My Pre-Op Assessment

It wasn't a great start to the day because my bus terminated early and I wasn't sure where to go to get a different bus to the hospital.  Luckily, I managed to find one fairly quickly and was only 10 minutes late for my appointment.

I did try to call the hospital to let them know that I was delayed but the automated message told me that I was number 28 in the queue and would be answered in approximately 25 minutes!!!

By the time the nurse called me, my stress levels had depleted and I was pleased at the speed with which I was seen and dealt with.

I had my height and weight checked and then my blood pressure was taken and the nurse was surprised to see that it was 116 over 80.  I answered some health questions, had bloods taken, swabs in the nose and groin for MRSA and an ECG and that was it, all done.

The journey home was a little stressful as I had to walk quite far to find a bus but I managed to find my way home and I'm now snuggled on the sofa with a blanket (I'm cold!)

I've been reading the literature that was given to me by the nurse and I'm slightly concerned to see that as I have an ileostomy, keyhole surgery will be attempted but may not be possible, so I may end up with a large cut and a longer recuperation.

I've also just purchased some unflavoured whey protein powder online.  It was a good deal and I got a fiver off so I'm just hoping that it tastes okay in soups and smoothies as it looks as if I'll be drinking a lot of them after my operation.  I need to up my protein intake during the weeks after surgery and this particular protein powder has a good amount in it - 24.2g per 30g serving.

If it's okay, I may go for a vanilla one as well.  I like the idea of making iced coffee with it in my blender.

As for the smoothies, I'm going to have to practice and maybe get some artificial sweetener in powder form as my first attempt came out looking like diarhhoea and I had to add a lot of honey to sweeten the taste!