The Autopsy of Jane Doe

I had my gallbladder removed a few days ago. My admission time was 7am so I was hopeful that I might get seen on the early side.

It turned into a longer than expected wait. I was initially given a time of 9-9:30am and I was ready. There had been a flurry of activity early on with assessments with the nurse and visits from the anaesthetist and surgeon, so it felt like it was imminent.

When the nurse came back I thought I was ready to go but it was to tell me they had rejigged the list and I was now 4th and it would probably be around lunchtime.

After all that activity it was a bit deflating to spend the next few hours all trussed up in my gown, paper knickers and DVT socks.

I was finally collected around 1:30pm. The anaesthetist was apologetic about my wait which was nice, but it is what it is with these kind of things and acknowledgement of the wait was enough for me. The medical team around me were lovely so I felt very looked after and safe.

You don't really have time to process before going into surgery. Things are being stuck to you, you're being asked lots of questions while they're putting the cannula in and before you know it, you're out. I can't even say it's an odd sensation because it's not like going to sleep. No dreams, no kind of consciousness. Just completely switched off. It's a little disconcerting when I think about it. Anything could be happening.

When I came round to the sound of the nurse saying my name, I was immediately dry gipping so they gave me some anti-sickness meds. I felt incredibly warm and in quite a lot of pain and had a very dry and swollen throat.

The nurse attending to me was very kind and helped me drink water and gave me some oral morphine as I was really feeling the pain from the four incision points. I had been warned that during the surgery I would be pumped with gas so a lot of my discomfort was that feeling of trapped gas and the overwhelming need to burp but just couldn't.

I think my husband was relieved when I was wheeled back to my room as he said I'd been gone for a couple of hours and the procedure is supposed to take 30-60 minutes. He was a great comfort to me. He kept me company in my room at the hospital during the long wait for my surgery and he did little things like stroking my hair when I was brought back to my room.

The nurse from the recovery ward did a handover with my primary nurse and reeled off all the drugs I'd had, including fentanyl and lots of others I didn't recognise.

My initial recovery back in my room was a little difficult. It was taking me a while to fully come round from the anaesthetic, I was still feeling sick and swollen, and really hot.

My husband put the air con on but it was like it wasn't touching me, even though he said the room was freezing.

One of the nurses replaced my bed linen with a thin blanket which really helped as I was starting to feel suffocated and not able to breathe properly.

My primary nurse also put on these inflatable pump things on my legs to help with circulation.

My blood pressure was checked and that was all fine. Apparently throughout the day I was giving textbook blood pressure results and I laughed with my husband that I had "completed blood pressure".

My breathing was shallow and oxygen a little low but once they got me sat up a bit in bed and encouraged me to breathe more deeply then that all improved.

They asked if I wanted to try to eat something and I said yes but she put me on an anti-sickness drip since I'd been feeling nauseous beforehand.

After I had eaten a sandwich and drank a glass of apple juice I was keen to try and go to the loo since they won't discharge you until you have passed urine. I never thought it would be such a battle to be rewarded with such a small trickle but I got there.

After that I was starting to feel a lot better and I think the nurses were quite surprised by the change in just a few minutes as I was soon up and dressed. I just just really wanted to be home at that point.

I was discharged a little after 7pm so I'd been there for over twelve hours.

I was given some aftercare instructions like wearing my DVT socks for the next few days (yay). My stitches are dissolvable thankfully so I don't have to get them taken out, and I will get an appointment with the surgeon for three weeks time.

We got an Uber very quickly and we had a very kind driver who, upon hearing I'd had surgery, told me to take my time getting settled and seat belted. I could tell he was driving extra carefully and he apologised profusely when we went over a speed bump. When we got onto our road he asked which house was ours and as it was on the opposite side of the road he actually turned around so he could drop us right outside our drive.

I went straight to bed when we got home around 8pm and I was still feeling very sore and swollen, but thankfully not nauseous. Took a codeine and thankfully got to sleep very quickly.

I woke up earlier than I expected the next morning as I was very sore and had a very bad headache but I was quickly codeined and ibuprofened up, and my husband was very attentive and brought me a croissant with orange juice and a cup of tea.

The bloating has not been fun and it took me a couple of days after the surgery and laxatives before I could go to the toilet. The incision points have been very sore and I think whatever was left of the hospital drugs that had been sloshing around had finally worn off so the pain felt brighter than it had after the initial surgery recovery period.

I know it's going to be a process to recover. Yesterday, for example, was not a great day. I was feeling very uncomfortable and sore and tired, and a bit down as a result so I just went to bed.

I have been able to eat. Sometimes I've felt a little sick afterwards just because my abdomen and stomach are still very tender and after months of debilitating gallstone attacks I couldn't help but still brace for pain when eating. It's wonderful of course to not have gallstone attacks now!

I received an e-mail from the surgeon's secretary a couple of days ago with a copy of a letter sent to my GP. It stated that my gallbladder had been removed without event but it was noted that there were adhesions from previous extensive endometriosis surgery. Apparently the central portion of my small bowel appeared a little dilated and it was uncertain if there could be a degree of adhesion hold-up. They will make an appointment to see me in clinic in a few weeks and we'll discuss the possibility of a CT scan.

I'm not wholly surprised. It would have been strange if there hadn't been scar tissue or evidence of my previous surgeries and if a CT scan can help with any of my other issues then I am all for it.

For now, I am signed off work for my post-op recovery and I am trying to balance getting rest with also moving around. Hardy has been taking his nurse cat duties seriously and has been stuck to me pretty much constantly. Friends and family sent me lovely messages of support which really meant a lot to me.

My husband has been wonderful. He's been ferrying me cups of tea, orange juice and little treats and giving me hugs when I've been feeling low.

I have plenty of books to read and I've started my umpteenth comfort rewatch of The Haunting of Hill House.