Compostable Kate

The day after my surgery, the mass of doctors came around again, and I was told that my appendix was probably not to blame for my belly pain. However, I won't know for sure until I go back in 6 weeks for the follow-up and the pathology results. They told me that I had mesenteric adenitis (I had to get the head doctor to write this down), which is when an infection causes the lymph nodes at the edge of the lining of the gut to swell. Nothing can be done about it, except wait it out. It's usually caused by a viral infection, so anti-biotics aren't any use. When I googled it later on, I discovered that it's usually found in children and young teens. A bit embarrassing, as I am a very long way off being a teenager. However, today it's almost 2 weeks since this started, and I'm still in some considerable pain (especially tonight). I looked it up again, and it can last from a couple of days to "some weeks", which is not what I want at all. I want ...

While I was given morphine, I was able to sleep a little and take myself to the toilet.  The next morning (this was Tuesday 11th May, my brother Damian's birthday) I needed help to shower and dress in a new gown (their gowns have buttons and ties and are very complicated!), and to put on my super-sexy pressure stockings.  I got to speak to my Mum (she's excellent at tracking down people in hospital, having been a hospital doctor (anaesthetist) most of her working life), and talking to Mum always makes me feel better. I did manage to send a Happy Birthday text message to Damian, too. I ended up going down for surgery at about 2pm, having been visited briefly by a crowd of doctors, and told I was having a laparoscopy, and no matter what state my appendix was found to be in, it was being taken out. I woke up in Recovery in a huge panic, as I knew I shouldn't be treated in a Muggle hospital, as I was a Wizard, and it was really important that I let them know...      I ...

I live really close to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, so it didn't take long to get there. The driver was trying to minimise the bumpiness of the ride, but I was sucking on that "green whistle" and it was making me woozy, so I wasn't really aware of much else. The ambulance guy in the back with me said that after a bit I could try covering the hole to get a stronger blast, but I nearly choked when I tried it, so settle for the regular dose. It tasted and smelled like anaesthetic (I would know, as I've a had a few over the years). I hung about in the ambulance entry for a bit, admiring how good looking all the ambulance guys were - and sucking on the green whistle - and confirming my details with a receptionist. I was eventually moved into the emergency department itself, and actually taken into a cubicle. When I was in there last year, after my crash, I had to stay in the corridor. So, I was set up with a drip, put into a fetching lilac-coloured ...

I've been away from home for over a week now, and although I'm keen to get back, daily life is still a bit of a stuggle.... Today is Tuesday, and last Sunday night - a week ago last Sunday, that is - I was experiencing the worst belly pain I'd ever had.  Now, that is saying something, as I frequently have severe belly pain.  However, I try not to exaggerate the level of my pain, just in case it really could get worse, and this time it really had.  Adjectives such as "agonising" and "excruciating" came to mind, and as I was writhing in excruciating agony, not to mention the intense nausea accompanying it, I was exacerbating the pain in my hips, and messing up my back, just for good measure. It's another measure of my new levels of pain and desperation that I actually asked friends for help.  I'm less rigidly independent than I was even just a year ago, but I have still stopped short of calling someone up to drop what they're doing to come ...