April 7 – Surgery day eve

It is day 3 now in Barcelona and it still seems surreal that I am here for treatment. Talking to some locals as took a taxi back to our hotel last night it is a highly regarded hospital. The driver was from Pakistan and chatted with Mel the whole way in English. He asked about costs and whether we have insurance to pay for it. In Canada I am not sure if there is an insurance that exists to cover something like this because of the healthcare that we have. You would most likely need to do private insurance and I am not sure if it is something that you would do prior to knowing you need it. Once you need it, then it is too late. That is the issue that I have fell into. I am glad that we get to have this experience with the kids and the two of them have managed quite well on their own in their room. I think that they are aware that they need to be responsible. Xavier also knows that they will not be back next round as it will be during exams. We will manage that when it comes up.

I have actually been eating quite well here and the further away I get from the chemo days the better it is. Washing my hands this morning was more bearable with the water, and the pain with cold drinks is subsiding. I have been getting up every 2 hrs at night to take in some food. Totally worth it. A couple of bites of a tomato, ricotta focaccia some water and back to sleep. I ended up eating most of it. We are getting ready to head out, so we will see what the day brings.

Today was our longest day and all we really did today was walk around and eat. The morning started at a local cafe wtiu coffee and some small sandwiches and then off to the market. We went to the market which was a crazy zoo and it was so packed that it was difficult to move around. The food there was a tourist trap and overpriced for microwaved food. The red prawn ceviche was delicious though. Every thing else was ok. When we were finished we backtracked to get me a wheelchair blanket for the end of evening coldness. At 3:30 we had a reservation for a rooftop meal with great views. When we finished we should have headed home, but we proceeded to  buy chocolate, churros, some souvenirs and then grocery store before arriving at the hotel at 9:30. Today was tiring and we need to get ready for tomorrow. Food intake and energy expenditure levels were not optimal but they were fine. I think that Olivier has over 20,000 steps without much complaint today. Tomorrow is surgery day so I am not sure if there will be an update depending. The first step is to when they go in to see if they can for sure perform the procedure. Wish me luck.

Q