A New Year, New Shoulder

Well the operation is done and all over. I am now the proud owner of another lump of precious metal placed in my body, in the shape of the ball joint of a shoulder

Wednesday 4th January - Operation day

I arrived at the hospital at 7:30am and straight away was admitted onto the ward where I had to get into a gown and some sexy stringy pants ready for the op.  I was visited by the surgeon, the surgeons registrar and also the anaesthetist before going down to theatre.  I didn't have to wait long as I went down to theatre at about quarter past nine.  I was really relaxed until the anethatist tried to find a vein in my hand.  Finding veins are common problems for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

To cut a long story short he tried to get a cannula in the back of my hand but he didn't get the vein so he said he'd go into my foot.  Now I'm a tough bird, but I'm not that tough.  So he said he'd put me to sleep with the gas and put the needle in after I've gone to sleep which is what he did.

The operation was a shoulder resurfacing to replace the ball part of my joint.  It's an operation they like to perform on younger patents so as when it comes time to replace the joint again it's much easier to redo.

Recovery

When I woke up I was in a lot of pain.  I'm told I was crying but I don't remember any of it.  I remember the nurse asking me where the pain was and I pointed to my shoulder.  Straight away I was given a morphine pump, which I've had before, where you press the button to give yourself a dose of morphine through a drip (which was in the vain in my foot).  It's controlled so you can't give yourself too much.  After about half an hour I felt much better.

People were in and out of recovery throughout the day, but only one other patient had to stay in recovery overnight with me.  Unfortunately he was over the other side in the men's bit so I didn't get to talk to anyone but maybe thing was a good thing.

After a few hours I felt the cannula in my foot start to sting which apparently happens when it has popped out of the vein, so unfortunately I had to have another one in my arm.  Rupert the Dr came to do it and got my vein on the first attempt so I was rather pleased about that.

At around 2am I woke to go to the toilet (it was a different experience having upper body surgery as you can go to the loo, when you have lower limb surgery the toilet has to come to you!  My morphine pump had run out so I decided that I would try and manage without it and just take oramorph, which is oral morphine, which I did and I have managed without it ever since.

Thursday 5th January

On the Thursday morning, after almost 24 hours in recovery I was taken back to the ward where I was greeted by the other ladies who were staying in my ward.  They were lovely and I had quite a laugh with them, although I wished they'd have put their phones on silent.  I would hate to think that my phone had woken someone up when their recovering from an operation.

I started my physio but I only have a few exercises to stop my fingers, wrist and elbow stiffening up.  I'm not supposed to move my shoulder at all for the first 2 weeks.

I was also taken down to X-ray where I was able to have a quick peak at what it looks like.

Friday 6th January

This morning I woke with quite a bad sore throat.  I'd had it a bit before I went in but it was quite bad on the Friday.  I spoke with Dr Rupert and he had a look and said he would prescribe some antibiotics and take some swabs to check it wasn't anything nasty.  I was given two bags of an antibiotic which was an ordeal in itself as I had to have another cannula put in, this time the Dr couldn't find a vein.  I think he was really upset but I really wasn't bothered, he tried his best and he wasn't an arse about it.

Later that afternoon I was able to come home.  I was so excited to get home and have a nice cup of tea and my own bed.  I know that life isn't going to be easy over the next few months.  I'm doing everything with one hand and it's my dominant hand thats in the sling so everything is hard work.

This blog post has taken me almost 2 days to write due to me doing it one handed and I'm a little out of it at the moment so I keep making mistakes, welcome to drugged up Sally world!

Christmas and New Year

My friend Seona with our tree.

Christmas and new years was so much fun.  Just what I needed to get me set up for what I know will be a difficult start to 2012.

Christmas started early for Arthritis Care as we were asked of we would like to be part of the Christmas tree festival at St. Luke's Church in Cannock.  One of the menbers paid for a tree and we set about decorating it in pink, our arthritis care colours.  We featured in the local newspaper and raised a lot of awareness.

Snow in Sawbridgeworth.

On the weekend before Christmas, I made my way to see my friend Kim.  She had lots of Christmassy things for us to do including a Christmas quiz at a local working mens/phoenix club and it was really lovely.  There were people dressed up in all sorts of fancy outfits including turkey hats, Christmas ties etc, and I, of course wore my beautiful bauble earrings!  On the Sunday morning I noticed some rather large white flakes floating past the window and, of course, it was snow.  It didn't stay long but I did manage to get a photo before it melted.

I really enjoyed driving my new car to Kim's.  I normally would have struggled but I think the new car mixed in with several stops made the journey a whole lot better.  I stop for around an hour every hour.  I know this is a lot but I feel so rubbish if I don't and I want to enjoy myself while I'm there.

On the 23rd I went to Chasewater to see Santa.  I went with my arthritis friends who leads a Brownie pack.  We went on the steam train and I got the Brownies singing all the way.  After the train ride the Brownies went to see Santa while I sat and drank tea, I also ate 2 mince pies which did nothing for my diet.

On Christmas Eve I went to sing in Stafford to raise money for Katherine House.  I do it every year and we usually get a really good reception.  Later I went to meet my friends and was shocked to see my old school friend Gemma who lives in New York.  She will be getting married this year to a guy from the Dominican Republic, he is very much what I expect a New Yorker to be.  He's a lovely bloke who tipped a barman £2 after buying a whisky the last time he was here and couldn't understand why we told him not to.  I'm so excited about her wedding and I'm so happy for them both.

New Years Eve was wonderful.  I went back to my friend Kim's for an 80's party.  I spent a few weeks getting my outfit together and ended up with Madonna.  I had my hair done in Stafford before I left home and went on my way with as much coffee and salad as I could manage and plenty of stops along the way.

