Sorry I haven't updated for a little while - the last week or so has been pretty manic to say the least. I've got quite a few things to update you on, so I'll start with something a little more positive. Last Monday my lovely friend, Katrina, and I went on a little holiday to St Ives, Cornwall. I'd never been to Cornwall before (I know, I'm 26 and have never been to Cornwall - shock horror!) so I was really excited to go, especially to St Ives, which I've seen so many beautiful photos of. Very kindly, Katrina offered to drive us there and back, which took a massive weight off my shoulders as I would struggle to drive that far. So, Monday morning we packed up the car with our cases and my wheelchair, and off we went to Cornwall. The drive was pretty good and we arrived in St Ives at about 4pm, although it took us a while to find the hotel's car park. We checked in to the St Ives Harbour Hotel and Spa and were shown to our room. It was simple, but nice, and the staff were lovely, going out of their way to help us with our luggage. On the first evening we had a little look round the hotel, booked a treatment at the spa and relaxed in our room for a while, before having a lovely dinner in the hotel restaurant, overlooking the beach.
We slept like logs after our long journey and Tuesday morning came round pretty quickly. We had breakfast in the same place we'd eaten dinner the night before, then headed back up to our room to get ready for the day. Unfortunately, disaster struck - I was getting ready in the bathroom when I felt the strangest sensation and heard what I can only describe as a whooshing sound. I looked down to find my catheter had fallen out, with the balloon still inflated. My heart sunk. We had been planning to go down to the beach, but I had to break the news to Katrina that I needed to go to hospital to get a new catheter inserted. We went down to reception and asked where the nearest hospital was - they originally directed us to the main hospital in Penzance, but then another lady suggested we try the Minor Injuries Unit down the road first. So we headed down there and had a chat to the lady on reception, who said she would go and chat to the duty doctor. After about 45 minutes I was called through by a lady doctor who asked quite a few questions and then had a look at my old catheter to find out what size it was. She went off to get her kit and then got on with putting a new one in. Thankfully she managed to do it first time, which I was impressed with as they usually have some difficulty. I told her she must have the magic touch, and her reply wasn't what I expected at all. She proceeded to tell me that actually, she had never inserted a female catheter before, so before seeing me she had watched a video on YouTube to find out how to do it! I'm just glad she told me that after she'd done it!
We headed back to the hotel and had a rest in our room for a short while, before heading down to the restaurant for afternoon tea. For two of us it only cost £20, which I thought was very reasonable. I found it quite hard to eat it with my digestive problems, but I managed a couple of finger sandwiches and a scone, which were all very tasty. They let us take the rest back to our room to nibble on later.
After letting our tea go down, one of the porters offered to drop us down into the centre of town, which I thought was very kind. We had been trying to work out how we were going to get down the massive hill with my wheelchair, so having a lift from the porter was such a help. Unfortunately because the town is mostly cobbles, it wasn't very wheelchair friendly, but we managed to have a little look around some of the streets and down by the harbour. I even managed to have a Turkish Delight ice cream down by the sea front, which had been one of my goals for this summer. I would have liked to look in a few of the shops and perhaps got some souvenirs, but sadly it was too difficult with the wheelchair, so I had to make do with buying a couple of postcards instead.
We got a taxi back to the hotel and I had a little nap before we went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner again, not that I could eat much after an ice-cream and afternoon tea! Again, we slept like logs, and Wednesday morning was here before we knew it. We had our last breakfast in the hotel restaurant and packed up all our stuff, which we were able to leave in reception. Katrina got her bikini on and went to use the spa, while I had a drink in the hotel bar, before going down to the spa for my massage. It was all over so quickly, and we packed up the car and headed off on the journey home. It was lovely to get away for a couple of days with a friend - it's the first proper holiday I've had without my family, and I'm glad I managed to survive it, despite the blip on Tuesday! I'd love to go back down to Cornwall again at some point, perhaps for longer next time, to have more of a look round some of the different towns and beaches.
The main reason we had to come home on Wednesday was because I was due to have an operation on Thursday. I got up super early on Thursday morning and my Mum dropped me off on the Day Surgery Unit for 7.15am. She wasn't allowed to come on the ward with me, so she headed off home and my nurse helped me with my bag and showed me to my bed. I changed into a hospital gown and the anaesthetist and my named nurse came to chat to me about the operation. After that I have very little memory of what happened next. The next thing I knew, I was lying flat on my bed surrounded by doctors and nurses, with a cold compress on my head. I felt confused and floaty, but assumed I'd just nodded off and they were here to take me down to theatre. But then my nurse told me that I'd had a seizure and they were cancelling the operation. I didn't really understand what she was saying, and tried to talk to my consultant, who was telling me I needed to see my neurologist.
A while later my Mum arrived, and I asked her why she was there. She told me I'd text her and asked her to come and get me, which I have absolutely no memory of doing! I was feeling a little less confused by then, so we asked to speak to my Urologist again. He confirmed that I'd had a tonic clonic seizure and that I would need to see my neurologist for some tests to try and find out what caused it. He made sure I was stable, and then advised my Mum to take me home to rest, as a seizure can take a lot out of you. I'd bitten my tongue during it, and also scratched my face, so I looked like I'd been in the wars! He said we need to wait for the neurologist to declare me safe before we can go ahead with the operation, which is frustrating. I'm also not allowed to drive, be left alone, have a bath or shower without someone being there or lock the bathroom door. It's a lot to get my head around, and I'm still feeling pretty wiped out, but I'm hoping I'll be able to see my neurologist soon and get some answers about what's going on. Until then, I'm having to rely on other people to ferry me to my various appointments, and am feeling pretty down about my loss of independence.
