Souvenir Photo Studio, by Al Bourassa: Tuesday January 3, 2017 X-Rays

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Tuesday January 3, 2017

I had a second appointment at 6:30am with one of the fellows that operated on me, Dr. Omar Sarmiento, and I thought the appointment was to remove the stitches from my neck. It turns out they are the dissolvable stitches as I thought. After 3 tries with the IESS bureaucracy (ridiculous!), we finally got to talk to the neurosurgeon and he ordered new x-rays. In Ecuador, we are handed the x-rays, they are our property, we own them! You can see the rest below, showing the flexion in the neck, but I have to start off with this one. I have told him that I feel my trachea is crooked because I have to be very careful, chewing extra well, and swallowing. This one x-ray isn't the straightest, bit it seems to show that I am right. AND, it honestly has me quite scared now. What does this mean??? Another operation? Traction?

I will be wearing the collars more diligently again and ask for another x-ray when we see him next Monday or Tuesday to view the x-rays together…

It was 9:30 by the time everything was done so I just hung around, sleeping on a bench, waiting for my physiotherapy appointment at 11:00. I thought it was odd that my section appeared closed.

At 10:30 my physiotherapist found me and told me that this area was being cleaned and that he was operating out of a different area. Then I had a mostly different regimen of exercises for a change, but I still refused to ride the stationary bike because of the severe pain it causes in my left shoulder.

I have an exercise machine at home that is finally going to get some use as I try to rebuild my musculature. One month of being on my back has taken its toll. I am a shadow of my former self, and with 8 pounds less I will hit my target, ..and the way that I am presently eating way less, and no junk food, I have no doubt of success (hooray).

After lunch, we needed to replenish the larder so I braved a shopping trip to Coral because we needed so many things, especially my salad fixin’s. The debit card took the hit because I don’t carry that much cash with me. It was exhausting!

We were invited by our buddy Oswaldo to come and meet his sweetheart, Maria, and their apartment in the west end, almost to Banos. He kindly picked us all up, and stopped for some Chilean empanadas near the University of Azuay (huge and meaty delicious pastries!).

They have a lovely apartment and have been able to squeeze in both of their belongings in an amicable manner. Maria is definitely a sweet lady and a great match for Oswaldo. We wish them the very best. Her hobbies are metal foil work and needlepoint. We had a lot of laughs and a great evening.
I went the whole day without using any painkillers (a first) but there was no question about taking them at bedtime. I was a hurting unit by then.

All photos taken with the Lumix.

I hope you enjoy the photos. That was the day's excitement. Cheers, Al

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NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.