"Hernia surgery for patient with haemophilia"

I have mild haemophilia and have recently had surgery to repair an inguinal hernia at Lincoln Hospital.  From start to finish the whole process and experience was excellent.  

The day of the surgery was a whirlwind from the moment I arrived at the assessment lounge I was being weighed, measured, given clotting treatment, meeting the surgeon, meeting the anaesthesiologist.  The whole process felt well organised and designed to inspire confidence.  

The anaesthesiologist explained that she wanted to move my surgery to the first slot of the afternoon as this would allow closer monitoring of my bleeding during daylight hours and so it was I found my self waking up at about 16:00 that afternoon wondering if my partner would put the coffee on.  

Because of my haemophilia I stayed on the surgical assessment ward for 5 days.  As soon as I arrived on the ward I was offered tea, toast and pain relief, having not eaten that day I'm not sure which I was more grateful for.  All of the staff on the surgical assessment ward were very friendly and professional. 

I had been dreading staying in hospital and had hoped to negotiate an early parole, unfortunately my clotting treatment conspired against me and I needed treatment twice a day at 12 hour intervals and so the option of early release was scuppered.  However by the end of the second day I found myself actually enjoying my stay and feeling grateful for the additional care I was being afforded.  Simple things like an adjustable bed that meant I could find a comfortable position, appropriate pain management and not feeling guilty about watching Netflix for hours on end all helped with my recovery.

The haemophilia centre at Lincoln is quite small and it did feel that their resources were being stretched, that said I saw a member of the team every day of my stay in hospital including on the Saturday when Dr Chudakou took the time to come and check I was ready to go home.  Resource limitations and the specialist nature of my treatment did cause the only niggle I had during my stay.

My factor 8 treatment (Elocta) came in a bespoke syringe system that the ward staff had not used previously and every night I had to show the evening staff how to mix and administer the treatment, by the end of my stay I became quite confident explaining it but the first time did feel a tad nerve wracking for me and the nurse involved.  

I am exceedingly grateful to all of the staff that were involved in my care, everyone I encountered was professional, polite, friendly and caring.

I've written this exactly one week after my operation and am pretty much pain free, with minimal bruising and thinking wistfully of the comfortable hospital bed.  Thank you very much to everyone involved in my care.