Tag: illness

Five months.  That’s how long I’ve been incapacitated so far on account of my own body.  To start with it was just a pain around my belly button that wouldn’t go away.  That turned out to be an umbilical hernia.  I lived with that for a few months before I had an operation to put it right.  Then followed a lengthy period of recovery from the operation, a period that seemed to go on far longer than I was expecting.  As it turns out, I’m still not fixed after all that.

To explain, let me share with you a little of the detail of what they actually did when they operated on me (I’ll try to keep it brief for those who don’t like watching Casualty).  The problem was a small tear or hole in my abdominal tissue, just under my belly button, which was allowing the fatty tissue underneath to poke through and get slightly strangulated, causing some considerable pain.  I was under doctor’s orders not to lift anything, not to do anything strenuous, and basically to take it easy and do a little as possible until it was fixed.  The operation involved a general anaesthetic, a small incision above my belly button so they could get to the hernia, a few stitches to close up the hole, a few more stitches to close up the hole they’d made, and a hefty dose of painkillers to see me through the ordeal.  Simple.  Except that more than two months down the line I’m still in just as much pain and discomfort as I was two weeks after the operation.

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No, that’s not a spelling mistake, I didn’t mean “holy”.  Nor did I mean “wholly” (not least because that would make the sentence incomplete).  I do actually mean holey, as in having a hole.  Yes, dear readers, I have a hernia.

There’s a hole in my abdomen, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There’s a hole in my abdomen, dear Liza, a hole.

For the uninitiated, a hernia is basically a hole in the muscle wall where the tissues and/or organs contained within are allowed to poke through and become strangulated.  It’s unclear as to when or how I sustained this impairment, but I first noticed it about a month ago as a pain underneath my belly button that didn’t go away on its own.  I paid a visit to my GP, who identified it as an umbilical hernia, and sent me packing to Bath Royal United Hospital for confirmation from a surgeon.  Thankfully I was still able to drive.  Otherwise it would have been a very long walk.

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Know the game “Fortunately Unfortunately”? Here’s a quick example:

Fortunately my wife and I are relatively healthy people who don’t get ill often.  Unfortunately Ellie and Samuel both got colds a few weeks back.  Fortunately I didn’t get it.  Unfortunately I got one a week later.  Fortunately Ellie and Samuel both made steady recovery.  Unfortunately I didn’t.  Fortunately I work from home and run my own business, so I didn’t have to use up any sick leave.  Unfortunately I still had to take a couple of days off work because the cold was that bad.  Fortunately I tend to recover from colds fairly quickly, and without the aid of medication.  Unfortunately on this occasion I was forced to take a barrage of pills to try to combat the symptoms.  Fortunately they have been working and my cold is now nearly gone.  Unfortunately I am still left with a bit of a sniffle and a rather heavy cough.

There, that was fun.

So yes, the cold is now thankfully on its way out, which is good because I really don’t like being ill.  I’m not the sort of person to admit defeat, and I definitely don’t accept the concept of the so-called “Man Flu”.  Still, the pills have been useful, if only to help me sleep.  In fact, during a phone call home my mum recommended that I take some multivitamins, just in case that helped.  So we went to Tesco and had a look at the range.  I was quite surprised at what I found on the shelf.

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I love living in the countryside.  There is warm sense of satisfaction in seeing tractors parked in the Co-op car park, of hearing cows mooing in a nearby field early in the morning, of the pungent smell of fresh manure wafting from the farm down the road, of knowing that rush hour traffic consists of maybe 5 cars.  However, it’s not entirely complete.  There are a few things missing.  The friends we’d made in Colchester.

So this weekend we made the journey to Essex, the car packed with all sorts of bits and pieces, mostly for the baby, to stay a couple of nights with some dear friends of ours who are still in Colchester.  Saturday was indeed the highlight for me.  We saw Phil and Jenny in the morning, we spent the afternoon in Wivenhoe with Phill and Phil and Anne-Marie and Sarah, and watched Doctor Who in the evening.  That in itself would ordinarily be enough, but in honour of this being our first visit to East Anglia with our baby, and having not seen people in yonks, Anne-Marie decided to make the barbecue one to remember for all time.

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It all started on Monday evening.  First it was just a sensation of being cold, a mild shiver, accompanied by an overwhelming tiredness.  By bed time it had developed into full-on Man Flu.  I spent much of the night awake, trying in vain to get warm, shivering uncontrollably and suffering from an almighty headache.  By the time morning came I was exhausted, with all my muscles aching from being tense all night, still tired from lack of sleep, and generally feeling poo.

Now, when I say it was “Man Flu” I do actually mean that.  It wasn’t proper flu.  I wasn’t dying.  I was up and about most of the day and, other than a couple of hours dozing in bed in the afternoon, it didn’t stop me from doing anything.  Certainly the symptoms weren’t as violent as I’m led to believe ‘proper’ flu brings with it.  What I had was more likely a 24-hour flu like I’ve had before.  So I just put up with it.

24 hours later and the symptoms were beginning to wane.  That was Tuesday evening.  I felt much better, and had every expectation that I would be right as rain come morning.

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Well, that’s quite possibly the longest blog post title I’ve ever written.  But with good reason – I have a lot to say in this post.  So feel free to skip bits that you find boring, I won’t be offended.  Just don’t expect me to mow your lawn for free unless you’ve read every word.

For a slightly more complete description of the above title, allow me to elucidate.  This weekend started on Friday, which was a little odd, with Phil and Esther’s wedding.  That was followed by a fairly taxing drive back home, and very little sleep that night on account of my cold.  On a lighter note, I picked up my new computer on Saturday (on which I am writing this very post), and in the evening I had a house full of people to watch the final of I’d Do Anything, Doctor Who and Pushing Daisies.  All in all, quite a busy weekend, and most of that happened without my wife – Ellie was helping out at a church weekend away, so I haven’t actually seen her since Friday afternoon. (more…)