"Appendectomy made quick and simple"

Anything else?

Went down to Eastbourne DGH A&E on Tuesday at 7pm with my well-known symptom of appendicitis. I had to wait around 10 mins to be seen by a DR, she gave me painkillers IV, so my racing pulse and shivers have gone by the time I was x-rayed. They then transferred me to Conquest hops (surgical assessment unit just been moved there from Eastbourne). Had to wait (lie in bed and empty my mind) for about an hour for ambulance...in the meantime I was checked regularly as for physical obs. The ambulance guys were very helpful and displayed great human skills. Got admitted to Richard Ticehurst SAU, where everyone I encountered were not just helpful and appeared professional but also properly empathic too.....nurses, housekeepers, and even the the consultant who sat down next to me in a chair...so he wasn't standing over me. Was referred to CT scan to exclude other possibilities than appendicitis...the scan clearly shown that it was indeed an inflamed appendix...which needed removing. I have never been operated before, so , despite several previous bouts of low-grade appendicitis made clear to me that eventually op will be needed......I was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of being unconscious ( or at least some of my reflexive functions switched off)...to me it felt like being robbed of my elementary human attributes...even for an hour or two. I assume most patients wouldn't attach such deep meaning to common anaesthetic :-). The op hasn't happened as far as recall: sedation took around 10-15 sec, next thing I knew was that I had been woken and told that we are gonna go back to the ward. I knew straight away where I was and what was going on....no confusion at all. I couldn't believe the op actually occurred as the whole procedure felt like a minute or two...and it was an hour or hour and a half. Coming round was a bit rough.....I take it as a price for a smooth op.....a bit of dizziness , vomiting....for hours of "arrrggghhh". Although this probably varies with the individual. The op started at 20:30 ish...and finished I can only assume around 21:30-22:00....,just before 6pm I sent out my first text with a smiley...and that was it. Discharged at around 2pm....half a day later. Minimal disruption, very comprehensive care....and superb nursing staff.