Final Post

I have so much to update you on.

Last Monday I was woken up at 4am. I jumped out of bed, got myself ready, packed any last-minute essentials and was out the door within half an hour. We drove up to the airport and were in the air by 8:40am. After 3 hours of travelling by various modes of transport, we were at the Eifel Klinik. I stepped through the doors and was instantly dragged into reality; this was it. We were immediately signed in and had to fill out pages and pages of paperwork which took a little while to complete. I was given a wristband which had all of my details printed onto it, making me feel like a walking statistic, and was told to go through to see a lady who would do some tests. The lady was very nice and made me feel welcome as she asked me information about my height, weight, allergies and medication, as well as taking five test tubes of blood to analyse. It was all very quick and, within no time, I was sitting on my new bed waiting for dinner to be served.

Quick interruption - The food at the Eifel Klinik was definitely not my favourite part of the experience. For lunch we'd have a very nice cooked meal which was always very welcome, but breakfast and dinner were both always very disappointing. Every day it was the same: Two types of bread, a slice of cheese, a slice of ham, various spreads and, if we were lucky, a yoghurt. I'm not complaining though as we did have unlimited tea and coffee, as well as both still and sparkling water on tap. Also we would have the occasional hard-boiled egg or piece of chocolate with our breakfast which was always a nice surprise. Overall it was a very big part of the Eifel Klinik experience!

Nothing much really happened on Tuesday medically, but we did meet some truely lovely people. I was there at the same time as Holly Isaac and her daughter Lilac, and Freydis Bjarnadottir and her son Gabriel. They all took us under their wings and made us feel very comfortable. Both of the children had had the surgery already and were quick to reassure me, telling me that recovery wasn't too bad and that VBT went really well for both of them. It was such a relief to know that they felt okay just a week after surgery and I knew then that there was really nothing to be nervous about.

Wednesday was the day of my surgery. I can't really remember much of it to be honest; I was asleep for most of it! I was woken up at about 7:30am and was immediately showered, changed and wheeled through to the holding area. I was given a pill to make me calm down and start to drift off, and waited there until I was pushed down toward the opperating theatre. I was then given my anesthetic and that's all I can really remember. The next thing I knew, I was lying in my bed in ICU surrounded by my family. Dad and Holi had come out for the day to see me immediately post operation and were returning home the following day. I was told that I'd been in surgery for about 4 1/2 hours and that there had been no complications at all. I was very sleepy and spacey from the morphine and I can't really remember much of the conversation but I remember being very happy and laughing a lot. I was also quite confused as I was connected to a lot of wires and machines, as well as having an oxygen tube going into my nose. The worst bit was probably the chest drain though. I didn't really notice it until they took it out a few days later which instantly made me feel much more comfortable and alert.

I was expecting Thursday to be a lot harder than it was. A lot of people who have VBT find it very hard to move after days of recovery, but I was already walking by Thursday afternoon. I spent a lot of time asleep or resting which was refreshing and the days spent in ICU were relatively uneventful. I was glad to be back in my normal room by Friday as it felt like I'd properly come out of surgery. It was also nice to lose the chest drain and cathetar which had made me feel quite helpless and bed-bound.

Not much really happened over the next few days. It was all very timetabled: wake, eat, take tablets, nap, eat, take tablets, nap, eat, take tablets, sleep. I was very qickly able to walk around which was a lot nicer and gave me some independence back, the nursing staff were very happy with my progress. My friend Elly travelled from England to see me which made it all more enjoyable. She spent at least six hours a day with me for the first three days after surgery. We spent our time laughing, chatting and Face-timing my other friends back home.

I think that my speedy recovery came as quite a surprise to the nurses in the hospital because they kept coming in to ask if I needed anything and were amazed that I was always so happy and well - I became the talk of the ward and was told that they'd never seen someone recover so quickly! I was given some physiotherapy exercises but it was still a massive shock when, just 5 days post surgery, I was told I could leave. We couldn't believe that it was so soon, and didn't like to push our luck, so we waited an extra day and then were picked in a hire car up by my Dad and Holi and travelled down to a very nice park in the Eifel region where we've booked a cabin in the woods for a week of recuperation at Dr T's suggestion. It's absolutely lovely and, although I am in pain, we can relax until we go home on the 20th. I'm looking forward to going home but am also really enjoying myself here.

Overall, it's been the biggest adventure of my life and I can't believe it's gone so quickly. I came here with scoliosis (a 62' curve), and am leaving with eight titanium screws in my spine and a 16' curve. It's been a huge rollercoaster and it's given me so much potential for the future. Dr T has benefitted my life in unimaginable ways and I will always be so grateful to him and everyone who has helped me down the road. I can't wait to see what the future brings.