It is becoming clear that the recent "storm train" (one storm immediately following another) that has been pummeling Portugal has caused some serious damage. Since January 20 Portugal has seen storms Ingrid, Joseph, Kristin, Leo, and as of Feb 8
And now here is a story which can be told. A few months ago Gerrit's doctor saw his blood PSA rising, which can be an indicator of prostate cancer. Gerrit went in for an MRI, and the radiologist identified a small nodule which he said was "highly likely to be cancerous". This is not what the patient wants to hear. Gerrit then had a guided biopsy by his urologist on January 22, which is the most accurate available, and the samples were sent to the pathology lab. Then on Monday Feb 9 he got an abrupt automatic text message notifying him that he had an appointment with his urologist for the following day. He began to dread the worst. It sounded like his doctor had gotten bad news from the pathology report and wanted him in there immediately to break the news to him and start planning for treatment. Or worse.
But no! There was no cancer found at all! 19 samples had been taken, including on and around the suspect nodule, and everything came back clear. Gerrit went from mortal dread to euphoria in about ten seconds.
Later he realized that everyone can have a little bit of that feeling of euphoria all the time, if we would only be grateful for all the good things we do have and the bad that we don't. Here are some examples: We don't have cancer! We don't have any number of other dread diseases! We have normal good health! We have loved ones we can be with! Our brains are functional and alert! The list goes on and on. There is so much to be grateful for. Just regularly pretend that you thought you had awful disease X but you suddenly realize that you don't. Gerrit assures you that it feels pretty great.
Back to the biopsy though. It required general anesthesia, so no food or drink was allowed following a light breakfast. Unfortunately the procedure was delayed by about four hours, to six PM (someone else apparently had the nerve to have an emergency), so Gerrit sat in the hospital room for hours with nothing but his pathetic gown and panties on getting hungrier and hungrier. Good thing the Pope didn't drop by. Pat had brought some embroidery at least, but Gerrit got awfully tired of his phone after a while. Finally he was whisked down to the operating room, and he lay there for a while listening to all the very Portuguese activity going on. People were joking, laughing, and talking. It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere, which helped to lower his anxiety level. His urologist came by, soothed him, and told him what to expect. After the anesthesiologist administered his drug, he was gesturing and joking with the nurses on the other side of Gerrit's bed. There was none of that ominous "count backward from 100" stuff (like you'd get any further than 97 anyway). Gerrit began to go under and said "
Pat got texts when Gerrit went to surgery, when he emerged from surgery, and when he was to return from recovery. The whole time she got to wait in his room, not some waiting room. It was all very reassuring.
When Gerrit came to in the recovery room, he felt no pain whatsoever. There was no pain at all, even for weeks afterward, and with no pain medication either. He doesn't know how his urologist managed to puncture him painlessly, 19 times in a very sensitive area, but he was thankful for it. He also got the most wonderful sandwich in the world there in recovery after 14 hours of foodlessness, and about midnight we drove home. Pat drove home, that is.
Overall the biopsy experience was great. We used the private healthcare system, since that's what our insurance provides. People were helpful and sympathetic, most spoke at least a little English, and the facilities were top-notch. The urologist was very competent, spoke English well, and had a great bedside manner both in his office and at the hospital. Our experience of Portuguese private and public medical care has been excellent, from routine office calls to this fairly major procedure.
So, enough drama, back to the mundane. On Saturday Feb 7 our hot water tank began showing an error code and failing to heat the water. This is not what you want in a hot water tank. We started taking morning sponge baths, Gerrit called the technicians early Monday, and late Tuesday afternoon our favorite tech
(As usual, you can click on any photo to enlarge it, scroll through them all, and click outside a photo when you're done. Also, you can click on the bold underlined phrases to play the audio.)