Waking up

I awoke the next morning, Sunday 20th February 2011 to a lonely double room with just my mother sitting next to me. The previous day's events seemed to be a blur, did they really happen, or was it just a strange dream? I looked down the bed - and I was assured that they did indeed happen. I had a scar across my belly, cannulas attached to drips in both my hands and a central line in my neck. I could barely move my head because I was so afraid of pulling the central line out, so I tried not to move.
I was nil-by-mouth, which meant I couldn't eat anything. I was instead being fed intravenously into my neck by TPN - Total Parenteral Nutrition.

TPN Fluid attached to a pump,
 similar to the TPN which I received.

In this fluid, was all of the nutrients that my body required to function - glucose, amino acids, lipids, as well as vitamins and minerals.
Every half hour, a nurse would come to record my observations, such as my blood pressure, heart rate and my oxygen saturation. This doesn't seem too bad, until you realise that this carried on throughout the night... every half an hour I was woken up to check my stats.

A quick snap of me looking ecstatic with
my newly inserted NG tube..
February 2011

After a couple of days, I was visited by a physiotherapist. Considering I hadn't been able to leave my bed for two days, the thought of walking terrified me. After lots of persuasion and support, I finally took my first unaided steps. What was normal just three days ago felt so alien to me, I just couldn't believe I was walking.
On Wednesday, I was told that I would be having an NG tube fitted, once again. I don't know if you've ever seen an NG tube being fitted but trust me on this one, it's really not the most pleasant experience in the world. I distinctly remember crying and screaming for them to take it out for at least two hours after the tube's insertion, however as my doctor had said at the time, eventually I got used to it being there, "just like wearing glasses".
The insertion of this NG tube meant that I would no longer be fed through the central line in my neck,   but would instead by fed by the tube which lead directly into my stomach. I finally had the central line removed!
I spent the next week in the same ward, nil-by-mouth, before being told I was moving to a different ward. What was this new ward going to be like? I had no idea what to expect, all I knew was that I was ready to eat, and that I was ready to finally go home!!