Pre-op Testing at Hutt Hospital
Today I’m writing from Hutt Hospital, where I am completing my final set of pre-operative tests and assessments. It has been a busy couple of weeks, reacquainting myself with various departments in Wellington and Hutt Hospitals.
Testing has been thorough. I’ve had my legs mapped, bloods taken, lungs listened to, heart cardiogrammed, nose swabbed, tissue(s) sampled, weight weighed, body mass indexed and head examined (conclusion: limited grey matter - no surprise there).
All of which has culminated in the pre-op team giving me the green light today to proceed to surgery next week.
In addition to the assessment and testing today, I’ve also had a very helpful tour of the ICU facility (my reservation has been confirmed), met some more of the staff who will be looking after me, and a run-down on the procedures for the day.
After providing my final few units of blood to the lab I decided to conduct my own preoperative assessment of the hospital food, checking out the Level 1 cafe. Moving swiftly past the salads, I followed doctors orders and went straight for the pies. For a drink, I went for the creamy soup.
My assessment: As with many things at Hutt Hospital, don’t let a deceptively humble appearance fool you. An excellent hospital cafe, with friendly staff, lovely outdoor setting with lawn and shady trees and a satisfying selection of energy-dense nutrition well suited to my rather complex head & neck (returning) patient requirements. Five stars.
I was born at that hospital Nick and so was my son! It has mana for me :)
I'm looking forward to your talk tomorrow.