Tuesday 18th/Wednesday 19th September - Skin graft 2...

    On Tuesday 18th my 3rd day on the burns unit, I was woken up at 5am to have my water taken off me and be told I was going to theater that day for my second skin graft. When you're having surgery you get a 'Nil by mouth' sign on your door, literally meaning 'the patient cannot drink or eat anything'. So I was given my tablets with the tiniest sip of water after my obs and told I was second on the list for my operation. I was terrified of going 'under', less so than the first graft as I explained in the earlier post but after pulling myself out of a coma the thought of being put to sleep frightens me to death. My mom arrived at 10am (on the dot every day!) but at about 2pm my burns consultant (Mr VN) came into my room in his scrubs. His first operation had taken longer than he thought and he couldn't perform my graft today. I was gasping for a drink and gutted. I was so desperate to go home that when he said I could either wait for him to do it Friday or have his colleague do it tomorrow I opted or his colleague. I regret that slightly now.
   Wednesday 19th exactly a month to the day of the accident I had my second graft. I was taken down before my mom arrived and I was very anxious. I was less vulnerable than the first time, as in I could sit myself up and before I didn't even know where I was but I was very scared. I was scared about where they were going to take the donor skin from because that creates a scar in itself, I was scared about waking up, I was scared and so sad that I was even having to do this. My favorite health care assistant came down with me and I woke up a few hours later in the recovery room. After the first one I was so vulnerable and weak I used the bit of energy I had to thank the nurse for looking after me while I woke up but this time I felt more ok. I tried to feel a bandage and dressing to find where the skin had come from but I couldn't move my arms. When I got taken back to my room my mom came and sat with me.
I hate that the first operation I had they didn't wake me up, I remained in the coma and was wheeled back to my space in ITU still on life support.It frightens me and makes me feel weak, is any of this really happening?

Monday 20th - Tuesday 21st August - COMA...

On the SUNDAY night I was found a bed on the intensive care unit at the Queen Elizabeth and recieved my first blood transfusions as I had lost a horrific amount of blood, my younger brother Kasper saw me that night which would of been so horrible to see. I was in a coma but they couldn't shut my eyes fully as my face was so so swollen. He went home with my stepdad while they stabilized me and my mom stayed by my bed. He ran to my bedroom and sent my teddy bear 'Freddie' back to the hospital. YES I'm way too old for a teddy bear I am 20 but I don't care he is the best thing ever..I was left in a coma and put on a life support machine for several life saving reasons, As a way of preventing my body from going into shock and my organs shutting down, It is also a way of controlling brain swelling - I attained a massive external head injury and if my brain had swelled too much I could of been left severley brain damaged. I also had bilateral (both sides) lung drains put in as my lungs were full of fluid and I was essentially drowning from the inside.

On the MONDAY I remained in a coma, I am assuming this is when my family were told my injuries. (I will put a list of those at the bottom of this post) My left thigh was completley snapped in half and had been flipped over itself so I was taken down to theatre that day. A large section had been destroyed by the car essentially grinding it to dust so they used a metal plate and screws to hold the two ends in place with a big gap in the middle of them. I am told I was in theatre most of the day and this is when I recieved another blood transfusion. Joss came to hospital this day which he found really hard, you can't imagine what someone you love would look like after a collision like that and on a life support machine.

