and also another separate one with my allergy to penicillin and my mild asthma noted.  The nurses were lovely, obviously busy (the surgeons had moved around all of the procedure schedules), but were friendly and gentle and talked through what I needed to do and what was going to happen.  I hadn't realised quite that I'd need someone with me for the whole night after the operation, so I checked in with my cousin  and arranged for her to pick  me up and take me home to feed the cats, give them their medicine and pick up some stuff.   The anaesthetist then came to talk to me and confirm I didn't have any lose crowns in my mouth or problems with anaesthetic etc.   


I had to give a urine sample and the nurse checked my blood pressure and pulse - both were normal.  I was given some tape and covered up my ear and belly piercings and  I got changed into a hospital gown and then got on the bed and lay on my side and I was given an Enema to prepare me for the operation.  It's not a painful process, it initially feels cold and you have to stay still for as long as possible, basically until I could feel a clenching slight pain in my lower stomach and had to go to the toilet quickly.  I was also given some Compression_stockings to wear to reduce the risk of clots during the operation.

I had only a brief 10 minutes before the nurse came to walk me to the theatre.  I put on my slippers and dressing gown and locked my phones and purse into a locker and put the key in my dressing gown pocket.  The nurse then put my dressing gown and slippers in a plastic bag under my bed.  I lay on the bed and was hooked up to a heart rate monitor on my finger and 4 electrodes to my chest as well.  I chatted to the nurses about Guides as they asked me a question that I was asked a few more times that day - "What would you normally be doing today?"  and I couldn't think of a suitable answer as I realised that I don't have a routine Saturday activity.  They made me feel very comfortable and the anaesthetist then put a Cannula in my hand.   "Sharp scratch" he said and it was put in the back of my left hand.  He then told me that I would feel a pain in my hand as the anaesthetic went in, as it went into the back of my hand it did indeed feel like a really deep ache, the last thing that I remember saying was "Is it supposed to hurt a lot?" and then about a second later I was asleep.

What felt like seconds later I woke up and another nurse called Andrea was looking after me.  I didn't have my glasses on and so I couldn't see how long I'd been under for, but Andrea told me that it was about 40 minutes that had passed.  I had an oxygen mask on when I woke up and started chatting away and Andrea told me to relax and keep it on for the moment.  I then realised that I had quite a lot of pain in my lower stomach and was writhing around, Andrea gave me 2 Tramadol tablets.  I chatted to Andrea about being burgled and somehow then got onto the topic of craft - she also enjoys craft and so I told her about Buns & Roses and she said that she was retiring and I suggested that she might want to join a WI.  As much as chatting was fine, I still felt in quite a lot of pain so after another 10 minutes or so I was given 2 Paracetamol.  Another lady was brought in next to me and she was coughing a lot and I remembered that they were giving her a special type of humidified oxygen to help her - it seemed to work quickly.  I noticed that the finger in the rubber attachment for the heart rate monitor was bloody - I think it had dripped down from my cannula, so Andrea wiped it clean for me.

Andrea had to ask a couple of times and then I was taken back to my room on the bed.  I was still in quite a lot of pain, but one of the nurses told me that it was probably gas used to perform the procedure and I'd feel better after using the toilet.  The nurses checked my blood pressure and pulse and stayed with me as I got down off the bed in case I wasn't steady on my feet.  At one point the monitor beeped as my pulse dropped down below 50 BPM - I have a naturally low  heart rate so I ended up having to reassure the nurse so that she didn't worry!  I managed to go to the toilet which helped a little with the pain.  I got back on the bed and then switched on the TV and watched The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory which helped distract me.  I also had my tuna sandwich, but my mouth was so dry I couldn't eat the crusts even though it was a really tasty sandwich.  I drank the coffee and even drank the milk because I was so thirsty.  I didn't know how to call the nurses - but there was a phone, so I used that and asked for some water and also asked what had happened to my dressing gown and slippers so that I could get the key to the locker.  The nurses brought everything through and I texted people including my Mum who was going to call, but I needed a sleep.  

