16th June: Festival Fever

I am not looking forward to today’s hospital visit. It is the 16th June and we get caught in the exodus of young people leaving the Isle of Wight Music Festival and heading for the Fastcat. As a result the boat fills quickly and we are still in the queue.
Luckily a slower ferry from Cowes laid on especially, picks up the residue, and we manage to cross the Solent in reasonable time. I look at the crowds around me. A few are in Wellington boots, as though they have been tramping in the sludge at Glastonbury rather than sunning themselves in Seaclose Park! Others are dressed as would-be hippies. Some are wearing almost nothing and sporting goosebumps as they sit on the upper deck. Was I young once? I suppose so.
At the clinic I am relieved to be seen by Marcelo the Italian doctor who knows me well as he saw me throughout the eight weeks in E8. I tell him of the swollen abdomen and the drain problems. Marcelo is patient. He explains that I have had very major surgery with complications and that I can’t expect to feel ‘normal’ for at least another six months. He examines my abdomen. He thinks the swelling is due to all the haematomas from the Clexane injections. He thinks the bad days of shivering, hypothermia and fever are caused by sepsis because of the ‘foreign’ body in my rib. He will discuss with the radiologist the possibility of bringing forward the Stent procedure to happen as soon as they have the result of next week’s scan. I come away reassured and hope he is true to his word. I can’t wait to get rid of this drain.