GUIDED EXCURSIONS

 

Sponsored Excursions

There are invisible and sometimes uninformed fearful ones.

Last four months or so we were their charges.

The excursions included:

as far as I can remember,

six emergency room, operating and intensive care hospital rooms

four check up visits to same (?) hospitals

in Istanbul, Iznik, Bursa and Kocaeli.

The conveyance was the worst and most uncomfortable tour vehicle,

four trips with an old and unmaintained ambulances, some on potholed roads or those with speed traps.

two of them lasting over two hours each.

Sometimes on possibly scenic routes

some through dense traffic.

Fourteen doctors, twenty two nurses cleaning staff and nurse aids, young ones, unhapy ones, some talkative some with gazes that hurt more than their vein searching needles were present to miss medicine, argue with meand leave me alone to suffer the agony of defibrillator shocks.

I was mostly kept in the dark except for the TAVR doctor, who was lovely, informative and who hugged me after the operation saying "congratulations to both of us." he was soaking wet with sweat after the five hour procedure. My subsequent echo cardiograms showed that he had done a terrific job,preventing any possible leeks despite the raggedly calcium caked aortic valve. 

A number of doctors at two hospital said I needed an ablation in addition to the existing defibrilator. the profesor who had placed the pace maker also believed them.

Until, I was stretched on the operating table with no sedation or anesthetic, wondering if I can escape into madness during the four or five hour ablation. They made use of my unresisting body to start with an angio. AND THEN, WONDER OF WODERS, I had a stay of exeution with the three cardiologists consulting and deciding that I did not really need the ablation proedure.

It took me about six hours to finally remove the sand bag on the groin, eat some more of the horrible hospital food, missed that day's meds totally and leave waving invisible flags of cheer with Eser driving the solid feeling but bumpy SUV to the home I could barely remember.

It has been almost three weeks, two restaurant visits, A japanese and a Chinese, both excellent, to get the taste of the hospitals, their people and their foods from my mouth.

Panic attack and fear of loud noises reminding of me of defibrallor shocks, some comforting massages and the ability to send Eser to our Iznik home to be with all our gradchildren got me writing again in expectation of some new adventures and travels after September.

Ahmet Cafer Celebile

July 18,2023