I think I slept for about 2 hours and then woke up feeling much better, still sore and drowsy, but the pain in my stomach was much better.  I called for the nurses again and asked if I could go home and so they took my blood pressure and pulse, checked that I wasn't bleeding too much and then said that I could get dressed and go home.  I texted my cousin to come and pick me up and rang my Mum to let her know that I was ok.  One of the nurses came back with a big bag of medicine including lots of Paracetamol and Tramadol for pain relief and then some Fybogel and some Lactulose to help make going to the toilet less painful during my recovery period.  The nurse was Scottish and lovely, we chatted about the burglary and how my cousin was going to pick me up and she walked me to reception.  I made a point of telling her how lovely the staff and the nurses had been and that I really appreciated them.  I had enough time to buy a coffee for 50p and then my cousin arrived and I got into the car.  

Jenny took me back to her house and I watched TV with the kids and then we headed back to my house so that I could sort the cats out - they were all a bit freaked out still from the burglary, but Marla enjoyed cuddling with 5 year old Joe who loves her.  We went back to my cousin's house and ordered a yummy takeaway from Aagrah - I had a very mild vegetable Korma, poppodoms and mushroom rice which I couldn't finish - a sure sign that I wasn't myself.  I started watching Dorian Gray which was really good, but I was feeling so spaced out and drowsy after taking some more pain killers that I ended up going to bed at 10pm.  I was sleeping in Joe's room which was in a surprising comfy single bed.  I remember waking up about 11.30pm when my cousin checked in on me.  I woke up at about 2.30am in pain, took some Tramadol and couldn't sleep so browsed Groupon and spotted a deal for a 10 day trek to Nepal including accommodation, Yoga classes and transfers.  I emailed my friend Kate to see what she thought and then she emailed me back to say that she was definitely interested.  

The next morning I woke up and felt drowsy and still in a bit of pain, but better than I had.  I had fresh bread for breakfast and we had a quick trip to Ikea as my cousin had to sort something out with the new wardrobes that she'd bought for the kid's rooms (I was the very fortunate new home for her old ones).  I needed a new rug and a lampshade for my lounge and 8 year old Caitlin helped me choose.  I thought I felt fine and I got around ok, but I did start to feel a bit dizzy after about 25 minutes and so I'm pleased that I'd planned a very lazy day for the rest of the day.  In the end I went for 4 £10 rugs in red, blue, green and yellow as well as a white and primary colour streaked lampshade.  

Marla seems to enjoy the rug, although I was particularly unhappy about the fact she'd managed to get through the cat flap and spent possibly the night outside on Saturday night.  Hopefully the cold weather will have persuaded her that she shouldn't do that again!  At least she hadn't managed to get far - I found her sheltering underneath a fence panel.

Anyway, I seem to be recovering well, the Tramadol was making me very spaced out and so even though I've been in work all week, I've not been my usual energetic self, although I did have a fairly successful week and placed 2 candidates.  I stopped taking Tramadol on Wednesday and whilst I've felt sore for most of the week, I'm feeling better now, but I'm very pleased I wasn't on a flight to Bali only 4 days later.  I needed to bring cushions to work and take my time to walk slower than usual.  

Anyway, I have looked on the internet and here is a more medical report of what you can expect, but hopefully my ramblings might have helped someone who was nervous.

Food, Craft, Medical Procedures, Indie Night and More Crafting

So I've had a very eventful and extremely stressful week.  The beginning and end were certainly better than the middle, which I can't go into here, but hopefully will be able to share in the future as a totally horrendous and almost seemingly impossible fictional story.  

So I started off the week in Angel as a very grateful guest of my friend Kate who was putting me up on Sunday night as I had to meet with a client in London on Monday to discuss a candidate short-list.  In payment I took her out for dinner at a gorgeous French restaurant which we went to the last time that I visited.  I highly recommend this restaurant - Le Mercury.  

I had poached pears with walnuts and blue cheese to start. For my main I had some really rich duck breast with some incredibly well cooked cabbage and beautiful creamy mash.  And for dessert, I had a very decent crème brulee. 

To burn it all off the next morning we got up bright and early and went to Virgin Active Angel, met one of my other friends Rachel and did a hardcore session of Circuits for 45 minutes.  It certainly woke me up and I felt much more energised for the day (although I did end up aching muchly afterwards).

