23-XI-2016.
The big day of heart surgery. Actually no knife involved, unless we count the little incision in the groin, where they insert a probe, find the artery and then lead it to the heart. There they just electrocute a few bits (location, voltage and dosage known to staff) and monitor it all the time on EKG and somewhat on sonar.
We got there on time. Ender was driving - I was still woozy from having too little sleep. Last night I almost managed to get drunk (two brandies, two pelinkovacs, two beers) but it's still very hard to achieve on an Arpi's party. But then the quarter of a slice of cake (which Raja started to eat but found it had too strong a taste, then someone else tried to take over but still left enough) had enough sugar to find a crack in my tooth. Even though I ate an apple - but before the cake - I woke up with a splitting headache in the usual points. Around the left ear, left corner of the jaw, few spots around the scalp, specially one above left eye. Got up three times to dab some DMSO on the cheek, which would help temporarily (in only allows better permeability and thus eases the pressure); most of the times this happens once is enough. My nasal cavity also acted up - if I slept on my back or the right side, the back would clog up and I can't breathe through mouth for more than half a minute, specially not when I sleep. When I turn on the left side, the headache resumes. It went away after a few hours, but that left me with just two hours of sleeping. So he drove there.
Arrived at 7:25, well before the scheduled 8:00 and before anyone else, so parking 20m from the gate was no problem at all. Nina went to get some breakfast (filo rolls with franks, something called cheese pizza but not even close, 0,25l bricks of milk). Then we went down and tried to find where to go. Actually, where to wait. But wait, we are paying - so we shouldn't wait. When she said "scheduled by dr. V, paying", we were called in and sent to a clerks' room where too many people were waiting for their turn to be assigned a bed. One fainted and the bed was rolled to him. The whole administrative part took perhaps a hour or more, which she spent going from one clerk to another nurse to another clerk, carrying paperwork, showing medical history, counting 5400€. Ender and I mostly sat outside - the weather was rather cold but getting warmer - nice sunny day - so I had a few smokes and chatted him up.
By noon he already had an xray done, blood samples taken (by an incredibly clumsy turkey from med high school, probably less than ten punctures in her CV so far, but very precise and extensive makeup, including calligraphic eyebrows), groins shaven, roommate desperate that he can't speak to him (but made him for a Phillipino right away, says his neighbor married a Phillipina and he'd recognize the features anywhere). By 13:30 we were just waiting for the time to pass (because we weren't told that he shouldn't break fast); I went to the car and had a long nap. By 15:00 she came and said she's off to buy some toilet paper, biscuits, toothbrush and juice and then we can go. Then at 15:30 texted that nurses have kidnapped her to translate while they sink the probe orally to get a good sonar picture so to know exactly what's where. We gave up on visiting Lena and drove straight home.
Mentions: Arpad Gunaroši (Arpi), Ender Aquila (Ender), Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Ryu (Raja), in serbian