A very special thank you to the people at Ross Memorial Hospital

[Big Cliff]

Last Friday evening I started to have a bit of pain in my stomach, nothing serious but I noticed a lump protruding from my stomach about the size of a walnut and I wondered if it was a cist or abscess. Not to worry, I am Big Cliff; I am tough nothing a good night sleep won’t cure.

 

By Saturday morning the pain had increased to the point where any pressure in the area hurt quite a bit. Oh well, life must go on and I had things to do so I did them. I did however stop in at the walk in clinic and a nice Dr. there looked at it, decided it was some sort of an infection and gave me a prescription for antibiotics.

 

Saturday evening we were out for dinner at friends but by now the pain was getting really bad, we called it an early evening I dropped Sue off at home and I and I decided to drop in to emergency at the hospital and get a second opinion. Turned out to be a wise move!

 

By 10:30 pm the first Dr. had been in to see me and they had me hooked up to IV. By 11:00 pm they had a second Dr. in to see me and confirm the diagnosis, and by 11:30 pm the surgeon had been in to see me and tell me that they were going to prep me for surgery. Turned out I had a “strangulated hernia” (the abdominal tissue and possibly the bowl had breached the mussel and twisted; it was trapped there and could soon start to die if not relieved quickly).

 

Now you should understand that at 61, I have never had any sort of operation other than little things where a local anaesthetic was needed, and I had never had a general anaesthetic, I have to admit I was kind of scared but the people around me were doing everything they could to help me relax. By 12:00 am I was parked on a stretcher outside the operating room while they waited for the last of the surgical team to arrive (Lindsay is a small town they were all in bed sleeping when they got the call).

 

Since I had only eaten supper a few hours before they were concerned that I might have a problem with the anaesthetic and they decided to freeze my throat in case they had to install an airway during the surgery. To do this, they had to sit me up on the stretcher so I had one lovely nurse standing behind me supporting me and talking to me, she kept rubbing my back (I didn’t get your name but thank you so much, it was a little thing that brought so much comfort when I really just needed someone there to hold my hand so to speak)

 

The stuff to freeze your throat is awful tasting stuff, it was making me gag, and I was having trouble swallowing, at one point I remember gasping “I can’t swallow”! and I think I might have started to panic. The anaesthesiologist looked at me and smiled and said “it’s OK; I’m going to give you something to help you relax”. I remember seeing him insert the hypodermic into the IV tube and that was it (whatever happened to count backwards LOL) until I woke up in the recovery room somewhere around 2:30 am.

 

By about 3:00 am they were moving me to a room on the surgical floor, the nurses were fantastic, morphine if and when I wanted it, anything at all, just ask (as if they hadn’t done enough already). There was another younger man already in the room, Scott, who kindly offered to get me water and even managed to find me a cup of coffee long before the cafeteria was opened. What a nice young man, never met him before but he treated me like I was family, offered to let me use his cell phone to let Sue know where I was (she knew I had gone to the hospital but I hadn’t let the nurses tell her about the surgery) She would have only spent the night sitting at the hospital worrying.

 

Anyway, by Sunday evening I was home, a cute smiley face under my belly button with 11 shinny silver teeth, a little sore, can’t do any lifting for a while but I’m well on the road to recovery thanks to the wonder people at Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay!

[Roy]

That is fantastic news Cliff. Glad it was relatively minor. (What some people do to get out of having to work.....)

[Whopper]

Good to hear you were well taking care of Cliff.

Hope you recover ok.

 

Whopper

Edited June 14, 2007 by Whopper

[steve_paul]

Hope you have a speedy recovery Cliff.

 

Glad they took such good care of you.

[misfish]

Speedy recovery Cliff. Got a chuckle out of the smily face bit.

 

Easy at the wheel as they say.

[ccmtcanada]

Glad to hear that everything turned out for you! Hospital stays and surgeries are never fun, but it sounds like the doctors and nurses there really took great care of you! Take it easy for a while..you deserve it.

[Sinker]

Good people get good service!

 

All the best in the recovery Cliff!

 

SInker

[Dutch]

Glad everything worked out for ya BC. Sounds like they did a good job for you.

