Post Operation
After a good night’s sleep I had my breakfast and it was time to sit up in bed. Easier said than done.
I
managed to get propped up in bed and during the day caught up with the world and
had some more sleep. For the first time in many years I was free from pain. Yes, free from
pain, free from pain killers, free at last. Life had started for me once more, I could
smile, I had colour in my cheeks and I could just about move 'Stummpy'. My new leg had a
new name in my new life. Visitors came and went, also the surgeon came around to
see me, as did Barbara from the amputee clinic. You see I now belonged to a new
family as well, a quite unique group of people who met in the amputee clinic
(The Derby Amputee Club).
Barbara said that she would come back the next day and we would see about
getting me out of bed, we also discussed exercises that could be done and goals
that were could be achieved. Later in the day a nurse came in to do something
with the drips and I made some comment, to which the nurse replied
"If you do not behave yourself I will smack your legs". I promptly
replied, "Leg". She was embarrassed by her mistake, but took it in the
good humour as I smiled back indicating that there was no offence. At this point
I was raring to get into a wheelchair and cause some havoc around the place. I
had to keep reminding myself that it was only one day since I had come back from
the operating theatre. As the day drew to an end the nurse came in and removed the
morphine pump as I had not used it since 9 pm on the night of my operation. I
felt so good and yet I still faced many trials, the biggest of them at this point was
getting onto a bedpan as Stummpy was still very heavy and swollen.
Saturday arrived and I was ready for going home, not that they would let me
free for a couple of weeks yet. I wanted to be with my husband, to go to church
on Sunday, to get back into my life, but Cedric did point out that there are
limits and I needed to be patient. I was still on a drip that was feeding
antibiotics into my body as the greatest risk from the amputation is infection,
but my body must have been fairly immune as I had been on antibiotics for two
weeks before the operation to prevent an infection taking hold in my leg that
would have postponed the operation. I also still had the drain in my leg, but the most
amazing thing for me was there was no pain, no phantom sensation, I was free. I
would spend a few days in bed yet learning to move about and each day finding I
could move Stummpy a little more. When Cedric arrived on Monday I was already
sitting up in a chair next to the bed, it was now four days since the operation,
the drips and drain had now gone and it had taken a lot of effort and time to manoeuvre
into the chair, but I was there. 
Everything
I did was laboured, as Stummpy was still very swollen and sore, but with new life
there are new things to learn, new things to do and as an amputee I had many new techniques
to come to terms with. It will take me not just months, but years and I was
starting at the beginning, and had to learn to take it steadily. On the table you will
see the purple arm-bands that Karen the physiotherapist from the amputee clinic
gave me to use, which are
actually filled with weights, it being very important to keep building up your
arm muscles and keep your blood flowing. I was now drinking plenty to make up for the
earlier part of the week and spent my time doing sewing and word searches.
Cedric brought me a mobile phone so that people could contact me, but I had it
switched off as I am not keen on them, so he continued to get the calls and we
agreed on some times when I would put it on so people could speak to me. This
was a special time as I had calls from my brother in Australia, and friends in
New Zealand, Ireland and from all over the UK, it was good to feel the love and
concern that people had for me.
I have gotten used to being examined and question by student doctors over the past year, as the Pyoderma I had was very rare, so today when the surgeon came around I was the subject of interest once more and spent an hour or two explaining the history and why I had made my choice to go down this route.
The next day I awoke to my 55th birthday. I had so many flowers it was like Kew Gardens and the cards overflowed adding to the many get-well cards I had already received. The OT nurse came up after lunch and they had me jumping in and out of bed, transferring to the chair, wheelchair and commode. Then the visitors came, friends during the afternoon and family later in the day. The walls were covered with lovely cards and drawing from the kids. Cedric and I read the text messages together, while we admired the three lovely bouquets of flowers. Christina, my daughter, bought me a small ironing board that I can sit at to do Cedric's shirts and also a soap, towel and smelly things holder to put on the toilet wall that I can use when I get freshened up in the morning. I had a small birthday cake and cuddly toys from my grandkids. I will need a wheelchair just to bring the cards home. The surgeon asked me if I was 21 again and I replied 37, "thirty seven" he replied expecting me to say twenty-one. "Yes!" I explained, "you see my life was put on hold when I was thirty seven when I got the ulcer and I have taken up my life once more." Cedric brought in some cream cakes later on and we shared them with the nurses who had been so good to me over the past week.
I now had to pass my knickers test before I could go any further. I asked Cedric to get the biggest pair of cheap knickers from the Super Market as they had to go over Stummpy who was still quite swollen. You see the knickers test entails learning to put on your knickers while sitting on the bed. Once this was achieved I could go down to ARC (Amputation Rehabilitation Centre) and start learning new techniques. I then had my test in wheelchair proficiency where I had to weave in and out of the cones and each time they were moved a little closer. I asked if I would be going down the next day and they said that I could come. Colin, the OT said that if we notify the ward staff, there was no reason why we should not go for a walk into Derby on Saturday. Because I had lost so much weight they put me on iron tablets for ballast. Joking apart, I was put on a course of iron for anemia, which is not surprising after loosing so much blood plasma over the past months. It was now six days since the amputation and with help and encouragement from the staff I was able to stand on one leg between the parallel bars where I had to lift Stummpy forward, backward, and sideways. Ok, so far so good. Now do it again three times but pausing for a count of five at each move. Following this I practiced getting into bed and out onto the chair again without assistance, all good fun. An hour and a half later I was released back to the ward with a Gold Star.
One week on and I was allowed to get back into my own wheelchair regaining my freedom and causing havoc as I launched myself down the corridor like a child with a new toy. Cedric had set the wheels back on the wheelchair by about 2 inches to compensate for the loss of weight that comes from loosing a limb. At the weekend we went for a walk into the centre of the town and then to the hospital restaurant for a meal together with a small bottle of wine that Cedric had smuggled in, but it was still not yet time to go home. Eventually the day came when I was told that I could go home the next day, but first I had to have the staples removed. It was twelve days after the operation and the nurse removed the thirty-nine staples from my stump. Before I could go home there was one last technique that I had to master, and that was getting into a car, which I passed with flying colours. The OT explained how you get your chair as close as possible, wind the window down and use the window frame as a parallel bar. Then taking your weight on one leg and your arms you swivel and lower yourself into the car. This was initially simulated in the gym and then done for real after it was mastered. All the nurses and staff were sorry to see me go home. When Cedric arrived I was chatting with a new patient who had an ulcer on her lower leg and was having a below-the-knee amputation in the morning. I was trying to encourage her to see the positive side of things and explaining what to expect. The lady, a little older than I, was not too receptive, which is a shame as there is so much to gain in life. Mr Quarmby, the surgeon, came and told me to go out and live my life once more. I thanked him for giving me back my life. As he was leaving he looked at my grandson's, Simeon's, drawing once more. It was a picture of Simeon with me, with an arrow pointing to my left leg and the words, "Metal Leg" and on the other side an arrow and title "Good Leg". I asked if he would like it, to which he replied "Yes, get a nurse to put it in an envelope for me."
Almost two weeks after the operation I went home and Cedric brought in a Chinese meal as a treat, which was accompanied by a glass of wine.