The party was at Kim's mum and dads house. Here are the characters we had at the party;

                                        
Adam Ant
Wonder Woman
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtle's (all 4 of them!)
Superman/Supergirl
Bananaman
A coal miner on strike
A space hopper
Boy George
Alice Cooper
Slash


We had a brilliant brilliant time.  It had been a year since myself, Kim and Amy had been all together and it was lovely.  We spent the next couple of days together before I had come home and get ready for the first hurdle of the new year, my operation.

Blog round up

This is the second Christmas I have been writing a blog and it rounds up an eventful year in the life of Sally.

I'm not sure if I've achieved what I set out to blog wise.  I had such a gap over the summer due to the problems with my phone.  I know it's no excuse as I could've gone on my laptop to post but it's just far easier on my phone.

Health wise, I had my hip replaced in April which made such a massive difference to my life.  I started on the drug Toculizumab which has helped to make the arthritis readings in my blood the lowest they have been in twenty years.  I feel like I'm able to get around a bit easier too.

Knitting wise I haven't done as well as I'd have hoped which is probably due to my shoulder.  I'm really hoping to get back into it once my shoulder has healed.

Knits I made were:

Blanket for my niece
Cardigan for my niece
Hat for my niece
Little sisters dress for knitty friends daughter MJ
Cloths and comfort bear for another knitty friend's little one
Little baby cardigan for the lady who does my nails
Gloves for Amy
Lots of flowers
Leg warmers
2 scarves
Socks for Dad
Crochet shawl
Sock yarn lace fingerless gloves
Lacy gloves

Holiday wise, I spent a week in the Maldives, went to Glastonbury for the first time, I went on a knitting holiday and went to Holland for a week on October.

Looking forward to 2012.

Being able to knit more
Shoulder surgery and being more independent
Going to see my knitty friend in Cumbria
Another trip to Malaysia
Going to New York for a friends wedding
Going to another festival
Getting fit

So here's to 2012. Happy New Year everyone.

Panto Day!

Today I went to see my wonderful friend Nick in a pantomime in Hertford.  He's playing Widow Twanky in Aladdin at the Hertford Theatre.

There was 9 of us all together, Helene, her son David, her Mum and Dad, My friend Katherine, her husband Simon, their kids Oscar and Tilly, and then just me.  My friend Helene hired a mini bus for all of us so we had a proper road trip.

Nick was just wonderful and so very funny.  All the kids loved him and he stole the show, although I don't think the kids realised that it was Nick!  I'm not just saying that because he's my mate, but he is good.  I can see him on children's tv because kids really love him and he does make them laugh a lot.  I don't know who had more fun, us or the kids.

Well done Nick and the rest of the cast for such a lovely day.

One week to go....

Well it's one week until my operation and I'm on countdown.   I've been on a countdown since I got my date two weeks ago but with Christmas and New Year in between it's felt like a long way off.

I've got quite a lot to look forward to in the next week so this week will roll round quickly.  All will be revealed over the next week.

I've been thinking about what I can do and if I need anything to take into hospital with me.  I've been advised to get some big pyjama tops which is easy enough if you're a size 10 but if your a little bigger it's not that easy.  However, my mum found a couple of big nighties in The Co-op department store in Stafford.  I don't know what they look like or of they're any good but we can try.

I'm not sure if there's that much I can take in with me as I won't be there long and it's not like lower limb surgery where you need your whole life with you, well at least I do!

Christmas Singing

I realised I have never done a post on my singing and how much I do this time of year.

As some of you will know I have sang in choirs since I was about seven years old so singing at Christmas has always been a part of my life.

My Christmas schedule is getting quieter as each year rolls round.  When I was at university it was crazy this time of year.  One year I did fourteen concerts and gigs in fourteen days, I had two and even three gigs on one day.  It was all good fun but as my health was deteriorating I knew I couldn't continue doing that many gigs for much longer.

Now I sing with a local choir called Cantemus and have done for around ten years.  I am one of the youngest members and very much enjoy my time with them.  The whole choir have welcomed me and have been very understanding about my needs.  I usually sit at rehearsals and in concerts and I also use music stand when performing due to the heavy books.  Since I started using a music stand I have enjoyed singing far more than ever before as the pressure has been taken off me.

This years Christmas calendar started with a weekend of singing.  We had our Christmas concert at Trinity Church in Stafford.  I had a small solo which was lovely as I haven't done one for a while.  The concert went well and the church was quite full so we were very pleased.

The next day we sang at the Light up a Life service at Katherine House Hospice in Stafford.  Every year lights are illuminated to remember family and friends who have been looked after in the hospice.  It's a beautiful service but it's always cold as it is held outside on the car park.  There were well over a thousand lights on the tree this year and thousands of pounds were raised for the hospice.

The choir also sang at Foxwalls Care Home in Stafford.  We sang for half an hour and the people who live there seem to really enjoy it as they joined in with us.

On Christmas Eve we sing in Stafford for an hour and raise money for Katherine House.  I've been doing this for about ten years and we always get a good response for the public.  By the time we finished singing at midday on Christmas Eve, my carol book is, once again, closed until the next year.

A UFO's Update

I thought I'd update my UFO list as I haven't done it for ages.   The usual suspects are there but some new ones are joining them.

1. Rowan cardigan.

2. Sirdar 'Big Softie' scarf.

3. Sew buttons onto baby surprise jacket. 

4. Granny square blanket.

5. More socks for me.

6. Sock yarn blanket.

7. Little sisters dress.

8. Blue and white West Brom gloves for my Dad.

9. Lace shawl started at the lace class.

10. Mum's Noro scarf.

11. Mum's crochet scarf.

12. Katherine's Wedding Knit.

13. Secret Santa.

14. Sock Yarn Blanket.

ARRGGGHHH..I need to stop casting stuff on!