You may remember that I had to go to the hospital last week because the hernia I’d been told about after my last CT scan had become infected and was hurting A LOT. After a week of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories it felt better but actually looked worse. The part that had been red and sore looked like a water blister and so, rather than poke it with a pin myself (it was sooo tempting) I decided it would be best to head back to the hospital…

So much for my “hospital break”. I was supposed to have two months off, but oh well. Nog came with me and, to make the visit less arduous, he said he would take me out to Soravito for lunch afterwards – a place I’d only been to once before and was eager to try again. A nice reward to look forward to, although I’m actually much less stressed when seeing my surgeons. I guess because we are usually just dealing with “mechanics”.

And so Nog and I headed out to the hospital and then wondered where to  actually go. I didn’t want to have to wait forever in emergency (especially as it wasn’t an emergency) and so I went up to my old ward to see if I could find a doctor I recognised. And I did – one of my surgical team – who told me the best thing would be to go make an appointment at the surgical consulting place … whatever. As it usually takes a month or so to get an appointment there I wasn’t feeling very hopeful. Then I thought to ask Retro Nurse who does the “curas”  there (changing bandages,  removing stitches, etc) to have a look. At first she just said it was what it was and there was nothing to be done about it, but as she also seems to be about as thick as two very thick planks, I asked if there was a surgeon around that I could talk to. At which point she sent me back out into the waiting area and said she’d look into it.

So I positioned myself next to the door of the surgeon’s consulting room and the next time it opened my favourite nurse took one look at me and said – “What the hell are you doing here???” – and when I explained she said she would pull up my “historia” on the computer and have a surgeon take a look at me. Ten minutes later I was lying on a gurney and a surgeon was hovering over me with a small scalpel saying it wouldn’t hurt a bit, but that he had to open up the icky bubble and let it drain. And he was right, it didn’t hurt. But it was kind of gross. Then he left me back in the incapable hands of Retro Nurse. I swear this woman doesn’t have two brain cells to rub together, but I finally figured out that I was supposed to clean the wound (it’s all open and icky) every two days, and stick betadine-soaked gauze into the opening, and then go back next Tuesday. But I reckon on Friday I’ll pop by Agustín’s office and get it cleaned up for the weekend.

The good news is that the surgeon said I could continue with yoga and the exercise bike, and also LOTS of walking. So I think I’ll drop pilates for a couple of weeks, though I’ll still go to the gym on Tuesday & Thursday to ride the bike. And then see what happens.

And as promised, Nog took me to Soravito for lunch. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon that was perfect for celebrating the “mission accomplished” hospital visit. And although the caesar salad was a bit wimpy, the rest of the lunch was totally scrumptious…

tuna tartar & crispy filo filled with morcilla

wild mushroom risotto

caesar salad with chicken

Soravito