Last holiday pics, Achilles tendon update, and stressing about Wednesday.

We've been back from holiday for a week now. It's been pretty busy as I'm trying to get a lot of work-work and TELL work done before my op on Wednesday, to try and compensate for time off afterwards. I also had a routine dermatologist appointment on Monday, and she cut a little bump out on the side of my face. It started as what looked like an in-grown hair (the Neoral that I've been on makes me SO HAIRY!), but I've been scratching it for months now. Even when I don't scratch the scab off, it just doesn't heal. So the Dr said it looks more like a wart or something to her, but she would prefer to cut it out and send it to the lab. So my week started with some un-scheduled cutting! The 4 stitches are coming out on Tuesday, the day before my redo Nissen op.

I'm out of the moon-boot!!! Achilles is doing well. It feels like heaven to be walking around like a normal person again (sort of!), for the first time in 5 months. I've driven my own car again this week (it's a manual car, not automatic like Chris'), and I've been able to SHOWER again!!!!!!! Yesterday I went to the gym, and it was so nice. I only do a little bit of Achilles exercises - that the physio showed me, for the rest I was just doing upper body, cycling, and some thigh stuff. It just felt so good to have a free leg! 12 Weeks in a cast, 6 weeks in a moon-boot and 2 surgeries later....

Wednesday is the redo Nissen Funduplication. NOT looking forward to it. It's a different hospital, I don't anyone there, they're not a transplant hospital, and it's pretty far from home in terms of getting visitors. When I'm at Milpark it's close to my family with like zero traffic to get there, so they visit often. The staff and Drs at Milpark also feel like family after going there for essentially 12 years. At Unitas Hospital I have literally only seen the Professor twice, briefly. I should be there for 2 nights only, if all goes well... I just remember it was extremely painful last time :-( In hindsight, my lung Dr said that the fact that it was done way too tightly might explain why I found it so terrible compared to other patients. He says no-one else has ever complained that the pain was that bad! So let's see...

I haven't posted the last of our holiday pics... Here are some of the Nieu-Bethesda photo's. It's a quaint little Karoo town, outside of Graaff-Reinet. We went there for Daniel and Anneen's wedding, and enjoyed the guest house we stayed in a lot! The 2 restaurants where we ate both had AMAZING food, especially Die Waenhuis. We were super impressed! Really a great little weekend getaway spot! There is also the most fantastic second hand bookshop... I could spend HOURS there... and of course the famous Owl House! What a fascinating and weird little place!!! Well worth a visit, and do a guided tour if you can. We didn't do one, but heard some interesting stuff by eavesdropping on one.

The wedding itself was also very nice. The weather was perfect, and it was great seeing some of the PE people again. (The first pic is with the newlyweds, the others are just some pics taken in the town).