Well I must say that the last 24 hours have been probably the most challenging for some time if not ever Apologies in advance if this is long winded, gruesome or bloody. On the one hand I have been helping Mrs L prepare for a Senior Managers job at her place. Her interview was today. So I have had to be really up beat and encouraging for her. On the other hand I have been dealing with my step dad being in Hospital for a major op all day yesterday.
A few months ago my step-dad was diagnosed with cancer around his throat and jaw area. A few weeks back he was in for the supposed operation but they stopped it at the pre op stage as it was worse than what they had planned for. So they have had to re-evaluate how it was done etc. Ultimately they planned to remove it from his throat and jaw, whilst taking away muscles around his neck and shoulder area. He would then need to have a bone graft on his jaw taken from his hip to replace the bone taken from his jaw
So the operation was yesterday.. The poor guy was in theatre from 08.15 till 23.00 last night then in recovery for a few hours. Yesterday was quite an ordeal waiting for the phone to ring. Today was the first visit which is something I was completely un-prepared for. It was just me and my Mum who went up there. I didn't know what to expect at all. Was he going to be bandaged up or all swollen up. I just wasn't prepared for it. Luckily I held it together for the sake of the pair of them because he is in a real mess. The nurse told us that the reason for the length of the operation was that they had to cut from the middle of his bottom lip down to his chin and across his jaw line to literally peel the skin back to get at. He then had micro surgery once the tuma was removed to put his jaw line back together.
As I say the hardest part was walking in for the first time to see him lay in the bed the way he was, hooked upto all the machines and breathing apparatus. He has a pipe in his throat to help him breath. He looked so helpless and frustrated as he couldn't talk. Looks like he wont be able to talk for a good few weeks and when he's out he will have to have speech therapy because of how his face has changed, it has changed how he makes sounds and words.
On the positive side he should be moving off high dependency onto his normal ward tomorrow. Its still going to be a massive struggle for both him and the family around him but thank god, Buddha, Allah or whoever else that it looks as though he did the right thing and went to the Docs and hope they caught it early enough.
On a positive note I can say that the staff in the High Dependency Unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary have been nothing short of outstanding. They must receive hundreds literally thousands of calls each and every day asking the same question on how Mr X or Mrs Y is doing and they answer with professionalism and compassion. They took their time to explain what has happened and what they will be doing next. Not only that they have been A1 in getting support for my Mum sorted on doing the small things that are easy to forget like phoning the council tax up. Seeing if she is entitled to any extra financial support as she is retired and he is self employed. I think we are all acutely aware of some of the shortcomings of the NHS but these people are a credit to the Hospital, The NHS and their profession
I know the next couple of months are going to be tough as there will be a lot of pressure on me & Mrs L to support my Mum as both my older Brother and Sister have been nothing short of useless and I am absolutely disgusted with them. But it will all be worth it to see him back home on the road to recovery.
Once again apologies for the long post. I just needed to get some of it off my chest
A few months ago my step-dad was diagnosed with cancer around his throat and jaw area. A few weeks back he was in for the supposed operation but they stopped it at the pre op stage as it was worse than what they had planned for. So they have had to re-evaluate how it was done etc. Ultimately they planned to remove it from his throat and jaw, whilst taking away muscles around his neck and shoulder area. He would then need to have a bone graft on his jaw taken from his hip to replace the bone taken from his jaw
So the operation was yesterday.. The poor guy was in theatre from 08.15 till 23.00 last night then in recovery for a few hours. Yesterday was quite an ordeal waiting for the phone to ring. Today was the first visit which is something I was completely un-prepared for. It was just me and my Mum who went up there. I didn't know what to expect at all. Was he going to be bandaged up or all swollen up. I just wasn't prepared for it. Luckily I held it together for the sake of the pair of them because he is in a real mess. The nurse told us that the reason for the length of the operation was that they had to cut from the middle of his bottom lip down to his chin and across his jaw line to literally peel the skin back to get at. He then had micro surgery once the tuma was removed to put his jaw line back together.
As I say the hardest part was walking in for the first time to see him lay in the bed the way he was, hooked upto all the machines and breathing apparatus. He has a pipe in his throat to help him breath. He looked so helpless and frustrated as he couldn't talk. Looks like he wont be able to talk for a good few weeks and when he's out he will have to have speech therapy because of how his face has changed, it has changed how he makes sounds and words.
On the positive side he should be moving off high dependency onto his normal ward tomorrow. Its still going to be a massive struggle for both him and the family around him but thank god, Buddha, Allah or whoever else that it looks as though he did the right thing and went to the Docs and hope they caught it early enough.
On a positive note I can say that the staff in the High Dependency Unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary have been nothing short of outstanding. They must receive hundreds literally thousands of calls each and every day asking the same question on how Mr X or Mrs Y is doing and they answer with professionalism and compassion. They took their time to explain what has happened and what they will be doing next. Not only that they have been A1 in getting support for my Mum sorted on doing the small things that are easy to forget like phoning the council tax up. Seeing if she is entitled to any extra financial support as she is retired and he is self employed. I think we are all acutely aware of some of the shortcomings of the NHS but these people are a credit to the Hospital, The NHS and their profession
I know the next couple of months are going to be tough as there will be a lot of pressure on me & Mrs L to support my Mum as both my older Brother and Sister have been nothing short of useless and I am absolutely disgusted with them. But it will all be worth it to see him back home on the road to recovery.
Once again apologies for the long post. I just needed to get some of it off my chest
