The trip to Queen's Nottingham

As usual there is lots of officiousness and rules at the Queen's Nottingha, some great staff, however the old school is in force at this hospital (you will know what I mean when you go to hospital - the ones who offer you 500mg of paracetemol when you need a shot of morphine... and want to lecture you on the dangers of addiction when you are struggling to keep the howls in).

What is it with these nurses?
Your anaethetist prescribes a battery of post op pain relief from a 'glass of water' up to self administered morphine pumps (very good) and the nurses start arguing past paracetemol.... they particularly do this around 5am in the morning when you cannot get a doctor to tell em to shut the F up and administer the drugs!

The ward is quite hard core - most people here have a good twenty years on me, and there are many who are much further down the road than me. There is a big difference to how people respond to their treatment in this cancer ward - I think it is because this is just another step on a long road rather than "operation was a great success - you're better now, go home and enjoy your life!". We know we will be back.

Pre Op
Patrick the surgeon is from Tuam in Galway. He is a top three neck surgeon in the UK and very different from many consultants in that he has empathy, presence, charisma and a presidential gravitas. He visits before the op and reassures me, after he leaves his assistant runs through the most appalling list of risks associated with the operation which leaves me dizzy. I swallow and sign the consent....

Finally wheeled down (actually for the first time ever 'up' - very unusual as it seems to me theatres are always in the basement, at Queen's it is on the top floor with a good view). The usual weird conversation with an anethetist who is doing his best to knock you out, while appearing attentively interested in what I do for a living. And another rush like a fizzing in the base of the neck and then I am awake again but different forever.

Post Op
So the op went well, they located many facial nerves (which means we saw them so managed not to severe them), there was a lot more disease than was hoped, they took the mandibular nerve as planned but never saw it, as it they took out big chunks of soft tissue and muscle from under my jaw, leaving my skin overstretched to cover the increased serface area. Amazingly I feel a million times better than after the first op which I put down to whatever anasthetic technology they used. Lots of SMS messages of good will on my phone.