After a total of 11 days in hospital I was allowed to go home. I said my farewells to the excellent medical / nursing staff, my fellow inmates and booked a taxi for the 11 mile journey home. To say it was one of the most uncomfortable journeys I have ever undertaken would be an understatement. I felt every piece of gravel in the road. My belly wobbled painfully at every jolt. I was relieved to get home in one piece. I settled in, unpacked and then went to sleep for 9 hours!
A week later the District nurse called to remove my staples from my abdomen. To say this was a weird feeling would be an understatement! Still once done it was nice to give the wound a bit of a scratch as it was just a tad itchy! The next day, a letter arrived from the hospital for a follow up appointment to see how i was healing after the operation. I felt good and I was able to do more each day.
The day of the hospital appointment arrived and this time the taxi ride was a hell of a lot more comfortable! I waited in outpatients and was eventually called through by a nurse into a small side room. I sat on the edge of the bed and waited to see my surgeon who I thought was coming to examine me today. A while later a Doctor came into the room and introduced herself as an assistant to my surgeon and she was attending to me as he was too ill to come to work today. I lifted my shirt as requested so she could examine my wound. She prodded and poked about and asked me how I was coping with the pain. After I had answered all of her questions, she got up to leave the room, and while she had her hand on the door handle she turned to me and said " Oh did you know it was Cancer?" "Erm... No" i replied "someone will be in touch" she said and promptly disappeared through the door! The taxi ride home seemed like the longest journey I have ever undertaken.....
