Pinochet vanquished

Today I received some excellent news. My sternum wound, the evil Pinochet, will not require reconstructive surgery. The vacuum dressing has been removed and awarded a medal of valour. I now have a soft dressing in place, with no discomfort and no restrictions upon my arm and shoulder mobility. The wound is expected to fully heal of its own volition. The dictator is living in exile, a broken and powerless man.

On the down side, I got sick on painkillers again. I react very badly to many painkillers. They make me dizzy, nauseous and sweaty and induce horrendous vomiting. It's like getting badly drunk back in the student days, without the preceding good time. We have now tried Endone, Fentonil, Tramedol and Hydro Morphine. Each has caused the same reaction, to some degree. It is important that we find an effective painkiller before the transplant surgery. My delightful pharmacist, Suzanne, is assiduously working on the problem and I am confident she will come up with an answer.

Well done to my team at work for a resounding win in Court yesterday. They prepared the case quickly, clinically and thoroughly. They even indulged the old man to participate with a bit of strategy and research.

I am now back on antibiotics because my VAD wounds have been bleeding profusely. They required four dressings over 24 hours. I suspect that in the dying days of the regime, Pinochet sent a few troops across the border to wreck some mayhem. Nothing I haven't dealt with before so no biggie in the scheme of things.

Oh, I've been forgetting to mention the outcome of the Scrabble game with my mother in law. Please don't draw an adverse inference from my silence on the topic. I beat her by 99 points. She is a decent player so I was pretty chuffed and have now officially retired from the game. She can foist her contrived non-words upon the rookie crowd.

Until next time,