On the train ride to and from London I occupied myself by practising the embroidery that Hayley had been teaching me last weekend and I started to make up the kit that she had bought for me (for 50p from Embroiderers Guild).  I used my friend Gemma's blog post who had also made the same kit up  as a guide to help me know what I needed to do.  The train guard was very confused by how I had managed to avoid stabbing myself.  The kit was based on a child's drawing and reminded me of this amazing post about children's drawings made into toys

Here are the finished results which I gave to my husband instead of a birthday card.

On Friday I had the not particularly pleasant (but at least not painful) experience of a Colonoscopy.  (I'm writing this in reassurance of anyone that might have to experience this in the future) There is thankfully nothing wrong with me, but more of a check-up, but I deliberately didn't google this before going in as I didn't want to scare myself.  

The reality was that I was fortunate enough to be referred by the NHS to The Spire which is a private hospital in Roundhay.  I don't believe that I received any particularly higher medical expertise or treatment, but I had my own private room and after the procedure was served a very tasty tuna sandwich with a garnish and a pot of tea.  There was also free wifi and a TV.  

I was given two Enemas which weren't as scary as I thought and certainly less painful that some things I've experienced in hospital examinations.  What was more painful was the embarrassment of having to walk up to the theatre in my dressing gown (fluffy and with stars all over - not embarrassing  and my only pair of slippers - a horrendously kitsch pair of elf style Christmas themed slippers - mortifying!)  The procedure itself was not painful, but more uncomfortable and probably the most off putting thing was lying on my side and being able to see in real time an Embarrassing Bodies style view of my own insides.   I have to confess that I did shut my eyes at  some points.  The good news was that I wasn't given a sedative before the procedure and so I was able to head out to join my colleagues on a night out leaving do.

We started off our night at Lazy Lounge where I was warned by helpful bar staff that a Gin and Tonic would cost £8, so I opted for a nice glass of Prosecco which was on happy hour offer at £3.50.  We then walked up to BRB on Call Lane and had pizza and a few more drinks before heading to Elbow Rooms for a few games of pool.  I'm *awful* at pool, but do have an odd ability to sneak in the occasional fluke shot and managed to pot 2 balls at once in opposite pockets at one point.  A few people started to drift off home and so some of us walked over to Mojo (where my WI Buns & Roses  originally used as their meeting place) and I had one of my favourite cocktails an Amaretto Sour.  We made a swift exit when a couple of over amorous ladies were chatting up some of the guys and we went next door to Verve.  Both bars played some really good music varied Indie and rock music, so I made the suggestion that as it was getting later (about half midnight) we could head over to Leeds Met Student Union and go to Fuel which seems to be the new name for Star which I went to every Friday night that I possibly could when I was a student from about 1999 through until I graduated in 2001 (in fact I discovered evidence of my frequent attendance when tidying through some boxes yesterday evening in a scrap book with 13 old tickets stuck in for posterity)  Impressive that it's only gone up to £5 from £3 in the last 10 years!  

We were out quite late and the night got mixed reviews as it's not the usual haunt for a bunch of recruitment consultants.  Star was a pretty straightforward formula cheap entry + cheap drinks + loud music + dark dank room + students and Fuel was similar with an addition or  Cirque de Soleil style rope acrobatics, pyrotechnics and more video screens.  Nonetheless I think that the general feedback was positive (I certainly had a good time) and in summary I remember dancing to Rage Against the Machine, Blink 182 and even this...

PS. Check out the lyric translation here - it's amazing!

Saturday was a much lazier day of crafting on the sofa whilst watching repeats of Sex and the City and The Bill.  I managed to finish off my Pumpkin Head Felt Zombie from the workshop that I did at Buns & Roses last year so the Standard Zombie has a friend.  

I then put my skills to good use - my boss has 3 boys and they all wanted the same cuddly pig toy for Christmas so I offered to help them differentiate by sewing their names in their favourite colours.  I suggested the ears, but she reckoned that (as they are boys) this location would be better - what do you think?