Words from Tore him self - anyone can see why I love this man?
SOME MEMORIES FROM THE OPERATION AND THE DAYS FOLLOWING.
This is written 25 days after I came to the hospital to have my operation. Since that day many thoughts have rushed through my head.
I was pretty well prepared on what was about to happen, but I felt that I still needed some more information. Both my wife and I are very information hungry.
One thing was sure though, I had made the right decision. There seemed to be no way they could save my foot, so an amputation was inevitably. I simply had no other choice.
What I was unsure about was if this really was the right time? I thought so myself. Now they would amputate just 6 inches below the knee, if I waited longer it could have been all the way up to my thigh. And that would have been far worse.
When we arrived at the hospital the first day was a bummer. We had the impression that the operation would take place the next day, instead it was put off one day further into the future.
That blew my mind really; I was so set that the operation would take place the following day that everything else was just another blow to my mind.
And the doctor that received us did not seem very cooperative.
Anyway, the show went on and I was on the operation table on Thursday, December 3rd.
Before that they had given me epidural in the spine in order to keep me sedated.
But things happened, I wasn’t completely sedated. I had a short period when I was awake and felt the pain of the knife. I said something and moved my leg, and I heard the surgeon say that I needed full sedation.
The first night after the operation was probably the worst night in my life. I had never felt so much pain before. And there was especially one hour in the morning that was horrible. There seemed to be no way the nurses could keep me calm.
Later thing became more normal. I was on my feet (foot) twice less than 24 hours after the operation. I was determined that I should make it through and back to a normal life again.
I started physiotherapy almost right away. It was exhausting, but also fun at times. I had supervision normally once a day, but I also limped along in a walking frame whenever I felt for it.
All this time I was accompanied by my lovely wife.
I had one serious accident though, and that happened four days after the operation. I was about to sit down in my wheelchair when I was putting my butt too close to edge and I fell on the floor.
This became serious as I opened up the wound from the operation and the surgeon had to come back and stitch me up again. I have been much more careful since then, although I still push my limits.
I stayed in the hospital for almost two weeks. These days after the operation were much more pleasant than the first four. I had a good time at the hospital.
They had a good staff that took good care of me, and with my wife along my side all the time, it was almost fun.
But I had to leave, and on Monday, December 14th, we left for a rehabilitation facility 90 miles further south.
The reception there was not very pleasant. I had the permission to bring my wife along, but it soon seemed that they didn’t like that she stayed there with me.
But my wife is a part of me, and wants to follow me every step along my way to full recovery. I simply had to have her there.
She documents in words, pictures and video what I do and how I’m doing it.
As time progressed they became more used to my wife being there, and two nurses expressed great pleasure in hearing that she would be there with me all the time. I like it that way.
I exercised once or twice a day during the week I stayed at the rehabilitation facility.
Then came Christmas and they closed down for the holidays. We had to go home, or in my case, to a small local hospital.
We headed north on December 22nd.
On our way north we stopped by the hospital and met with the surgeon that did my operation. She wanted to take a look at the wound and see how it healed.
She was so pleased with what she saw that she decided to take the stitches there and then. That was two days ahead of schedule. She even removed the extra stitches she did 15 days earlier.
We were well received at the local hospital, but there was something about the atmosphere there that gave me the critters. I didn’t like what I saw.
After some discussions with myself and my wife, we decided to go to our house anyway, even if it was filled up with various things and not at all fitted for a man dependent on a wheelchair. We decided we could make it livable for me with a few modifications.
And here we are. It’s been four says since we came here and it works out for me to be there.
Some arrangements had to be done, but it wasn’t too much.
You see, in addition to my wheelchair I have brought with me a walking frame and a pair of crutches. So I manage.
We have to go down to the hospital every three days though, in order to change the bandages on my amputated foot and to take some tests. But we can live with that.
We will go back to the rehabilitation facility on January, 4th.
During the time since I left for the hospital the first time on October, 9th, my wife and I have become much closer.
We do our best to come through this together, and when it’s finally over I think we are stronger than ever as a couple.
We have had our arguments, and I believe we will still have them in the future, but this time they can only make us stronger.
We had a very heavy one on the second day at the rehabilitation facility, but we came out of it, even if it took some time.
At this time both of us and our cat suffer from cabin fever. We are stuck in the house because of too much snow.
And I, with only one leg, can’t do a ****ing thing about it.
All this kind of work that I used to do, my wife have to do now.
No wonder that I love her.
Tore B.
