I took this shot of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square when I went to the panto on Friday night. I didn't stop by the bizarre nativity scene, but I think I can see it in the clear box-like case to the right of the tree. There's also a Christmas market on the terrace near the National Gallery -- you can see the lights and awnings. Unfortunately I had no time to spare so I couldn't look at any of this very closely.
I couldn't go see Dave yesterday until 2 p.m., when visiting hours began, but he and I texted in the morning. I spent my time cleaning the house and doing laundry. I didn't venture outside, where the winds were gusting like crazy amid intermittent rain courtesy of Storm Darragh, which is expected to continue today. Darragh has been knocking down trees all over the country, but fortunately in our garden, the damage is (so far) limited to a large chunk broken off the buddleia by the back door. I went out and pruned it back by about half to reduce further wind damage.
Finally I walked to the hospital to see Dave in the early afternoon. The blood is still on the floor of Elevator B -- but it looks fainter, like someone may have languidly run a mop over it. Dave is doing fine -- a bit spacey but he can carry on a pretty normal conversation. I sat with him for a little more than an hour before walking home again.
This is a sculpture outside the hospital called "Pisces Major" by Jesse Watkins. I've seen it many times but I never noticed until yesterday that it moves. It would turn slowly on its pedestal, then reverse and turn back again, and sometimes it sat still. None of this seemed to be timed, and I wondered if it was due to the wind. Or has it always moved and I just never noticed?
My day was complicated by the fact that I had to eat a bland "white" diet for the last of a couple of tests ordered in November by my gastroenterologist. I've delayed taking this one because a) it requires some complex and time-consuming preparation, and b) I think it's bullshit.
Basically, I'm supposed to blow air into some tubes over a period of two hours, and mail them off to a lab where the gases will be tested for the presence of methane and some other stuff. This is supposed to tell me whether I have "bacterial overgrowth" in my small intestine. It's similar to that test for H. pylori that I did a couple of years ago. I'm not sure whether I believe in intestinal "bacterial overgrowth" as a condition, and I once again find the idea of mailing my exhalations completely ridiculous, but I'm going along with it.
So, yeah, food yesterday was no fun. White rice and two eggs for lunch, white bread and chicken for dinner. No milk, no fruit, no vegetables, no fiber. No life, no fun, no taste.
I'm looking forward to 9:15 a.m., when I can have my normal bowl of cereal once again.
I hope that time passes quickly and you can return to colorful food and that all the tests come out fine.
ReplyDeleteIf anything Trafalgar Square looks smaller and closer on a Winter's night that I remember it by day.
ReplyDeleteDave will be groggy still after a GA..it is surprising how long any anaesthetic takes to clear the system.
It will be weather related movement of the sculpture..could be windy or temperature..there is one in Blenheim NZ.
Bacterial overgrowth is a thing...we are supposed to have bacteria in our guts, but sometimes they do over multiply..like with Candida Albicans causing Thrush.
The Nativity thing is dreadful - it needs another group of rugby fans to destroy this one too.
ReplyDeleteHow strange to send a container of air by mail! So glad you got to see Dave. Hope he recovers quickly. I’m still shocked by the blood that remains on the floor. I can’t believe they consider that acceptable. I love the sculpture out front and especially its movement.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that the sculpture moves. We have a bridge here and the sculptures change position, and it either at an extreme crawling pace or it happens at 4am.
ReplyDeleteOh god. Not the white diet, what you do before a colonoscopy. I have to have one next year as a precaution.
While some area of physical overgrowth might be welcome, I hope you don't have a bacterial overgrowth.
Wouldn't it be fun if every day you had to eat a different coloured food? I think I would like the green day best of all. Red day would be tomatoes, red peppers and red apples. Brown day would be shit.
ReplyDeleteOne good thing about US hospitals, at least where I live, is that visiting hours are not so rigid as in the past. They run from early in the morning to late at night, often you can order meals to eat in the room with the patient, and if you wanted to come in during the night, you probably could without a lot of kerfuffle about it. Possibly because single rooms are more of a thing now than they were in the past. You may still have a roommate in some places but it's not a given anymore.
ReplyDeleteI'm really leery of blowing into a tube at home and then dropping it in the mail; that just sounds so odd.
ReplyDeleteGlad, though, the Dave is on the mend and the blood drop may soon disappear!
So are your air puffs being compared to cows? You may be contributing to global warming, funny thought. Anyway I hope all's well when they run the tests.
ReplyDeleteI love those light displays hanging across the streets.
