[Salinger]

Hey Rho how are you doing? X

[Rhovaniel]

On 9/28/2024 at 7:30 PM, MaeradCase said:

Sorry to hear he wasn't doing well. ?

 

? That is a very unexpected cause. 

I hope you are able to get a definite answer and an easy transition into whatever that needs.

 

Keeping water handy sounds like a good technique. ♥️ Good job!

 

Sorry my job transition is presently keeping me too busy to read during the day, but I am still excited to read your thesis. ?

I can understand the sensation of having completed it and then having to figure out what comes next. ?

Thank you - I think I am coming to terms with the fact that my Dad might be in and out of hospital now. His health is really poor and it sucks, but it sucks slightly less if I am sort of accepting it. 

 

On 10/5/2024 at 8:22 PM, Salinger said:

Hey Rho how are you doing? X

Hey Sal. Thanks for checking in. More below:

 

 

So. 

 

 

That was a whole lot. 

 

Finally got an appointment to see my GP about a referral for my calf issues. She said she would (do need to chase this actually) but wanted to run some bloods to rule out a few things like a DVT (blood clot in the leg). I didn't have time then I had a late appointment and they close at 5. In hindsight, this was a good thing.  A busy work week meant packing for Morrocco got done mostly on Thursday. I flew Friday (4th), in the afternoon, so I nipped to the hospital for the blood test in the morning. 

 

Was fine, except an hour and a half delay. I met up with one of the people also going on the trip in the airport and hung out for a bit, which was cool. Then as I was boarding I got a call from my Dad - he had been discharged a couple days earlier, guess who was bouncing right back in? This time, he swore he wasn't going to cause an issue (he's been very impatient and rude to staff at times, despite trying to remind him that how you get put to the back of a nurse's priorities). Since I was boarding, there was nothing I could do and my sister was there anyway. He's more or less on the mend now, came out day before yesterday. 

 

BUT, being on a plane and then Morrocco meant no one could call me. Which my doctors were apparently repeatedly doing. Eventually, they sent a doctor on call to my house on Saturday , where M had to tell them I'd gone on holiday. I was still getting whatsapp, so he called me on there. Blood tests show high levels of something that does indicate DVT. No exertion, flying bad, etc. This was day one and I was feeling fine. Thankfully, there was a GP on the trip, who explained that, despite the emergency admission form telling me (in bold, I may add) to get to A&E ASAP, it does not mean I DID have DVT, just that more tests are needed. So, I decided that what doctors didn't know couldn't hurt, and I'd already been surfing once already. 

 

Side note, surfing is so fun. Bloody hard work, and dangerous for us newbies who don't know how to control the board, but so fun. My feet are scrapped up, there is a rash all up both arms from the board (I can't wear full sleeve wetsuits), a wicked bruise on my thigh (wave pummeled me backwards and the board ended up in  front of me instead of behind) and a slightly tender spot on the side of my head where I wiped out and the board came down on my head. But I stood up on the board! Not the first session, but sessions two and three I did. One of the staff from the riad I was staying in took plenty of pictures. Here's some of the rare moments I am not wiping out  (actually, in the last one I am about two seconds away from falling lol). They were taken on different days, but the wetsuit was the same and the clouds didn't part till day 3. Still enough sun to burn my shoulders though!

 

 

 

 

The food was good, aside from the meal we had out in town, which I wasn't impressed by. Whether coincidence or not, Tuesday, the day after the meal out, is when I starting having stomach issues. At first, thought maybe food poisoning, but it was days of it. Not going into detail, but after that my time was mostly spent in the riad, close to the bathroom, though the sun came out so I could at least feel crummy by the poolside with my book. I finished re-reading the Fellowship again and am halfway through The Help.  My stomach seemed to settle more after a couple days, so I went surfing again for what I kinda knew was the last time. So much fun, but the waves were really strong (something about the hurricane in the US affecting the waves, someone said). After getting beaten up by my board for a couple hours, I called it a day, swam for a bit, walked on the beach for a bit and called it a day. I'd love to go again sometime, but that is the very last time I travel anywhere without my little med kit. I usually travel with at least the basics, and I have no idea why I didn't this time, when it really, really would have come in handy. The riad owner gave me some stuff, which helped keep symptoms under control, but it still wasn't ideal. Not that it ruined the holiday, by any stretch. I got to explore town, sit and relax. It took a couple days to switch off the part of me that felt I needed to be doing something, like my PHD application stuff, but eventually I was able to put aside the need to be productive. 

 

I also got off lightly. Sickness was sweeping through the group! The guy I met at the airport literally did not come out of his room for two days after falling ill - he emerged for brief periods after that, but  looked like he'd been through it. Another woman came down with COVID. A guy in the big group fell ill a couple days later... it was starting to become a running joke as every time we sat down for dinner, there were less and less people there!

 

Still, I am home at 3am yesterday, grabbed some sleep. Packed a book, a flask of tea and stopped off for some snacks (my stomach still wasn't right, so I've been mostly eating plain carbs and some veggies) and went to the hospital. One long six hours later (that tea was a damn good call), another blood test result. The levels of D Dimer (the thing they were looking at) have climbed higher, even though I wore compression sleeves on the plane - initially I brought them in case they helped with pain when surfing), which should have mitigated any effect of flying. So, now I wait for a phone call to get an ultrasound and in the meantime I have blood thinners, because its looking like DVT is the likely culprit, and the blood thinners will hopefully dissolve the clot. I am - not sure what to think, about any of it, honestly. It's been a turbulent couple of weeks. 

 

 

 

 

[Sovalis]

Oh wow, that is an update! I am glad that they think they know what is going on with your calf and hopeful that there is a resolution that isn’t too invasive. I am glad you had a good enough time on your trip and that flying and surfing didn’t make the clot situation worse. You look so badass in your photos!!!

[MaeradCase]

Popping in just to say "OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE SO COOL, YOU GOT TO GO SURFING AND YOU DID THE THING!!!"

Sounds similarly painful as my attempt to snowboard except you persevered and I gave up. ? 

(I plan to return to say more, but game night time)

[MaeradCase]

21 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

I plan to return to say more, but game night time

I've returned amidst a quiet pause at work. And have to say, oh noooooo. I feel the pain of being sick on holiday. Literally had a whole ordeal with my digestion prior to my period starting halfway through my trip. It's very frustrating, but I hope the sunshine was pleasant enough and the books distracting enough that the day was still sufficiently good.