(To read my cancer story from the beginning start here – April / May 2018 – You Have Cancer)

I Never Liked Lifts

If you have read my previous posts you will know my 1st operation due to jaw cancer hadn’t gone too well, I had just had a 2nd and was about to be taken back to the ward.

It’s hard to explain the feeling I felt when after waking up in what I thought was the Pre-op room and being prepared for my 2nd operation in as many days but then being told it was the post-op room and I had already had the operation, I think I thought – being in hospital isn’t so bad after all, little did I know 🙁

As I was on Oxygen (going through my trachy which meant I couldn’t talk) I had 2 porters and 2 nurses escorting me back to the ward.

Off we went, me on the bed with all my notes, writing whiteboard, pen, drainage bottles, tubes, oxygen bottle, etc between my legs,

Along the wards corridor, Through a couple of double doors, in to the main corridor, 50 or so along until we got to the lift entrance.

We waited a minute or two, then ping, the doors opened.

In all 5 of us went, fortunately I went in head 1st so was facing the door.

Stuck in a hospital bed in a lift

I of the porters pressed for the 3rd floor and up we started to go, then nothing.

It was a bit like being in an aeroplane when hitting turbulence, we all sort of looked at each other sideways, then one of the porters casually said, the lift was playing up earlier.

We heard voices outside so knew we were virtually at a floor level so one of the porters prized the doors open where we saw 2 or 3 other people waiting.

Although I was stuck, in a bed, in a lift, it wasn’t too bad as the porter had prized the doors open and was holding them so they wouldn’t shut.

The lift had actually stopped about 8 inches lower than it should have done.

Both the nurses and the other porter got out leaving me in there, they then started talking about what to do.

“We could close the doors, send it down a floor and see what happens” said one of them.

No bloody way, I quickly tried to scribble on my whiteboard, I’ll get out and walk.

Fortunately a couple more porters arrived on the scene, they got talking with the other porters and one of them said let’s just hoik the whole bed out with him in it.

They thought about it for a while, and decided to go for it

A couple got in the lift and got the head of the bed whilst another 2 got the foot of the bed, they lifted the bottom legs up 1st and got the wheels out, bumped me along then lifted the back wheels and I was out.

The floor just outside the lift was a bit scratched and one of the guys said one of the casters on the bed looked a bit worse for wear, but I didn’t care – I was free 🙂

Story continues here – Back on the Ward

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