Boy oh boy… this whole hospital experience is a piece of work – not for sissies, I tell you. If I thought Day Two was bad, Day Three was Die Hard!!! Okay, let me stop talking in riddles and fill you in on what happened…

My previous roomie was moved to another facility and she was replaced by an elderly lady called Olga – and WOWZER could she snore!!! She had just had a knee replacement done and I had the misfortune of sharing a ward with her. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the best roomie you can find – not much of a talker, a quiet sleeper and you wouldn’t even know I’m around if you didn’t see me!!!. When she was wheeled in and we introduced ourselves, she grunted and proceeded to snore like wood was being sawed in the forest!!! At first I thought she was heavily sedated due to the anaesthetic, but NO the torture continued right through visiting hours and well into the night – the drone going on and on!!!

At some point, I could feel the window was open and requested the Nurse to close it for there was a nip in the air – but Olga overheard this and insisted she needed fresh air – how could she even feel the air when she was snoring so loudly!! I pleaded with the Nurse to give me a sleeping tablet for there was no way I was going to get any shut eye with Olga the murderer of sleep!!! I needed to pull out the big guns in order to get some shut eye!

So equipped with my sleeping tablet and a squirt of morphine, I was whizzed into la la land before I could even say bunions!!! And even Olga the snorer couldn’t disturb me – I slept the entire night and early part of the morning. I recall the Nurse bringing me coffee but I couldn’t lift my head to take a sip. My old friend nausea was rearing its ugly head again … at some point I thought I was hallucinating, for all sorts of images were floating in my mind.

The Nurse even gave me a bath in bed and I couldn’t understand how she managed to do this for I had a blurry sensation of being there but not really being there! I even indicated to her how awful I was feeling –  but she paid no attention to me (things to be done and all that). I think my Doctor came by to see me and goodness knows what I told him for I thought he was a figment of my imagination!!!

One of the Nurses enquired whether I pad passed a stool in the past two days and I answered rather quietly – No. She then whipped out the suppositories – not one but two – was inserted for good measure. Oh no, why was this happening to me…

So not only was I a nauseous druggie but I was propped with suppositories which created a deadly combination!!! To top it all, the Physiotherapist came by to fit me with moon shoes – as the name depicts, NO I Won’t be able to dance the moon walk like Michael Jackson! They were the most hideous shoes I ever saw in my life!!! To top it all off, I had to wear it in conjunction with the crutches. How much more could I take of this day already!!!

Heaven knows how I managed to walk around my hospital bed in them – it felt like I had run a marathon. The Physiotherapist applauded me on my excellent performance and said I deserved a medal for that – little did she know how drugged up I was – NO dear I ought to be given a Comrades medal for that!!!

I struggled to stay alert the entire morning, couldn’t eat a single thing, had to eventually be wheeled in a commode toilet (a wheel chair toilet) I had no idea such a contraption existed – let alone that I would ever have the use for it – but desperate times called for desperate measures. At least I had the privacy of doing my business in the confines of the bathroom – and boy was it a nasty relief.

I patiently waited for Neil to fetch me. I thought I would change into something nice but just the mere thought of moving my limbs into a clean set of clothing was more than my body could handle. The porter lifted me on to the wheel chair and rolled me to the car. I was a in a complete daze all the way home not even registering what Neil was saying or taking in the warm weather we were blessed with.

At home, Neil carried me into the house for I had no strength to walk in with the crutches. I felt a sense of relief being placed in my bed under the covers and could finally sleep off all the drugs. The nightmare arose again when I had to go to the loo for the first time and Zhané helped me with the unsightly moon boots and crutches. It took me more than ten minutes to get to the toilet, so unsteady was I on my feet. The casts on my feet were so tightly plastered which made it difficult to move around and the straps of the boots were biting into my flesh.

It was tough having to move around for the first time in three days and I knew it was not going to be a walk in the park. But I was determined to get it right and the more I went to the bathroom, the stronger I felt on my legs. When Neil gave me a body bath and I was helped into my PJ’s – I was smiling and happy for the first time.

So today was a TOUGHIE – but I’m sure the worst is over. Somehow just being in the company of your loved ones lifts one’s spirits and makes the long journey seem surmountable. Lesson Learnt today – never underestimate the power of LOVE your family has for you – they’re the ones who truly have your back and want you to succeed more than anyone else in this world. Treasure them wholeheartedly!!!