Mysteries, Medical and Otherwise

Not sure what happened at our Domino's pizza on the high street to require that it be cordoned off with hazard tape. At first I thought some type of crime might have occurred, but there's nothing in the news. Maybe they just got a paint job or a new sign or something.

Well, yesterday wound up being far more exciting than any of us intended. Right after I clicked "publish" on my last post, Dave left for school -- and within minutes came home again. He'd been complaining of pain in his abdomen, which with his Crohn's is not all that unusual, but it was worse than normal and he didn't feel he could go to work. He has some untreated hernias and the pain seemed to be associated with those, so in an abundance of caution we went to the emergency room (or A&E, as it's called here in England, for "accident and emergency").

We were both concerned that the hernias may have become constricted or his bowels otherwise blocked. I went to the hospital with him and we sat together until about 11 a.m. By then he'd been seen by a nurse and sent for a CAT scan. I went on to work while he waited for the scan results.

This is a painting in the emergency department. Is that not the ugliest thing you've ever seen? There's actually a lot of nice art at this hospital -- but this piece, not so much.

Anyway, poor Dave wound up waiting around until 4 p.m., when the doctor finally told him there was no visible obstruction. His blood tests showed slightly elevated levels of inflammation. The doctor offered to keep him overnight to treat him for the pain, but Dave elected to come home. He seems better today.

Crohn's -- the adventure never ends.

I, meanwhile, had a busy half-day at work, with everyone checking out books for the long weekend. I finished the inventory up through the 800s, still with just a handful of missing materials. Most of the middle schoolers are away on trips next week, so I should be able to do a lot more then.

On the way home I passed this wall of wisteria, which smelled heavenly.

We are both looking forward to yet another long weekend -- we have Monday off in celebration of today's coronation, which we will probably watch on TV, because how often do you get to see something like that? But I'm not going to join the crowds in Westminster, especially as the weather might be iffy. I feel a little bad for Charles and Camilla because there seems to be a distinct lack of public enthusiasm, but I suppose they're laughing all the way to the bank, as the saying goes. (We did put up a coronation display in the library and yesterday our school cafeteria served its take on "coronation quiche," so we're doing our part!)