Went for a check up at that Limoges hospital a couple of weeks back. Half expected the surgeon to chop off the end of the rotting toe. But he didn't. Told me instead to come back again in another month's time. I presume he thought it just might heal. He might be right. But I think he's wrong.
Went back in again a couple of days later. Saw some heart specialist. Stuck electrical thingies all over my chest and stuffed a drip thing in my arm. Didn't really know what was going on. Turned out he was reading my heart workings on a telly screen. The drip thing apparently pumped some liquid into my bloodstream which quickened my heart rate. Apparently at 130 beats a minute my heart misbehaved a bit. Doctor wasn't sure why. He's now booked me in for a minor exploratory operation in about ten days time. I think they're going to pump dye into the heart area to see if some of the tubes are blocked. Not sure though. Anyways, I gather I'll be hospitalised for just two nights. Then I presume they'll know a bit more exactly what the problem is. Then..., I presume they may have to operate again to put it right. Maybe another stent or two. Or maybe just stretching or expanding hardened or partially blocked arteries. Don't know. Haven't a clue.
However, I now have a slightly clearer idea of what's been going on. Originally I thought it was a simple case of gout. May well have been. But added to that was a blocked thigh artery which meant blood couldn't reach the left foot toe area. Didn't realise it at the time though. I now know that that blocked artery, or my present heart condition (whatever that may be), has been around a lot longer than I originally thought. Maybe up to a year or more. Maybe even longer - at a medical check up about ten years ago I was told I had high blood pressure. So, for over a decade my heart's been having to pump harder to get the blood to circulate. And now, I presume, it's just a bit knackered. I guess that's the price I pay for smoking since I was sixteen. Given up now though. Two months. And counting.
