Taking a bit of time to relax and recover from my trip to the doctor in Blois yesterday. It's not all that taxing, but the hour drive each way and a few hours in doctors' offices take their toll on my these days.
First of all I HATE getting up early because I HAVE to...I either want to sleep late or, if I wake up early it's because I am ready to wake up on my own. When I have doctors' appointments with hour-long drives, I usually have to get up 2 hours before so I can shower and wash my hair, dry my hair, get dressed and leave the house on time. Plus I usually add an extra half-hour in case of traffic or weather delays. So, all told, I get up 2-3 hours before the appointed time.
Yesterday was no exception. The appointment was for 10 a.m. - fortunately not TOO early - so a 7 a.m. alarm got me up and headed toward the shower by 7:20. Got out of the house right on schedule at 8:30. Dog was walked, watered and settled in the entry hall. Geoff had a couple of cups of espresso to get himself ready to drive me. I had all my required test results and a bottle of water, plus my book, Geoff's book, Geoff's camera and the TomTom and off we went.
The trip was uneventful until about 5 miles before our destination...when we hit a long line of traffic going about 5 mph (as opposed to the normal 60 mph on this section of road). It only took us about 6 minutes to get to the head of the line and take our turn to pass the slow-moving farm equipment that was holding everything up. Fortunately, it wasn't anything more serious or a really long delay. Geoff gets quite impatient in such situations. You'd never guess he learned to drive in London traffic. These days a large truck going at the speed limit on a road where passing is difficult has him itching to go faster!
Anyway, we met with the anesthetist who will be working with my surgeon for my operation (whenever it gets scheduled) and I pretty much understood what he was saying in French, usually with a repeat or two or an occasional rephrasing. He wanted me to go over to the cardiologist to have my heart checked out, since I'd be having general anesthesia. So my 1/2 hour visit to the anesthetist had an hour-and-a-half added to it for waiting for and being seen by the cardiologist, then waiting for the report to be typed up and given to me. More French to understand, but the cardiologist was glad to be able to practice his English a little.
The good news is that my heart is in wonderful condition for 58 years old and the surgery can go ahead with no worries. Now I just have one more MRI to be done next week to make sure of the exact extent of the problem and that it hasn't spread. Then the surgery will get scheduled...hopefully very soon! I'm ready for it to be over with!
Meantime, I'm going to take some "me" time and chill out, do as little as is necessary to keep the house functioning and try to stay positive. Maybe I'll even get to soak up a few rays of sunshine, too.
"Perched" villages
1 day ago
