Starting my recovery at home has begun and I am not even sure what day it is anymore but all I know is that I need to wash my hair. Although my hair is quite long, it is draped away from my face and the majority of my hair is now pinned on top of my head and the scent of dry blood is making me nauseous. My boyfriend’s daughter and husband arrive in the afternoon. Not only does she bring me magazines and a cane, but she also organizes all my medications and asks me if she can help wash my hair. What an angel! I am thrilled at the thought but the only downfall is that they need to try and figure out how they are going to do it. You see, with all of my injuries, it is impossible for me to bend over the kitchen sink nor can I make it upstairs to stand in a shower. How on earth will we do it? Starting my recovery at home was challenging to say the least.
Adjusting The Best I Can
They decided that if I could lie down on the air mattress that was set up on the floor in the living room, they could gently place my neck over the end of the air mattress and wash my hair with a bucket. I am in excruciating pain but with their help, I manage to let them gently wash and brush my hair. Finally, the smell of dry blood has vanished! Why did we have an air mattress on the floor in the living room? Well that’s where my boyfriend and his mother were sleeping since I was discharged from the hospital. Yes that’s right, they have not left my side since starting my recovery at home. True empathy at its best!
I am being told that the nurse will be here shortly to pack my wound and that an occupational therapist will be seeing me sometime this week. I cannot focus and everything hurts. Why did this have to happen? How could the driver not have seen me that morning? I am starting to have terrible abdominal pain and I just want to scream. The phone is ringing constantly and my head is pounding.
My sister and husband arrive and bring enough delicious food to feed an army. Everyone is sitting at the dining room table and I can hear conversations and laughter taking place. My sister is an amazing cook and although I want to join them, I chose to stay on the couch as it was just too hard for me to get up plus I cannot focus and its just too loud. I manage to have a small plate but cannot eat much as I do not seem to have an appetite and I am exhausted.
Take Note of Any Changes While You Heal
The nurse arrives and I tell her that I have been having terrible abdominal pain and ask her if its part of the injury. She asks me “when was the last time you went to the washroom”? I suddenly realize that I don’t think I have gone since the day of my accident. Remember I mentioned I declined something in the hospital? Yes, I will admit that I declined a suppository. Why on earth did I decline that? Given that I had been on several different medications including morphine, it is only natural that some parts of my body stopped working but I was too overwhelmed to notice. I will not get into the details what I had to endure but I will tell you this. Please make sure you take notice of any changes in your healing if you are taking medications especially narcotics and do not say “no” to anything while you in the hospital! Starting your recovery at home can be overwhelming.
What time is it? What day is it? What time did the nurse say she would be here? I am being told my doctor is on the phone and wants to speak with me. The phone is brought to me and I have no idea why she wants to talk to me. She is asking me what happened and is asking me how I feel. She proceeds to tell me that I will need to come and see her when I am mobile enough and asks me to call her if I need anything. I feel nauseous and thank her for calling. Everything is so overwhelming and I just want to cry. Has the occupational therapist come to see me yet?
This Wasn’t Suppose to Happen to Me
I find myself lying in a hospital bed in the living room waiting for the Personal Support Worker to come and stay overnight so my boyfriend can get some rest. Oh my gosh how on earth did I get here? I am so independent. This was not suppose to happen to me. I was always the one helping people. What if I have to go to the washroom? What if I am up all night in pain? I now find myself spending the night with a complete stranger looking after me and I am beyond scared. What time did that nurse say she was coming tomorrow and what was her name?
It is already overwhelming and recovery at home has just started. I will suggest that you start to keep track of all your appointments as quickly as you can. If you are not able to do this, a family member will need to take on this task. Eventually, I found a calendar from our local real estate agent and made that my own schedule as nothing else was written in it except for my appointments. It is also a great way to keep track of what day it is. I put my calendar in a safe spot as to avoid losing or misplacing it. It was suggested numerous times that I could use my phone as a schedule (which is another great option that offers “reminder” notifications) but I didn’t know what I would have done if I ever misplaced my phone and lost all that information so I stuck with the calendar.
S. Dawne McKay is a survivor of a horrific crash that changed her life forever. Dawne shares her personal journey as a Crash Survivor Blogger and also collaborates with crash survivors as Guest Bloggers allowing them an opportunity to share their stories. Dawne is also the author of the book, “Talk Crash to Me – What to Expect After Surviving a Collision and How to Manage Your Recovery” which is available for purchase on Amazon.
