Unsung Heroes

The person who invented the bedpan - and the nurses who help clean up afterwards.

"Eat plenty of food" they told me. "You'll need the raw materials to heal". And lots of fruit, being bound up could cause things to tear, as well as being agonisingly painful.

So I did.

But it seems their advice was callibrated to a typical westerner without experience of hospitals and major surgery. So I ate not wisely but too well. 5 serves of fruit per day, and full meals even though I didn't feel hungry.

Well enough of that. I'll stick to 2 pieces of toast and a cup of tea for a while.

Dr Suporn removed the bandages and packing this morning, so I got my first look at the new anatomy. Swollen, bloody, stitches, and it will look worse before it looks better as the swelling really starts. But some good things : very little necrosis, the bulk of the skin grafts have taken, and the rest will heal in time. No sign of a fistula (opening between vagina and colon), always a danger and still a possibility.

Also...though most of the area is numb from post-operative shock, some bits aren't. The odds of an acceptable result were 90% plus, and with such little necrosis, I'm cautiously optimistic there.

The odds of a good, fully-functional and sensate result were maybe 40%, as the old configuration wasn't fully sensate. With sensation at this early stage, things are looking very good there too.