NOW IS THE WINTER OF OUR DIS – CON – STENT

 This week has been overwhelmingly silly, but we are relieved to be near the end of it. The weather closed in on Thursday and we have days and nights of heavy rain and flooding in the area. A trip to Panormo to visit the Pharmacy was a bit like white water rafting and I am still trying to dry my trainers out after trying to wade across the road (temporarily a fast flowing river). In five seconds, the downpours were so heavy that my raincoat and all my other clothes were completely soaked.  There have been lots of torrents, landslips, rocks in the road and waterfalls but the forecast for Monday is much better.

Ma Crozier is feeling a little more comfortable every day but, due to the torrential downpours, we are having problems getting out and about and the washing dry. Yianni did a sterling job on the exterior painting of the house – so now the roof is complete and the walls are an interesting creamy yellow shade. We look much smarter. Lena the Cleaner is wonderful and we were surprised to miss our bedside rugs after her visit last weekend. They had all been shampooed and were out on the terrace to dry! Such energy. Rik fitted the new window a couple of weeks back, and we now have a modern one with built in fly screen, roller blind and a ventilation pane which tilts nicely. We opted for the traditional local windows a few years back but the new ones are much better than the old wooden shutters which crashed about in the wind unless wired together or locked shut, darkening the room completely.

On Monday, I visited the gastroenterologist to ask about management of the stent which I had been told had been inserted back in August and what needed to be done next. She looked at my hospital notes, all in medical Greek, and said that no stent had been used and not to worry about it. I was too dumbfounded to be joyful about this because I was sure that the Specialist HAD told me about it as I came round from the anaesthesia along with other pertinent instructions.

The next day I visited a GP type doctor and said that it was a bit crazy but could I just double check that there was or was not a stent? He understood my empuzzlement, shrugged his shoulders a bit and said "Well this is Greece and anything can happen" whilst handing me a note to take for a belt-and-braces Xray.

On Thursday, we set off early in very strong winds to Rethymnon for the Xray and after the photographic session, I was carrying a huge film envelope which kept being swept round like a sail as I carried it back from the Diagnostics Clinic to the car. K and I couldn't resist taking a peep. I thought I could see a rectangular blob in the right sort of place, so assumed that this was the pesky thing. The GP doctor put the film up on his lamp screen and said “No you DON'T have a stent. There are metal clips here (oh?) and what is this dark blob over here, I ventured? Oh that. He looked at me and grinned. That's just wind!

Embarrassing or what? Something lost in translation? Wrong information to the patient on the wrong trolley? Does anaesthetic make you imagine things you had never heard of before? Whatever the cause, it is all good news. Miraculously, I am stent free (and trying to ignore the reference to metal clips) !!!

My mood was euphoric on the drive back home, because at last K and I can plan for a few days away. What with one hospital and another, we haven't been free to do so for three years!  The weather looks dodgy, but never mind, it will be wonderful to escape for a day or two. It has been over thirty years since we visited Evia where K's parents had a villa in the 60s-70s and we wanted to take the opportunity to make one trip back there to see how much it has all changed. There is plenty of interesting archaeology on the island, especially at Eretria,  and I hope to take lots of photos.  Wish us luck! x