Appendectomy? No thanks, not today.

So we didn’t end up spending the 4th all alone after all. Unfortunately Phil had to go into work for a few hours that day, which left me home to roast up what is hopefully the last batch of chiles, and we were just expecting to spend a quiet night at home. But sometime in the afternoon for whatever reason, we decided to have two other couples over for an impromptu 4th of July dinner. It wasn’t quite your traditional 4th affair, but seeing as we neither have a patio/deck or a grill we had to improvise a little. So Phil picked up some steaks (or more like half a cow—see below!) on the way home from work and I set to work making the house presentable and prepping the rest of dinner. It wasn’t too fancy, just steaks on our indoor grill pan (and veggie burgers for our veggie friends), salad, sautéed mushrooms and some oven roasted potato wedges. And apparently I am psychic because the night before I had made some cookies (while Phil was working until past midnight!) as if I knew we were going to be having guests over the next day. (Actually, I was feeling bad for Phil that he had to work so late so I thought I would make him a treat.) All in all it was a fun time although the lack of fireworks was surely missed. Neither one of us is really patriotic but I know that I sure do like a good fireworks show!


So the rest of the weekend was fairly boring, except for our customary evening trip to the beach. Phil had Sunday off from work because of all the time he put in last week so we were planning on getting out and having a little fun, but unfortunately Phil was feeling a little under the weather. So we stayed home and I played the role of nurse and we watched more bad movies on HOT. Phil got up to go to work on Monday and his stomach pains from the day before seemed to have moved from the center of his belly to the lower right side. So he ended up coming home and I set to looking for a doctor to make an appointment with in the afternoon. Now I find it difficult enough to find a good doctor in the US, and so I thought that finding one in Israel who also spoke English was going to be a few hour task. Now most doctors here would probably say they speak English, but the challenge was to find one that actually did speak English. It turned out not to be that difficult after all, as we got a recommendation from our friend’s Obstetrician for a doctor who has worked extensively with diplomats and foreigners.

So we headed to the appointment at about two thirty and didn’t end up getting home until past seven! It ended up being a much longer affair than I had expected, otherwise I totally would have brought my new book and some snackage along. (I can get a wee bit cranky when I am hungry.) The doctor ended up being quite nice and spoke impeccable English. And, are you ready for this? He actually listened! Yes, I know, it’s quite shocking to find a doctor that is actually interested and listens to everything you have to say and isn’t trying to push you out the door so that they can continue herding their patients in and out like cattle. So he listened intently as Phil described his symptoms and poked and prodded him a little bit. His diagnosis? Inconclusive. To make a long story short Phil had some very distinct signs of appendicitis (which we had researched on the internet earlier, thus our concern and trip to the doc), however, he also had many other symptoms that led the doctor to believe it was just a pesky intestinal bug. (Unfortunately Phil and I have both been plagued with several lovely stomach bugs since we moved here. Must be the complete unawareness that people have for germs here but I could write a whole blog about that in and of its self. And if I get bored enough I just might someday.) But the doctor didn’t feel comfortable just sending Phil home to wait it out, so with our permission he ordered up some nice expensive tests.

So we headed downstairs to the lab to get Phil’s blood work done and to have a CT scan of his abdomen. The blood work was the easy part except for the not so gentle needle stick he received. For the CT scan Phil had to ingest large quantities of a yellow colored sugary drink filled with iodine. As he’s chugging down his fourth or fifth glass they bring us over a waiver to sign that says that Phil is not allergic to iodine. Hmmmm? Wouldn’t it have been better to give him that form, oh, let’s say, before he started downing cups full of iodine? And of course, his boss calls him to check in briefly but mostly just to talk about work because you know those microchips, they just can’t wait. I swear the only way Phil can get a break from that place is if he is under the knife. So I guess I didn’t need my book after all because I had to refill Phil’s glass every ten minutes and make sure he was drinking the correct amount as he was distracted with the conversation with his boss. In any case, two hours and a few liters of chartreuse liquid later they were ready for his CT scan. And the results? Inconclusive. Again. So the scan showed an appendix that is on the border of being slightly large but showed no signs of inflammation. So we headed back upstairs to discuss the results and get a consult from a surgeon. They finally decided that it was safe to send Phil home and monitor him over night. If he had appendicitis it would most likely have developed into a full blown case by now but would definitely develop over the next night. So we went home finally and looked up the location of the nearest hospital, just in case, before we settled into bed.

So we clearly didn’t make an emergency trip to the hospital, but Phil did develop some other symptoms over night. I’ll spare you the gory details, but they eventually led the doc to decide he did not have appendicitis after all. So he went back to the doc the next day for one more check and in the end it turns out to have just been a bad case of gastroenteritis. So Phil was laid up for most of the week and he’s slowly been on the mend since then and is just starting to get his appetite back. And poor me, I’ve had to eat all the cookies (chocolate and white chocolate chunk!) I made, all by my little self. It sure was hard for me too. ;) But I promise you I took good care of the patient and gave the proper amount of sympathy when due. Phil was back at work yesterday, just in time for the last day of the week. Hopefully they won’t work him to death over the weekend as payback for missing most of the week!

So besides playing nurse I have been busy with the usual stuff. I was engrossed in a very long 900+ page novel and spent the better part of two days finishing it off. (Yes, I realize that this is a luxury I have been offered by living here and I am quite grateful for that. I guess it offsets the annoying horn honking drivers. Well, maybe not quite.) If anyone is looking for a good summer read (meaning not Pulitzer Prize material but a major page turner that sucks you in and won’t let you go until page 983) then I highly recommend The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. It’s set in the Middle Ages and revolves around the construction of a large cathedral in England. It’s full of interesting characters, good and evil, lots of lies and deception, a few battles and of course what novel about the Middle Ages would be complete without a few good hangings. Really, I didn’t think I would like it either but I couldn’t put it down!

I also received a couple (okay more like 4) new workout videos. I was getting bored with the same old ones and needed to mix things up a little. Yes, yes, I am perfectly aware that there is a very nice beach practically right outside my front door with a nice wide path for joggers and walkers, but what can I say? I loathe running. Every time I take it up I end up quitting because I despise it so much. Plus the last time I went out in the evening for a short jog I was expecting it to be a little cooler than in the afternoon but was terribly mistaken. I came back with a beet red face except for a gleaming white upper lip. NOt my best look. In any case, I have been trying out my new videos and I must say that the hours upon hours I spent researching them on the internet really paid off because they are exactly what I was looking for. So I’ll leave the running to my sister-in-law who has been tearing up the treadmill lately and stick to my aerobics, pilates and yoga in my nicely air conditioned apartment. I’m sure the fella’ that lives below us would rather I hit the pavement though.

Oh yes, and I also finished another blanket. This one is for my friend here who is due with a baby boy in October. I am getting faster at my knitting (and on some days a little obsessive) and have been feverishly searching the internet (wow, I sure am extolling the virtues of the internet today!) for new and more challenging patterns. I cannot believe what some people can knit! It humbled me quite a bit and made me realize that I truly am just a novice knitter, but none the less I am excited about my new hobby. Plus it keeps me busy and makes me feel like I am accomplishing something at least. But, oh what I wouldn’t give for a Hobby Lobby or Michael’s right now. I’ve seen maybe two tiny little yarn shops around and they hardly look like they are going to provide the variety of yarn and knitting materials that I am looking for. I guess that means I better bring one suitcase home for salsa and spices and another one for yarn!