Tag Archives: friends

my first endoscope

01 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by in cancer, friends, health & happiness, hospitals, sevilla

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The endoscope examination is pretty much like the one at the other end, except without the horrendous massive “clean out” prep. For this one all I had to do was not eat or drink for 8 hours before the test. I actually had my last meal more than 12 hours before, but going 8 hours without any water (!!!) was really hard. I’m a 2-litre a day water drinking fiend.

Just like with the colonoscopy I was sedated before the procedure but this time I wasn’t so lucky with my nurse, who could NOT seem to find a vein anywhere. And hand pokes are way more hurty than arm pokes, but anyhow. I was eventually chemically relaxed enough and they did their stuff. It was uncomfortable more than painful, and I got a bit gaggy towards the end, but nothing too awful. And then I was wheeled into the recovery area.

And the best thing of all was that they told me they hadn’t found anything, that I was “all clear”! I have to say that I love this about the Digestivo department, giving patients their results straight away so they don’t have to wonder and worry until they see their doctors again (my next onc appt is March 19th). Though I suspect they only hand out the good news results. But hey, I am happy.

From what I understand, this now means that they have ruled out two of the main possibilities for recurrence – for now. Next up will be another CAT scan three months from now to compare those results to the last one. The main issue being ALL THAT INFLAMMATION that nobody can explain. And so… good, right? At least until I hear otherwise. And so, back to living in denial.  😉

anna & hijos

20 Tuesday Feb 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas bars

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The last time Anna @annalibera was in town we weren’t able to meet up, so when I found out she was coming back for a few days I was happy that we could find a time to get together. We did a short lunchtime tapeo in Porvenir, starting off at a new abacería and later going to a neighbourhood gastrobar, where we were joined by Anna’s sons Linus and León. Great company and good times. xx

valentine’s day dinner at la cochera

15 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, sevilla

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click on image to enlarge

Last night’s fabulous Valentine’s Day dinner at La Cochera del Abuelo. Many thanks to our hosts Cinta Romero and Estela Coll, and to chef Francisco Jiménez. It was a magical and delicious evening.

The Menu…

  • Foe micuit with lacquered mango and beef reduction
  • Presa Ibérica carpaccio with rocket in black garlic vinaigrette
  • Cream of roasted pumpkin, apple tatín, crispy onion
  • Hake in prawn batter with rum and raisin alioli
  • Aged beef tenderloin, mushroom mille-feuille, potato purée
  • Chocolate coulant with passionfruit

anne & paul

05 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, sherry, tapas

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I first met Anne and Paul last spring when I went to Jerez for a sherry tasting followed by a combined birthday/leaving party for our mutual friend Momoko. Since then we’ve stayed in touch and have also met up on other Jerez Getaways, such as this past weekend.

We all went to the Lustau sherry tasting at noon on Saturday, and afterwards met up with our friend Tomoko at nearby Albalá Restaurante for an amazing lunch. This (of course) was followed by a penúlitima and Paul chose a bar that I’d never been to before, but will certainly visit next time I’m in town. Then it was “suddenly” time to get the train home. Fabulous day… I look forward to taking Anne and Paul on a tapeo in Sevilla sometime soon.  🙂

Albalá: tuna tartare, asparagus in tempura, secreto meatballs,
pork tenderoin, wild boar, apple tart

La Penúltima with Tomoko, Anne, Peter and Paul

Paul & Peter at the Jerez train station

après oncology

01 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by in cancer, friends, hope, hospitals, sevilla, sherry

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This morning I had an appointment with my new oncologist. After last week’s “good news bad news” situation following the PET scan I have to say I’ve been pretty stressed, with some days better than others. Say what you will, but after all my cancer history, the idea of a looming recurrence threat just became a lot more real to me. I try hard not to think about this too much, but sometimes it’s just too much.

Anyhow, today my lovely friend and colleague Cinta came with me to my appointment to act as “interpreter”, because when I get really nervous somehow my knowledge of Spanish totally flies out the window, and I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss anything important.

The good news is that both Cinta and I like the new oncologist. She was patient and had a gentle touch whilst poking around my belly. She was also patient as I tried to explain my situation in a more elaborate manner than she possibly required. Then she said that she was going to ask for both a colonoscopy and abdomen-thorax CAT scan, in order to find out what was causing the increase of inflammation seen in the PET scan, and also the extreme abdominal pain I’ve been having since November.

EXCEPT the weirdest thing has happened. After having had “travelling” abdominal pain for almost three months, sometimes so intense I couldn’t sleep and could barely walk… the day after the PET scan ALL THE PAIN DISAPPEARED. What?? I mean, seriously, it’s gone. Well okay, there are a few “tugs” here and there. But I no longer want to scream in agony when I roll over in bed or bend over to put on my shoes. The new onc is taking this as a positive sign, but the tests still need to be done. And I’m still scared.

Anyhow, after Cinta and I left the hospital and got a taxi back to the centre, it seemed like a good time to relax with a nicely chilled manzanilla, even though it wasn’t quite noon yet. Luckily this isn’t anything unusual in Sevilla.