Knee surgery scheduled

About 6 months ago, I told you I needed surgery here in Italy. Non-emergency surgery can sometimes be a long wait, as it was in my case. I got a call last week from the hospital…at long last…to schedule my knee replacement surgery. My first appointment was today, for pre-op tests.

Well, I’m back from my tests. It went well for the most part. Ospidale Silvestrini sits commandingly on top of a hill south of Perugia city. It is the University hospital, so a teaching hospital. The hospital is ENORMOUS. And a VERY busy place. We were to go to the Segretario Ortopedica. Luther looked it up and the instructions said to go to a parking lot called Menghini and find a specific door. The place has multiple buildings connected with enclosed walkways. Our building was A, third floor.

It was 7:50am and our appointment was for eight. We got there and saw a door with the correct sign and walked past a whole room of people waiting and down a hall to the Segretario’s office. Asking permission he invited us in. Suddenly, all the people in the waiting room seemed to swarm the room but he told them to wait. Seems he had no appointment for me. But I was lucky, and he was helpful. Once we told him we had a surgery date and he looked in that book and there I was, he moved to fix it. He called down for my blood work and we went down to building P.

It was a pretty long walk. There, room 17, our destination, had an open door. We asked to come in giving our name and they seemed to be expecting us. Again the waiting room was full. I was feeling we were jumping the line! There was a man and a woman there. He took my blood, she did pulse and BP. They gave me a form to fill out with my history and a number and we returned to the waiting room. I filled out the forms and my turn came and I went in to see a young anesthesiologist. He was nice and even tried a little English. He asked questions and answered mine. A little disturbing is that I may get an epidural only along with mega tranquilizers, so not a general. Man! I hope I don’t wake during the operation!

Next we went to radiology and got a number. Everywhere we went was busy but here was the busiest. They are just next to the Pronto Soccorso or emergency room. When I was called I went down and got a chest X-ray first and my knee second. The chest was because I told them I used to smoke when they asked if I had. And how much. But wow, I quit nearly 40 years ago. But still…X-ray. So all was finito and we headed home. It took about 2.5 hours. All in all, I’d say the hospital was as good as anything in the US. This is reassuring. Everyone was very nice, and patient with my Italian. I’m crossing my fingers the intervento will be as good. I am scheduled to go in two weeks for the intervento, or operation.
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My friend Angela here (I grew my corn at her place last summer) has a friend named Quintino. She calls him Quinto. I knew he brought wood to her house to split. He’d also leave it there. So I asked if he’d need a spot of work to bring me wood. Well he did, back in December and he would not take the money I offered! Un regalo, a gift he said. I said no, no carrying it all up here, and believe me, it’s heavy! So I asked Angela about how to pay him and she said block his way and make him take it. I got some more this week and this time I made him take it. He didn’t want to because I was a friend of Angela’s. Now I have way more wood than I need.🙂 oh well. Rocky has decided he LOVES fires. And Quinto even brought me olive wood. He said it was for carne…meat when I cook.

So last night I tried out the olive wood. Smooth bark and small in size, it pops like firecrackers are going off in the house. So far this has not fazed Rocky. I grilled one of the good steaks we get at Etrusco in Bosco, a town south of us. It turned out very good and I had a nice, warm kitchen.

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