The Western General - not your average health farm.

Tired and needing time to recover. Little did I know on the 21st December when I walked into Ward 22 at the Western General that I was not going to get the taste of fresh air for another twenty five days, especially having been told that I would be there from between six to ten days !!

Operated on, on the 22nd and then moved to High Dependency ward, where under the happy influence of an epidural feeding morphine , etc, life was a hoot - felt nothing, chatted away, what fun and of course Santa was en route in a couple of days. HOWEVER, a change was afoot as my system closed down and we were waiting for things to kick back into life - and in the meantime I was losing the plot, living in a daze and sleeping - not eating, as I went for sixteen days without any solids. I now have to wonder the mentality of these fruitcakes who take drugs as a so called recreational past time - God they really have to be off their heads.

Hogmanay came and went and the nearest I got to behaving like the New year revellers was having a couple of sessions of projectile vomiting, over the staff and made a right mess of my bed space. Certainly a different experience when it is fecal vomit - a real treat - and never to be repeated.

I was in Ward 24 for most of my stay and I can give nothing but praise to the Staff who cared for me. My surgeon, Mr Anderson seemed to be on the go all the time, a very down to earth chap who I enjoyed chatting to during his visits - he was sort of blase when he said that all he had done was cut me open, pull out the colon, make a couple of cuts - join things back together and then sewed me up !!! A bit of an understatement.

During my stay I watched the staff with interest and observed some very good teamwork, from the most senior Doctors to the ward cleaners - all doing their best for the benefit of the patients - and everyone an expert in their own way. The ward was run by a Charge Nurse along the lines of the old fashioned Matron but not as strict as they used to be in the days when you had to sit in a chair all day of you were fit to get up.

The Golden Globe awards are up for grabs, but in reality, it is folks like these dedicated nursing staff who spend their days and nights caring, cleaning etc. who truly deserve an award not these phony actors, actresses who whole life is an ego busting trip.

So, my X-mas adventure came to an end yesterday when I headed home to a warm welcome from the long suffering Mrs.B. (who has done very well by me over the past weeks) and my own comfy wee bed last night.

As already stated, I have nothing but praise for the nursing staff and all staff involved and all being well we will see them in the Mercat Bar in due course where they will be made more than welcome, thank you all.