 

That Dr. at the walk in clinic is another story though....

 

Hope recovery goes well.

[aplumma]

Glad to see you are on the road to recovery. Does this mean we will not see you at lak air this year???

 

 

Art

[Terry]

boy oh boy....glad to hear you are doing well

[1leggedangler]

Thank goodness you went to the emergency room and received prompt service. All the best with your recovery!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

[TennesseeGuy]

Cliff, it's good to hear that you're doing well. Best to you.

[John]

It's great to hear that you are doing well Cliff. Kudo's to all at the hospital for making you feel comfortable. Get well soon.....

 

John...

[Guest mistyriver1]

Take it easy Cliff, glad to hear all worked out well.

[tipupesox]

Cliff,

 

Glad to hear your surgery was successful. Now you have to get back into game shape so you can go out and catch some of the eyes on Sturgeon.

 

Tom

[joonmoon]

Hey Cliff now is a good time to watch all those movies you got...lol. This is the do nothing stage of recovery...the part that wil drive ya bonkers but hang in there and relax.

As you know I just broke my thumb at work and will be recovering from that for a month or so. Talk about pain....wow. Too bad we aren't closer....we could recover together....say.....at some specific GPS coordinates...wink wink.....lol. Be good Cliff and let Sue look after ya for a bit.

[Joey]

Wow Cliff, that's some scary stuff. I figured you were going to say hernia of some sort after your initial description. I'm glad they figured it out and fixed it for you. I have never been under general anathesia either and it scares the crap out of me, so I understand where you're coming from. Now that you have relayed your story, I'm a little more relaxed about it and should I ever need it, I'll think about your story and the great outcome.

 

Hope you have a speedy recovery. Hopefully in time for Bass openeing

 

Take care

 

Joey

[lew]

Lucky thing you decided to visit the hospital after the walk-in clinic Cliff, but really good to hear they got you all fixed up and on the road to recovery again.

 

I've had 3 major surgeries, and know all too well what it's like to be scared beforehand, so don't worry about it, I think it's just a normal reaction.

 

It's amazing what the doctors can do for sick people and they deserve all the accolades they receive, but I honestly believe it's the nurses that make the whole surgical procedure alot easier.....both before and after..... with the way they look after the patients....their a very special kind of person !!!!

[Squid]

Wow Cliff, good call man. Glad to hear all is well bud.

[camillj]

Atta boy Cliff, glad it all worked out, now take the opportunity to get some rest while the smiley heals.

[Bly]

Not exactly how you planned to spend the evening/night I am sure!! Glad to hear that you are all fixed up and about the good treatment by the staff Speedy recovery!!!

 

 

Bly

[Flyboy]

Hi Cliff,

 

Good to hear you received the royal treatment at the hospital. I think the system is great when you're actually in it. It's just the wait that's not acceptable. I agree the nurses make the huge difference. The practicing ones from the college/university are the most accommodating and are not jaded or burnt out from the heavy workload yet.

 

God speed in your healing. I hope the fishing rod is not too heavy to use in your condition

 

Flyboy

[bigbuck]

Ouch Cliff!! My father in law dealt with that last summer when we went up to Kenora to visit. However, they did not operate on him for 2 weeks and he had a couple of very painful attacks along with a couple of hours each time in the emergency for us and a couple of overnight stays. The surgeon was so booked that even with something that serious, dad had to wait for the surgery. Be thankful that we live in Southern Ontario where there are quite a few hospitals and doctors around. In Northern Ontario, it's a different story.

I hope you have a speedy recovery.

[fishnsled]

Speedy recovery Cliff. Good thing you didn't put it off much longer. Take it easy and enjoy the pampering.

[motv8tr]

Glad you got it all fixed up Cliff, glad they took you in so quick, didn't give you enough time to get good and worried about it. How's Sue doing? Was she ready to put you back in the hospital for not calling her and letting her know what was happening...I know I would have . Ya know, this could be someones way of telling you you are not taking enough time to fish....so hopefully you'll still make it up to Lakair and say hello, and spend some time fishing off your dock would ya

 

Take care

Maureen