Wednesday: the moonlight flit

Though we did our best to sleep, we both remained awake enough to react instantly when someone came into the cublicle to say we were moving hospital. What? It seems as though our insurers were not happy with the care offered here and were sending an ambulance to transfer me to the Hospital Evangelico, elsewhere in the city.

In the dead of night then, I was whisked away by two or three burly paramedics to a waiting ambulance. Nothing was said to staff on duty and the thought crossed my mind that we had not asked to see any identity or anything. I could have been in the process of kidnap!! A few minutes later, we found ourselves trying to fit all our luggage into the ambulance and all set, the doors were closed and off we went.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the hospital’s emergency department and awaited further instructions. After an hour (during which time I think I slept), my Hero was shown to a waiting room (more comfortable than the ambulance) and eventually I was lifted (!) out of the ambulance by the strongman driver and wheeled inside. It was probably 5am by now.

I was taken to “Box 4”, a similarly sized cubicle to the one I’d left, opposite the nurses station. Once again, tests and more tests followed, I was hooked up to the ECG and to the oxygen supply and after a while a doctor arrived. During the day, a series of doctors visited and we found it tricky to keep track of who was who - all wore scrubs of assorted colours and there didn’t seem to be a “code” to identify their role.

The main thing was, I appeared to be making progress. Further antibiotics were delivered and around now, I realised I had not eaten or drunk anything since I left the ship. I didn’t feel particularly hungry, but I was desperate for a glass of water. Thankfully, my Hero was on hand!

Whilst I was here, my Hero was managing the insurance stuff, was working out where he was going to stay (because it appeared we might be here for a week or more) and chatting to the cruise company Regent staff. Amanda, based in the UK is our personal “concierge” who manages our bookings and is a source of reliable advice. But there was also Claire, from the “Regent Care Team”, both of whom were not only concerned for us both but who were there to support us too. First job, sadly, was to cancel/rearrange our flights home, which they did. In addition, we had had great service from the onboard Concierge Anna, who’d organised our luggage and good wishes from Gianluca, Splendor General Manager who called to see how we were doing and to wish me well.

There was one problem. This part of the hospital had no wifi. I switched on data on my phone, but instantly hit a challenge. Somewhere along the line, I had set a monetary limit on my account and as this limit had been reached, not only could I no longer use data, neither could I switch that limit off, because to do so meant going into my account online. Pah!! (Thankfully my Hero managed to get it sorted).

A handful of tablets were delivered along with a tray of tea.

Those tea trays with an unidentifiable hot drink, a pot of stewed fruit and a dry breadroll and jam were to feature quite heavily in the next few days, but for now, I was glad of a little something to eat.

In the late afternoon my Hero left to go to to his home for the next few days: Hotel Montevideo

I settled in for the night.

But at 7.30pm, dinner was served…

Now, I really ought to have been grateful, but to be honest, this slab of pie was the last thing I felt like eating. I didn’t particularly want to eat the tomato and as for the slab of dry cake - sorry. I really wasn’t that hungry.

I decided to try a small corner of the pie, discovering that the filling was stewed cabbage which confirmed my decision to explain that, sorry, I wasn’t hungry.

I don’t know if these things usually happen in the middle of the night here or whether they simply acted when our insurers gave permission, but at 2am the following morning I was wheeled off for a CT scan.

Box 4 remained “home” for most of Thursday too, the highlight of which (apart from the company of my Hero, of course) was a visit from a giant of a man who was the ultrasound expert. Once again, I was pummeled by those hard ultrasound sensors, because apparently the images they’d had from the Hospital Español hadn’t gone deep enough.

“Are you sure you still have your gall bladder?” asked a nurse (I do, and said so!) So the ultrasound man had to press a little - a lot - harder, to find it. He also found my liver, my heart and lungs and finally, thank the lord, my gall bladder. They were still trying to identify the source of the infection which had started all of this.

Maybe this was the first time I heard “Legionnaires” mentioned.

Late in the afternoon, after my Hero had returned to his hotel (which he said was comfy, with sympathetic staff), I heard that I was moving again. This time, to a bed on a ward on floor 3. I was being admitted as an in patient and the wrist tag followed.

Thursday ended on a reasonable note, with me feeling more comfortable in a larger space with an ensuite loo and actually, feeling better “in myself”. Thank goodness for WhatsApp which enabled me to let my Hero know where I was, but also to begin to keep in touch with the outside world, because praise be, the third floor had wifi!!