On the TUESDAY I woke up. The day I think most of my friends found out what happened. My blood pressure had dropped dangerously low on monday night so they were forced to reduce my sedation. I don't know the medical way or how I actually woke up but this is what I was aware of...Being in a coma is just nothing you dont dream or anything you dont see black it's just nothing. Suddenly I dreamt that I pulled something out of my throat and a few seconds later I did grab the intubation tube and pull it out (this probably happened a lot slower than I think) I opened my eyes and all I could see was spot lights and heads above me. One of them was talking to me while others tried to sort machines out and put oxygen over my face. I remember them saying 'You've been in an motorbike accident Georgia, you're in hospital' I was adament I was dreaming as I have a lot of lucid dreams where I know I'm dreaming. They kept telling me I wasnt dreaming but would you believe it? I didn't accept it was real but asked if Joss was dead. I thought if I'm like this he must be dead. They called my mom and I thought when she arrived I'd wake up...nope. I desperatley wanted to sit up I thought if I sat up it would be like on the telly I'd be sat up eating grapes...nope. They couldn't sit my bed up for hours as some of the breaks in my pelvis and spine were so close to my spinal cord they needed a specialist consultant to confirm if I could be paralyzed or not. So I was lay totally flat with a neck brace on for hours. I still hate lying totally flat now. I can't explain what it was like really, I was concious but I don't remember much of it, I couldn't move at all, I was scared but couldn't explain what of, I had a lot of panic attacks. I had oxygen pipes in my nose and a cathater (tube that goes into the urethra that contunually empties your bladder, aswell as countless IV's for fluids, morphine and other pain relief. I was having hallucinations which turned out to be an allergic reaction to tramadol, I could see rats everywhere and could see through my eyelids, I didn't sleep at all. My nurse for that day Liz was amazing, she kept saying 'we'll give you a lovely wash', that wash was the worst thing ever. I was allowed to be rolled to the left which they had to do to wash me, I cannot explain the pain that caused. Being rolled onto your side with a smashed pelvis and onto a destroyed thigh...I screamed but it wasn't a controlled scream at all it just came out it was excrutiating..I'll carry on with ITU later...drive safe, George x

19th August - The accident - What happened...

Photo's from online

Sunday 19th August 2012. Me and my boyfriend of 5 years, Joss, had free passes to WestMidlands Safari Park. We had had these passes for months for this specific date and had never been together before. We travelled there on Joss's motorbike as we did to most places. We spent the day there in the sunshine and travelled in one of the jeeps around the animals (obviously you aren't allowed to ride a bike through a field of tigers!). We left late afternoon and decided to stop off at Joss's home to collect a pair of my boots for a night out we were planning for the next day. We arrived at Joss's and I spoke to his dad about the safari park whilst Joss got the boots...that is the last thing I remember. Apparently we left soon after to go to my house - a 5 minute journey we took almost daily. (the rest is what I am told) We entered the same roundabout as always. We travelled round the roundabout to take the 3rd exit into the Oakalls housing estate, A woman was coming off the Redditch bypass, she did not slow down, she did not stop. We were in the right lane, we were indicating correctly, Joss saw her and tried his best to swerve. She was too fast and collided with us, at this point Joss and the bike hit the floor, I am told I was thrown into the air, landing on her bonnet before I hit the floor and somehow she managed to drive over my body, she drove a further 10/12 metres dragging my body with her. Eventually she stopped and her and her passengers (including a young child) got out. When Joss realised where I was, he saw me trapped under the car and believed I had died. Police, fire crews, 3 land ambulances and a rapid response team were called and Joss called his dad who arrived soon after. The Island was shut off at every exit and entrance and at one point I remember regaining conciousness. Another driver was laying on the floor infront of me holding my hand trying to keep me awake, I couldnt converse with him then but I would love to thank him for that. I was screaming that I couldn't breathe and I couldnt move my legs, the only pain I recall was the side of my face on the road and I can remember my mouth was full of blood. The fire crew used inflatable bags to lift the car and an air ambulance with a trauma doctor on board arived and administered emergency treatment and decided to anaesthatise me on the road. Joss was taken by ambulance to the Alex where he was eventually diagnosed with a dislocated collar bone (something they can't do a lot for) he was given a sling and sent home. My mom was visited by the police and Joss's dad and told she needed to get the the Queen Elizabeth hospital in birmingham as soon as possible as I was likely not to make it. When they arrived they were attempting to stabilise me in A&E and I was in an induced coma, waiting for a bed in the intensive care unit......I wont write anymore today and I hope this doesn't upset anyone, please feel free to ask any questions below or email or whatever, drive safe, George xxx