MONDAY 14th AUGUST

Well Monday 14th August was a very big day for me! I came into hospital to have my broken MAGEC rod replaced and a second rod put into the left side of my back.

I woke up really early and drove to the hospital with my mum and dad, I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before and wasn’t allowed any breakfast or even a drink before I got to the hospital.

I was admitted to the Theatre Admissions unit at 7:30am where they checked my height and weight, my temperature, heart rate and blood pressure. I had chance to see the Drs and the anaesthetist before my operation. They also allowed me to drink water, while ch was great because I was really thirsty.

The nurses gave me some cream on my hands – magic cream- to make the skin numb for when they had to give me a needle.

This was to stop it from hurting and I think it really does work, Magic! Then I was given a Theatre gown to wear so I got changed right away. When it was getting close for me to go down to the Theatre, the nurses gave me some medicine to relax me and help make me feel less nervous. It was funny because it made me feel quite giggly – not sleepy!

When I got down into Theatre the nurses gave me a Where’s Wally book to look at while they got my medicines ready, which helped take my mind off what they were doing. They put a needle in my hand and then an oxygen mask on my face. Then they told me that the next thing they gave me would send me to sleep. It worked very quickly because I don’t really remember much else until I was woken up in recovery after my operation.

When I woke up I was given a button to press. This is called a PCA – patient controlled analgesia. It allows me to give myself the pain medicine as I needed it. Which to begin with has been all the time. It really helps me feel more comfortable.

I went straight to the ward after recovery and that is where I still am now. It’s not too busy right now so that’s good.

My doctor came to see mum and dad to let them know that the operation had gone well. I now have two new MAGEC rods and they should continue to work when we start to lengthen them in a few months time.

I have been having hourly checks since my operation to check that I don’t have any nerve damage. The nurses come and test how well my arms, hands, legs and feet work. This also means that they wake me up – every hour, all night long!!!

TUESDAY 15th AUGUST

Well I felt very tired yesterday, but the ward got quite busy and noisy so I didn’t sleep much.

I did get to have some food though which was lovely because My tummy was really rumbling by then!

My PCA really helped me to move about and in fact I managed to quite a lot of activity.

The physiotherapist ladies came to see
me in the morning to help me get out of bed. They helped me to sit on the edge, but I felt like I wanted to stand up. They were amazed and asked me if I wanted to try and walk. I couldn’t wait to try that because I was so bored just sitting in bed!

I had a little walk, just a few meters away and then back to my bed. It didn’t feel too bad, I was a bit achy and my back felt sort of heavy. I then sat out in my chair for ten minutes, it was so nice not to be lying down.

I carried on moving from chair to bed as I needed to be comfy and using my PCA. Then in the afternoon the physio ladies came back to try a bit more moving. I had a little walk off the ward and down some stairs. I felt ok, my back felt heavy and ached a bit afterwards, but it felt good to get moving.

I think that I’m moving around quicker this time than after my last operation. I have been using my PCA quite a lot though!

The worst thing about being in hospital is being so bored, I really am already fed up of sitting still all the time. I have lots of things to do like games, colouring and dvd’s but it’s hard to anything for very long before I need to lie down.

I have a really BIG dressing on my back, the nurses have called it a pressure dressing. It feels very strange and sort of heavy but will come off soon hopefully.