Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Bavaria - Part Seven

My friends had gone back to the UK, I was alone in a foreign hospital, confined to bed. What else could go wrong?

Shortly after breakfast on Thursday a new face appeared around our door and H made an appearance! H was the military medical co-ord for the region. And even better, H spoke fluent German! He checked with the doctors, confirmed the time of my MRI and talked to the nurses for me. He even did a bit of translating with the three elderly German ladies I shared a room with.

The guys had texted and phoned me from the airport, and again on landing in the UK. I cuddled my bear, Keela, and stared out of the window with my phone in one hand.

(the view from my hospital window at dawn)

Even knowing H was there didn't totally cure my loneliness. I missed D and Male Colleague S. I wanted a hug from Female Colleague S and B. I wanted to laugh with P and P. I wanted to be with them all - and I wanted to see my Flash Boys one more time (they were from another location, so I will probably never see those lovely lads again!). Most of all, I wanted to be home with my darling MB and my cats and Crazies.

Texts started arriving from work in the UK now they knew the situation. I called my manager and we had a nice chat. The Boss heard I was on the phone and spoke to me, he called me a 'silly woman' - in normal life I guess that would be frowned upon, but me and my Boss understand each other :-)



The MRI was an experience I would rather not recount. It was a three hour event, limited English, lots of tears, lots of pain. It was at another hospital and they decided to quibble over money while I was lying in the waiting room in immense pain. Be warned - Kempten Hospital do NOT take Mastercard - or claim treatment from insurance! It was only a call from my doctor at Immenstadt that made them do the procedure. I hate MRI's. They are not nice for claustrophobics, and I had no MB to hold my hand as he has done in the past. After a failed attempt, I managed to stay in there for the required 10 minutes, and came out in floods of tears and pouring with sweat, hyperventilating. How did I stay in there for 10 minutes? Thinking of D holding my hand - and imagining chasing Male Colleague S around the office brandishing my hospital bed monkey bar! Well, you have to think of something!!

But it was worth it; no broken bones, just sprains/strains/bruising. Which, one of the English-speaking nurses informed me, meant I could go home.

Next morning, the doctor said I could go. I hobbled into the shower, put on clean clothes, packed my few things and was out of there within the hour!!! H took me to his office where I camped out for the day. Although the hospital had provided the thrombosis injections I needed by law, they hadn't given me any pain medicine. So one of the senior chaps in the office phoned around to find suitable pain relief (even called his wife!) and their local doctor prescribed over the phone for me.

The hospital had also not given me the vital piece of paper I needed to get out of the country........

My fit to fly certificate.

cq

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