A day after the operation

Hello World!

The Bionic Manda is here at last. I am relief to be back home now the hardest bit is over. I never thought I would have gone through this, but first I must tell you how its went.

The day of the operation:- I went in to the hospital an hour half early. This would give you a clue of how much I actually get any sleep which was actually none whatsoever. I was so scared and were walking around the room trying to find a way to get some sleep but the operation was playing on my mind. My flatmate, Simon, didn't even get any sleep and were all worried. We then left the house at 5.30am and we had to be at the hospital. We pretty much walked most of the way. We got there an hour later, showed to the bed at the ward then were waiting to find out when I would be going under.

I was supposed to be second on the list but the person who was to go first did not arrived on time and were not nil by mouth longer. I was nil by mouth since 7pm the night before. I could carry on eating or drinking til midnight if I want to but thought it would be wise not to eat or drink anything after 9pm

So I was first to go and they prep me up. By this time I was shaking like a leaf. I was so scared but I knew I would be in their safe hand. I went in at 8.45am and were out into the recovery room at 11.15am. The nurse woke me up half an hour later and i was telling her that I had a lovely dream about the Coldplay gig. She was laughing. A girl who has gone for cochlear implant and she dreamed about music. That might sound a bit odd to her, I guess.

Anyway, 5 mins later I was back in the ward and I was demanding for food, drinks everything. I was so dry I could drink out of the horse buckle. I wanted anything and everything. The doctor came by and told me how it went. It was perfect he says. Excellent news. He told me that I would get some dizzy spells and some bad taste in the mouth. Some people get this for a while and there was no knowing how long it would last. I had them in the first 4 hrs and after that I was fine. The taste disappeared and that was because I was eating and drinking so much. The more I eat the better it taste. For the dizzy spells, well what can I say....I had to ask for the nurse to help me walk to the little girl room as my balance were all over the place. The more I visited the better my balance would be. I would advice everyone to do this when they go for the operation. Keep your body active as much as possible.

This is me, happy to be out of the operation and very much proud of my new hair style! My friends and family all thought I looked quite trendy and very cheeky. I do what I do best is entertaining other people including the people in the ward and the nurses. I could not sit in my bed too long as I was not used to sitting in one place. That just to show you how active I am! Anyway the ward was very cold at night and I couldn't sleep at all. Well I have managed to get at least 3hrs sleep with a little help from my ipod using my other ear. It was the discomfort of my head being so heavy from the bandage and the pressure i feel in my ear. It feel like as if I was on the plane and the air pressure was so tight I had felt like blowing my nose to pop it but I would imagine it would hurt. I would avoid this if I were you. There is some kind of white noise that I hear inside my head and its very annoying. I don't normally get them . This is what we called it the tinnitus. It make ringing type of nosie. a bit like marigine without the flashing yellow light. Before the operation and whenever that I don't wear the hearing aids and I'm fully awake, I would get a little tinnitus. Only very quiet but not annoying. This is usually mean that the brain is looking for it feed. A feed to hear. Once I have put on the hearing aids it would disappeared. Without the device the tinnitus would get worse. I would imagine I will have this until my switch on date. I can't wait.

Reading this back, I must admit that I am glad to be home before my birthday. Glad to have it all over and done with. Glad to know that I have many friends who have been very supportive. Thank you guys. My phone haven't stopped buzzing during my stay!

For those who are curious about the size of the scar or how much hair I have lost... well... it was massive! They have shaved everything! I am kidding! Nah its only small. They have shaved a little just behind the ear and the scar is around the same length at my ear. Just think of it, 8 years ago people had their operation and they had lost half their hair and now, its quite small. I'm really pleased!

To Simon, my flatmate, thanks for being there for me all the way and sorry if I have worn you out for being worried. Now thats over, we can begin the journey of the Bionic World. Here I come!