Hellooooo and welcome to another installment of my Hip Replacement Journey!

We are now on Part Five and the last time I blogged about this was in September!!!

What a journey it has been and I just want to start by saying thank you so much for sticking with me and following me on this journey...

Ok, so we left it on Part 4 that the kids were going back to school in September and I was also feeling pretty down in the dumps because I was unable to do anything with them during the summer holidays...

Nothing much really happened in September. I was plodding on and I was keeping myself busy by planning some new Christmas products that I wanted to launch, aswell as working on some orders for my customers.

However, I noticed it was becoming increasingly difficult to work on orders. The pain in my hip some days became excruciating. My doctors were beginning to get annoyed with prescribing me strong pain killers and to be honest, they weren't that great but there was nothing else they could prescribe me. Well there was, but they didn't want to at all. So I persevered as usual and just kept going. 

Time seemed to just go by. I spent a lot of my time on my own with no visitors, so I had a lot of time to just sit and think. And sometimes that's not good at all. 

I finally got my telephone call with the anesthestist and the lady was wonderful. We spoke for a good while and I felt a lot more relaxed. She was happy to give me General Anaesthetic for my surgery. I was so relieved!!! 

However, after, the nerves started to kick in because I now knew that now I'd had that call - it was only a matter of time I would receive a call with a surgery date.

I waited. I waited. I waited some more. October came. October went.

Then, I decided on 13th November I would make a call to the hospital to see what was happening. Not to rush anything but to just see if they were any closer to having all the information they needed from the private hospital etc. I was told when I called that I would get a call back...

Anyway about an hour later I received a call and I was given a date for my surgery!!!! I was excited but scared at the same time haha. 

The date I was given was 14th December. 

So I started to get my head around it. It was going to be in 4 weeks!!! With Christmas around the corner I started making lists of everything I needed to do before I go into hospital!

I needed to mentally prepare myself and as I was doing so, my phone rang on Tuesday 28th November to say they had moved my surgery forward! The new date was....

Thursday 30th November!!!! In 2 days!!! 

I felt sick to my stomach. The fear was beginning to consume my whole body. I wanted to hide. Yes I was happy but at the same time it really triggered me from when I was in hospital last time in May. I was literally shaking because I didn't want anything bad to happen. 

My hands were tied though. I needed this surgery so I can live, I needed this surgery so I can take Freya to school again. I needed this surgery so I could do things with my family. 

In a nutshell, this surgery would give me my life back. I have dreamt of walking on my own without any aids for so long... this is everything I wanted. 

So I was doing it.

Prior to going to the hospital on 30th November, I had to go the day before first thing in the morning to have my bloods done so they can make my blood incase I need a transfusion. You may remember in my other blog posts, I mentioned I found out I have special antibodies in my blood so my blood has to be made especially.

The day came, Thursday 30th November. We left our home around 10.15 as we had to get to the hospital by 11.30am. I was starving and I was thirsty. 

When we arrived, we had to sit and wait in a waiting room with stacks of other people. It wasn't quite how I imagined but I was there.

Eventually I was called and Darren was wheeling me down in the wheelchair and they wanted to sit me somewhere else with a couple of other ladies on my own. Darren couldn't stay. This became an issue as it's Darren who helps me get changed etc. They had no other spare room. So I went back to the main waiting area with Darren. I was a wreck. There was no way Darren was leaving me. 

Fast forward a few hours, a lovely nurse found us a room on our own. I was told I was the last one on my surgeons list. I had no idea what time my slot was. 

3pm came and went. 4pm came and went. 5pm came and went.

By this time, I was starving, thirsty and felt sick. My stomach was in knots and was flipping.

6pm came and went... then a guy with a bed appeared. 

It was my turn. I was shaking. 

Darren never left my side at all.

I always feel alot calmer when my husband is with me. Yes I was a wreck with fear, but it would of been 10 times worse if he hadn't of been with me, I would of most likely backed out the surgery if I'm honest.

The team I had in theatre was incredible. They did do their best to calm me down. Darren was allowed to come into the room where they give you the anaesthetic. That calmed me straight away knowing he was there.

My surgeon kept popping in to make sure I was ok which I thought was so lovely. He was with me the first time at the private hospital. Told me no funny business this time haha.

There was an older gentleman next to me holding my hand. He was so calming. He was going to be assisting my surgeon throughout my surgery. Told me repeatedly I was in safe hands and I had the best. 

I believed him.

And that's all I remember of that room...

Keep an eye out for my next blog post for Part 6!

Until next time, 

take care

Hannah xxx