The first few months at home

I had a bumpy and uncomfortable car journey back from the Hospital. I was accompanied by my Mum and Gran and we had a rather embarassing stop at a service station where I'm sure I was mistaken for a recovring Heroin addict, with my thin frame, needle marks and awful hair. I couldn't wait to get into my own bed

My dog Woody was so excited to see me that mum had to put him on a lead. From the minute I got home he never left my side. He walked right by me when I was going anywhere, and laid on my bed with me all day long.

I had balloons, flowers, chocolates, cards and teddies waiting for me at home which was lovely, and they really cheered me up.

One of the first things I wanted to do when I got home was get measured so I stood against the wall, Mum and Gran did the measuring and I was ..... 2 INCHES TALLER!!! 5 foot 6 and VERY proud.

I had pain killers to take, although the pain was never that bad. Even in the Hospital, due to all the Morphine I never once thought that I really, really hurt. I was frustrated, but that is a completely different thing.

I lost about a stone in weight because I couldnt sit up long enough to finish a dinner, and I got tired even just getting dressed.

I had a special memory foam pillow which was supposed to be moulded to help the Spine, but this caused me alot of pain in my right shoulder. I phoned the hospital to ask if the pain was normal. They said no and asked me to come back in. I went back and they said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and it turned out that it was the specially adapted pillow that was causing all my pain. I can honestly say that the pain from the pillow was worse than any pain I got from the actual operation.

Every day I got dressed and put make up on, I even attempted to do my hair a few times just for stuff to do because I got so sick of daytime T.V. After a week or so of being at home I walked to the park and back with my mum which was a big achievment!

And from then on I just got better. Each week I could do more and more. Some milestones for me were when I could sit up for a proper dinner, do some washing up, have a shower, lay down in the bath, fill the kettle to make a cup of tea, walk the dogs, drive around the corner to see my Gran and do my hair :)

Before my Op I took for granted the ease at which I could do things. It's hard for me to accept that I got better and can do these things again, but there are millions of people that won't get better and can't do such things. It still makes me very sad.

I did need an awful lot of help from my mum to do everything, including having a bath. She took me out in the car just to get me out of the house and she was back and forward to Leeds with me many times before my op, and twice after. My parents were great at keeping me entertained and helping me out alot. So a huge thankyou to them.

I had quite a few visitors, but being at home that amount of time really made me see who my friends are. My friend Sarah came to see me almost every day and if it wasn't for her I would of gone crazy! She kept me company and made me laugh when I had bad days. I hope that other people waiting for the operation have someone that is as good a friend to them as she was to me.

I went swimming with Sarah 2 days before my check up appointment and was tired for the rest of the day, but it was really good and I felt so positive afterwards. It was so much easier to move around in the water.

I was off work for 12 weeks and returned on a phased basis. I built up my hours from 2 to my normal 8 and a half.

at around 4 months post Op I went to a Greenday concert which by the by was AMAZING, and I went back to my bar job. I got quite close to the front of the concert and I drove there and back in my car, and felt absolutely fine.