"Gall bladder surgery"

First of all I shall apologize to all those that took care of me for I'm afraid I have a really bad memory for names so will be unable to give them the proper recognition they deserve. Not helped by pain, sleep deprivation and pain relief medication . I might also jump around the time frame a little? I was darned hard keeping track of time.

Back on the night of Monday 7th January I had the worst pain I've ever experienced but didn't want to disturb my dad whom had an early morning start for a day shift as a bus driver so suffered in silence.

Tuesday morning i had no choice, i had too seek help and the best place seemed to be A&E at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. it was about 11:15am by the time i got there and booked in.

had to wait around about 40 minutes before a male doctor called me through, whilst i can't remember his name i can remember thinking he was kinda good looking. The usual discussions and examinations followed as any doctor would do for triage and he was really nice and supportive through out. as a trans woman he miss gendered me once but instantly turned red with embarrassment and apologize heavily for the gaff. I honestly don't mind a genuine mistake.  it's easy done if you are not used to interacting with transgender people (given the kindness, gentleness and respect before and after also helped).  (hero #1). The doctor asked if it would be okay if a student came in to draw bloods for testing, well students need somebody to practice on and i don't mind in the slightest. It only took a minute-ish for the student to come in and introduce himself but sadly I can't remember his name. He missed the vein on his first attempt and that seemed to knock his confidence a little. He couldn't have been any more apologetic for the discomfort of have to try again. I didn't feel the first needle go in with the second being barely a scratch.He managed to keep the needle still with one hand whilst changing the tubes with the other. Over time and as his confidence grows he will make a great addition to any team. of that i am sure.

After a short time I was moved to "Admissions Unit 2" and spent Tuesday through to Friday there. What an absolutely brilliant bunch of people they were. Absolutely brilliant.I couldn't have got through it without them Honestly.

Tuesday and Wednesday were a bit of a blur and i don't remember much. Thursday morning and i was told surgery to remove the gallbladder was on for later that afternoon at which point i was given an IV drip to build up my fluid levels. The Venflon thingy had already been the best part of 2 days and was seldom used ( i don't remember it being put in), within a minute of the drip starting my hand started to hurt. The nurse immediately stopped the drip. The nurse then asked my permission for a student to come in and remove the old venflon. of course, by all means. In comes this woman with a lovely smile. I can remember her name and it is "Denise". There was a lot of interaction with her during the day shift and for a first year student facing such a daunting task of learning something so complicated she was doing real good. Real good. as her skills and confidence grow so will she and over time I am certain she will make a great nurse and an asset to any team she finds herself a part of. (hero #3)

Another name I can remember is "Rachael" on the day shift. I can remember her name as (1) I have a friend called Rachael and she spells it the same was and gets annoyed when people miss out the 2nd "a". (2) She was the one I had most interactions with (3) she is a proper gem. The support she gave me was out of this world. (hero '#2)

At one point I was struggling mentally and emotionally with everything and was lying in bed close to tears and a nurse come in with pain relief (i'm fairly sure it was Rachael) but the effort of sitting up to take it was too much and i broke down. Brilliant. pure dead brilliant is the only way to describe the support for the nurse. pure dead brilliant.

The Thursday night a doctor from the surgery side of things came in and told me that due to higher priority cases coming in the theatre was fully booked and my operation would be delayed until Friday.I broke down again.. I was struggling too much and thought the end was insight so didn't take the news well. He sat with me for a couple of minutes to give what help and support he could though, which helped.

The operation went well on Friday, back to Admissions Unit 2 for a few hours then up to Ward 52 over night and just like the doctor back in A&E and the team down in Admissions Unit 2 what a brilliant bunch of people they were too. I can remember the name "Rebecca" and I'm sure she was the dayshift nurse I first met on Ward 52.

What a team. what an absolutely brilliant team. from start to finish. with most of the focus being on the people of Admissions Unit 2 where i spent the most time and got the most help and support.