Yesterday my dad
went in for emergency surgery, which is obviously not the sort of situation you
want to contend with.
Thankfully all went well, the operation was pretty speedy and they were very happy with him, but the day still felt yawningly long, particularly in the morning, while we were waiting for him to go down to theatre. I caught the bus to the hospital at 6:45am to meet my mum so we sit with my dad until the porter took him through; he was lucky to be prioritized due to the urgency, so was first on the list that day, but the procedure still didn’t start until about 11:am, so inevitably we spent those four hours at a constant state of high alert, waiting for the moment to come.
My role in these circumstances is to placate and reassure, which I don’t mind as it seems to help. That doesn’t mean I’m not worried too, but I tend to be quite good at retaining the information given to us by the medical staff, as well as reminding my family that things aren’t as ominous or foreboding as they seem. I’m glad I’m able to do that, as it helps take some semblance of control over a situation where things can feel out of your hands, which is when it starts to be overwhelming.
Hopefully now we’ve got past the stress of yesterday, things will settle down, particularly if the pain my dad was in prior to the operation has been eased by it. What we all need is a little sleep as things always look better after that.
Thankfully all went well, the operation was pretty speedy and they were very happy with him, but the day still felt yawningly long, particularly in the morning, while we were waiting for him to go down to theatre. I caught the bus to the hospital at 6:45am to meet my mum so we sit with my dad until the porter took him through; he was lucky to be prioritized due to the urgency, so was first on the list that day, but the procedure still didn’t start until about 11:am, so inevitably we spent those four hours at a constant state of high alert, waiting for the moment to come.
My role in these circumstances is to placate and reassure, which I don’t mind as it seems to help. That doesn’t mean I’m not worried too, but I tend to be quite good at retaining the information given to us by the medical staff, as well as reminding my family that things aren’t as ominous or foreboding as they seem. I’m glad I’m able to do that, as it helps take some semblance of control over a situation where things can feel out of your hands, which is when it starts to be overwhelming.
Hopefully now we’ve got past the stress of yesterday, things will settle down, particularly if the pain my dad was in prior to the operation has been eased by it. What we all need is a little sleep as things always look better after that.