Biopsy Day
Tuesday 5th August 2008
Admission time is 8am so Derek insists on being up at 5:30 to leave at 7:30 so he can drive us there. It is a hazy day, but there is no shelter from the sun at San Jaime, so we just park close to the entrance. By half past eight the admission formalities have been completed and we have been guided to a mini suite on the first floor, number 115, comprising a bedroom, separate sitting room and enormous bathroom. There is a television, but the channels are somewhat limited. The vista is of the salt lakes and beyond to the mountains. Derek hates waiting round and it soon becomes obvious that he will not be first on their list. We watch a bit of television and play a few games of cards, but it is difficult to concentrate. It is nearly one o’clock before they come for him. I wander around for a bit, tidy the room of all our bits and read the paper. A couple of hours later, they wheel him back in. He is not at all groggy from the anaesthetic as I had expected, but wide awake. The whole procedure was carried out with an epidural. It took a while before all the feeling returned to his legs, but his biggest concern was the catheter he had been fitted with. He was less than impressed! Only just back from surgery and already he was demanding his tobacco. Not a promising start. Eventually, after running the nurses ragged, we settled down to an uneasy nights sleep.