[HarryM1BYT]

All ended well so far..

New partner Wendy arrived 21st for a one week stay, I had to ring the hospital after 2pm on the 23rd, to confirm they would have a bed for me in the renal ward, then make my way in between 18:00 and 19:00. They did, so I took the bus down.

I left Wendy alone in the house, a strange house, with two strange to her dogs to look after, for two nights. Its quite a complicated house, so I typed her up a set of instructions for the house, plus maps of where to find the local shops etc..

I felt confident enough in Wendy to ask her to do the shaving (trimming) of the entire area around the groin, in preparation for the op..

I one doctor suggested it was usual to have the stent fitted then be out the same day (24th). At 9am 24th, I was rushed down to theatre with zero time to prepare myself - no one had even said whether it would be morning or afternoon.

Put on a narrow operating table, in a too cold theatre, on top of a sort of air bag, into which warmed air was passed. Gown lifted, pants pulled down and the entire area blathered in orange anti-septic, then local anti-septic.

I couldn't see anything, monitor screen was at right angles to me, I wasn't allowed to raise my head to look, all I had to go on was the feel and it felt like they were forcing a chimney sweeps brush into my right groin.

They stented the better kidney, my BP then began to fall to dangerously low levels, so the team had to take a break for an hour while my BP recovered with drugs - they blamed the drugs plus extra flow from the stent, for the sudden drop in BP on the table. The team seemed to be four or five nurses, and two surgeons.

Then they began on the second stent, but decided not to fit it - their investigation suggested that a stent in the second kidney wouldn't help.

So I was in the theatre for around 2 and a half hours, start to finish with not even a plaster on the wound. Guess they superglued me together?

The consultant surgeon insisted I would remain in hospital care at least overnight, until Saturday morning, whilst inflow and outflow was checked and measured to prove all was still working. On a Na/Cl drip I managed to fill 5 or 6 pots.

It might have felt like a sweeps brush going in, but the incisions is only 7mm or so long, in my groin. They turned me out, at 10am yesterday morning, satisfied I had no problems and asked how was I getting home. I had walked around the entire outside of the hospital Friday night, just to see how I felt and if I was in any pain, there had been none, so I said on the bus. They said no you are not, we will arrange a free taxi to home. I now have a black and brown triangular bruise, the full length of my right groin. No pain at all, but a slight swelling where the bruise is.

Wendy goes back home to Edinburgh on the 28th and back to work, then back here early February on another weeks arranged holiday, then moves in permanently in March..