Pre-Op Physio(gynae) Group Session

I was invited, by the hospital, to attend a pre-operative physiotherapy group session, which I attended this morning. I had no idea what to expect, no idea what would be involved, no idea of how long it would be, so Hubby and I booked time off from our respective places of work to attend this session.

I had thought it would have something to do with things like pelvic floor exercises and the like, to help women recover quicker after their ops. I even considered there may be some pre-op tips about weight-loss, health etc to help us with our recovery post-op. 

So, I arrived at the relevant clinic room, with hubby, and we took our seats amongst the two women over 60, three women over 40 and their respective relatives in a training room within the physio ward (when I saw signs to the gymnasium in the same direction as our room, I started to break out in a sweat!!). They were a nice enough bunch, although one of the older ladies did threaten to control the session with her "in my day" comments, amidst the eye-rolling "here we go" of others! 

The nurse leading the session had a colleague who went around and discretely asked each of us what our surgery was for. After I told her I was in for a laparoscopic salpingostomy the nurse did say that some of what she would be discussing wouldn't actually be relevant for me, though some of it was. Most of her information related to those who were having a hysterectomy which I found pretty ironic, as i am there to try and fix my womb issues!! 

Even so, it was interesting to hear what was said, as she explained about the affects of general anesthetic on the body, and described techniques for helping the body to recover just from that! Apparently, which I hadn't realised, some insurance companies won't insure a driver for the first four weeks after having an operation under general anesthetic, as the brain can still show the effects of it for that length of time. For the fist two weeks, she explained to us, it is perfectly normal to still feel drowsy as a result of the drug, so this is not something to worry about. 

She then described some basic exercises we could do during the first couple of days / weeks to help with circulation, relieve backache, avoid DVT and to ease wind, using her assistant to demonstrate exercises like pelvic tilting, knee-rolling, and rocking & stretching from the comfort of the bed. They then showed us how to get up and out of bed following the surgery, to ease the pain from the wounds. 

There was lots of other information to do with constipation, bladder and bowel care etc... which was really not relevant to me - especially in relation to catheters, and returning to exercise / work / housework (for one lady who is a cook in a care home the result of her surgery means she can't lift anything heavier than a full kettle for about six months! She was astounded at the length of time she would have to take off, thinking it would only have been about two months. Another lady, who is a social worker, was shocked she wouldn't be able to drive her car for about three months following her procedure!). I knew this information was relevant, so decided to speak to her privately after everyone had gone!

While I was waiting to speak to her at the end of the session, the oldest lady in the room started to talk to me, asking if this was my first. Now, as we were there to discuss surgery, and some of the women had already mentioned they'd had numerous procedures... and knowing how old ladies like to talk about their ailments, I naturally assumed she was asking if this was my first surgery... right?? Naturally assumption!

NO! It turns out she thought I was pregnant and was asking if this was my first child. So went on to discuss her two children, born 17 years apart... if she hadn't been deaf (her husband was there so he could relay to her at home the information we'd been given), I might have discussed a little more about why the long gap!! Instead, I smiled sweetly and listened to her stories of her children! Oh the irony!!! **mental note to self, NEVER wear this top out in public again!!!!**