Raff’s World

Five a side on Thursday night (11th December) was great. I played well. I can run which always means I can contribute but this time I played well as well. Luke said my goal was lucky and it was a bit, left footed and off the end of my toe, but I got there and I had to make that little bit of extra effort to do it and I did. It makes a difference.

Straight from footy to Tesco’s in Southport and then the following morning it started. Only a slight pain and easily solved with a couple of paracetemol and it was, after all  Friday.

Lunchtime things were kicking in a bit but 3.30 wasn’t a million miles away but at three minutes to two, 3.30 was a million miles away because the pain had really started. I went home, went to bed. I’ve never felt so bad.

Saturday morning at the drop in medical centre with a kidney infection diagnosis and painkillers and antibiotics and the usual feeling of  ”24 hours and I’ll be over it”. A bit of a mistake there.

The early hours of Tuesday morning the sickness started and it went on and on and on until Sunday 21st December became hospital time.

Tubes up your nose and down your throat are especially yacky. Needles in your wrist are particularly painful but by the end of the day, with the help of antibiotics and other stuff, for the first time in a week things were better than before.

Each day was that bit better than the day before (before was each day worse than the day before) and on Christmas Day I had my first food in 12 days…a lovely, lovely little carton of soup….it was heaven. The following morning was rice Krispies and an offer to be taken to the pub by a nurse to go and watch Liverpool and Bolton…didn’t do that but I did get home for a couple of hours. 

The only bad news was that an operation to remove the abscess on my bowel was needed. (Sigmoid Colectomy). It could have been worse.

Sunday 28th was release day. I was washed, dressed and packed by 6.30 am…..I was a bit keen to escape. From my bed I could see everyone coming in and out of the ward. A doctor had to sign me out and I waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. They arrived, only after being nagged by the nurses and signed that form. It was good to be home.

My three hospital companions, Ned Flanders (because he was so yellow), British Empire Man (because he did everything to a time schedule) and Wolf Man (because he looked like a wolf) were left behind …they could still be there!!

A week after my Christmas holiday in Southport Hospital I stood on my Wii Fit Board and weighed myself. Normally my efforts to lose 2lbs in two weeks always failed miserably. This time my Wii Fit Board had never been so pleased with the loss of 18 pounds in two weeks.