The Fine Art Of Surfacing.

You hear the sounds of your surroundings long before you completely wake from the effects of your artificially induced sleep. I could hear the feint whispers of the nurses in the Intensive care unit where I now lay after my operation. As soon as I opened my eyes I was greeted by the vision of a Nurse who was standing next to my trolley/bed. I said my hello's and was gobsmacked to find out I had been "out of it" for 6 hours! I was so thirsty but all I could have was a small pink sponge on a stick which was moistened with a Mouthwash of sorts to rub around my mouth, No drinks allowed yet because of a risk of vomiting due to the  effects of the anesthetic. I lifted my head to try and take a glimpse of my Belly where the operation took place. But to no avail. There was a large gauze in place blocking the view! I saw I had a small pair of tubes up my nose giving me a small amount of oxygen. I felt relatively pain free (due to the epidural in my lower spine) I asked one of the nurses where I was and she explained I was in Intensive care due to the fact that I was a little tachycardic during the operation and they were just keeping a eye on me until my heart settled down. I drifted off to sleep again. When I woke for the second time I was back in my ward. It was then that I noticed I was attached to a couple of drips on stands and a pump or two. The tubes supplying the oxygen where still there too. But it was reassuring to get back to the ol' ward!
I was tended to by a number of nurses both male and female during my return to the ward. I couldn't fault the amount of attention I was receiving.... And so to sleep.
It was definitely morning, The sun was shining through the blinds of the ward. The tubes had gone from my nose and a jug of water and a small plastic beaker were placed on the table next to my bed. I battled with the tubes sticking from my arms and managed to pour myself a beaker of water. The luke warm liquid, probably tap water, never tasted so good.
I Settled back in my bed, picked up the photocopied menu for the lunch of the day and chose a lamb curry...... Time to heal......