Aug 27: Debbie's Home but not quite well yet...

Debbie has not passed the stone yet, and the doctor said the thing is so big the operation will have to be much more than he originally expected, and he can't arrange the operation until later in the week. See Debbie's blog for more details. Bottom line: She wants to go home rather than sit in a Belgian hospital for three or four more days. So the doctor discharged her, and she'll go back to the US and let her doctor in the Shenandoah Valley work on it. She's home at our Antwerp apartment, but still in considerable pain. The pain medicine they gave her isn't strong enough, probably because she's been taking pain medication for arthritis for so long. She will need some stronger stuff for the plane trip to the US on Wednesday. The hospital stay interfered with Debbie's main reason for coming here in the first place: to see her friends from church, who all have been anxious to see her again. They have been calling us and wishing her well. Oh, well, these things happen. And the medical care, while following way-different customs and protocols, has still been what I consider to be surprisingly good, and even outstanding compared to what I expected from socialized medicine. Debbie isn't happy with it because she's still not well and still in pain, but hey, I'll give her that. The stone has apparently been there for weeks (maybe months... the doctor said one this size doesn't form quickly), and the pressure change on the flights coming over apparently loosened it and let it slip to a spot where it caused discomfort, and finally pain. It apparently is too big to break up with the sound approach used here in Belgium. Debbie is not happy with the prospects of having surgery, even back in the U.S. And everyone who reads this blog knows that *I* think of surgery and hospitals.... ;-) Oh, well, we'll see...