A very different Experience

photo courtesy Google images

My first 2 operations were off island and far away from family and friends. This time around given the urgency, there was no traveling for better medical care. I'm not knocking my local hospital, but i do live on a small island which is considered part o f the third world. But our wonderful medical system I pay into from my salary monthly affords me the opportunity to travel within the French system to some of the best medical facilities.

While i got great medical care far away from home, i was far away from the people i cared most about.

This time the experience was different...... It took much longer to diagnose and treat me, but family and friends where right there holding my hand along the way.

Having family around helped with morale, i had someone to bounce ideas off of, vent to, to wipe me brow while i threw up uncontrollably and cried simultaneously.

One thing that was the same however, no matter the medical facility, the medical professionals, as I was being wheeled into surgery all 3 times, the mood of the surgical team is soooo important to me. Because of how "involved" (read complicated) my surgeries have always been the first ones on the schedule for the day. The team are just getting in, fresh, jovial and happy to see each other. Now I on the other hand hardly slept the night before and i'm just a ball of nerves. So hearing them laugh, joke with each other and smile at me contributed to me feeling in good hands just before i went under.