By now Dave is probably feeling more like himself only without pain, at least I hope so.
I hate the white diet. And that test does sound a bit odd! I hope they won't have to keep Dave too long. Loved the photos and now I must find a pic of the awful nativity! But the market looks fun. By now you have probably had your cereal -- at long last!
ReplyDeleteI remembered that nativity. Very strange indeed. I love the photos of the holiday decorations. It's interesting how they string the lights on that tree. That sculpture is fascinating. Your diet does not sound pleasant at all. It will be interesting to hear if they actually diagnose anything. I hope Dave's "mending" is going well and he'll soon be home again.
ReplyDeleteWhat? They keep you in the hospital after hernia surgery? Here you get the surgery, they smack you around a bit to bring you back to consciousness and then send you home. Okay. They don't really smack you but otherwise that is the way it is.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you have to mail your exhalations in to be tested. How very, very weird. Not unlike that sculpture if you ask me. AND the Nativity scene. Has London lost its mind?
I was going to say the same thing - I'm pretty sure my dad was sent home the same day after his surgery!
DeleteYou wouldn't be happy in our house as eggs and rice is often on the menu for a quick breakfast.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything fishlike about that mobile, so I wandered off for a read. Pisces is signified by two fish tied together (goes back to look at mobile and can see that) and this signifies the duality of the Piscean nature (goes back to watch the mobile and guess that 'blowing in the wind' is meant to signify that). So I kind of get it. I laughed at Mrs. Moon. Someone marveled at how quickly people are released from the hospital here. I think they thought I was joking. I told them that the stay was so short that on cold days, we simply didn't bother to shut the car engine off to make sure the car was toasty warm when the surgical patient was tucked back into it, groggy and still shivering from the anaesthetic.
ReplyDeletere the nativity, I guess they are all standing back waiting for the angel to continue descending to smite the baby Jesus, or bless him, or whatever. Joseph is laying low.
ReplyDeleteI don't envy your diet.
I was also surprised that Dave is in for so many days. My Dad's hernia surgery was outpatient so he came home the same day. Also I was surprised you have to wait to visit him. Here, family can come in any time and can even stay the night if they feel it necessary. Hope all goes well with your test and the results are good.
ReplyDeleteI like the sculpture. The curves and movement appeals, to me.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like Dave is recovering nicely. I, too, am surprised he's still in hospital. Our hospitals discharge to home or rehab immediately after a surgery. Hospitals say quick discharge is due to a shortage of beds and high demand. Rehab can often be done at home and is covered by health insurance. In my opinion, that is the best option.
White diet is no fun. I've never heard of a breath test for bacteria. You'll have to let us know if the breath test provides a solid diagnosis and treatment.
The bacteria will be looking forward to their cereal, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you that it's bullshit. That sound really new-agey for NHS, unless this is private coverage. I'm also surprised at how long they're keeping Dave. Maybe that's not bad, he has professional care and people to bring him food.
ReplyDeleteI like the sculpture and that it moves. Surely it's too heavy to be wind-related! You'll have to report back if you learn more about it.
ReplyDeleteWhen will Dave get to come home?
I've never heard of that condition but best to cover all the bases. I sometimes have a white diet too--cottage cheese and a bagel and cream cheese. Not healthy but yummy. Glad Dave is doing well! How long does he have to stay in the hospital?
ReplyDeleteI am SO WHINY when I have to alter my diet even a little bit (hence my terrible lab results), so I feel you. Hoping you're back to normal food by now!
ReplyDeleteSmall intestine bacterial overgrowth - if it's detected - can be treated with specific antibiotics. I've seen this in a family member with great results.
ReplyDeleteThese xmas decorations look so metallic or is it just the reflection?
Good to hear that Dave is making progress. Some of the tests done seem like they're worse than the test.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Allison, that whole "bacterial overgrowth" thing is bullshit, period, full stop. Good news on Dave's progress. I am surprised at the length of stay though, in the US they shovel us out the door ASAP.
ReplyDeleteAustralia too. I had hernia surgery in 2019 and went home that afternoon. No option of staying the night!
DeleteI hope you get good results and I am glad Dave is feeling a bit better.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if your gut problems might settle with a daily dose of cider vinegar? You can mix it with a bit of honey. I have an old Folk Medicine paperback that suggests cider vinegar as a cure for just about everything. Mix with honey and add hot water to drink it as a tea on cold days.
ReplyDeleteI’m most curious to hear the results yielded by the apparently empty test tube. Never heard if this one.
ReplyDelete