I've been absent for a while.....I had a hysterectomy and are currently recovering from it. But what an experience if you're a nurse yourself and all of a sudden your are on the wrong side of the sheets! Quite an undignified situation!
I went to a hospital I used to work before and knew half the staff.....should have been a warning signal even before my arrival! There was forever somebody chit chatting .....just as you think you snooze off, somebody pops in.....very nice to see everybody, but you do not feel your bubbly self.....your hair is flat as you still have the energy to wash it, but when you get to blow drying, it is another story! You do apply make-up in the morning, but later on the lipstick is gone, and you could not be bothered to touch it up.....hair is already flat!
The moment I arrived, I was weighed.....it the hallway where everybody were passing by......hubby looking over the shoulder to have a peep.....then they took my height and the scale showed the BMI....still in the hallway!
I was escorted to my room which I shared with three other woman. Outgoing self introduced her to everybody.....the nurse then started asking me all my medical history....in front of everybody....top volume.....even my husband decided to go and have coffee! The other ladies in the room replied on some of the questions.....and there I was! I felt like asking 'what about patient privacy?', but they were all so involved in the questionnaire, that I could not interrupt!
I was then given a white theater gown, a 'paperish' panty that fits small to extra large and a theater cap. By then it was visiting time for the rest of my roommates, and the one had an old man staring at me all the time. The nurse came back and asked me if I had shaved......everybody stared at me.....roommates.....visitors.....by now I got up and closed the curtains around my bed myself! I think the nurse got the hint.....
Anyhow....I did not shave! Totally forgot about it! Had to go to the bathroom.....with my beautiful theater outfit and shave.....back in my bed, the nurse came in, and without any warning, lifted my clothing, pulled of the 'paperish' panty......just to check if I had shaved correctly!
Then came the ECG......exposing my DD's....and I had to ask by now to close the curtains properly as they had openings from all the commotion.....
I went to theater and woke up with the very low blood-pressure....... I did not pass urine the first 12 hours and they started giving me fluid boluses.......by the next morning I looked like a stuffed sausage......my fingers looked like 10 pork sausages......I could see my cheeks!......after some medication, the problem cleared up, and I soon wanted to go home, as I felt well.....the problem......I have not passed stools yet! Now that was another terrible situation.....they give you suppositories, and all they do is making you windy! And it felt like all my roommates could hear every sound from the bathroom!
One of my 'roomies' is working in the hospital kitchen, so she organized me some stewed fruit from the kitchen....I had so much that I think I am going to have good bowel action for the next three weeks!
The prunes did the job, and I was eventually discharged. I have new respect for patient privacy......I lost my dignity instantly........what about the poor patients who can not close their own curtains!
By the way.....I am doing well, and it is good to be back on line! Look out for my new posts .....can't wait to get going again!
