I had a week off, at the beginning of October, like I always have. Oct. 4 is our wedding date, and I always take a week off. It's tradition, even if we don't really celebrate with others. It was our 11th anniversary, this year.
At the end of the week, I downloaded a few new stories. I discovered a story about the Amish, by Shelter Somerset, and fell in love with it. Lucky I discovered a sequel and two other books, I happily bought those as well.
But then my week was over.
"Can I have another week?" I asked no one in particular, just for fun. "I want to read!"
At Mondey evening, Theo and I were cooking. Theo knelt in front of our gas oven, and said "hey... the flame has gone out."
He opened the oven door and concluded the safety hadn't worked properly; gas was still flowing.
And then it happened very quickly. The gas exploded, in the middle of his face, and in a reflex he jumped away.
To me, it looked like he was attached to ropes and pulled out of reach of the explosion. He ended up in a corner, completely dazed, and I screamed and quickly tried to see the burn wounds. There were none. I shut off all the gas and sat back next to him, hearing him say "my leg hurts..."
First, we thought he had strained his ankle. It was quite a jump, after all. The next day, I stayed home to look after him. He couldn't walk or stand, and at one moment when he moved, he heard a crack.
"It's broken..." he said.
Oh gods... We quickly asked a friend to drive us to the hospital. Lucky we have good friends, always willing to lend a hand. Lucky that friend was on board on his ship at that moment, as well. And even more lucky, he would go away for 10 days, and was more than willing to give me his car for that time being, so we would be mobile.
In the hospital, it took only a few x-rays to find two fractures in the calf bone. And, the doctor said, it required surgery.
Not again! My world fell apart for a moment, and Theo protested as well. Alright, the ankle was too swollen anyway, they would give it a splint and check again next week. He isn’t allowed to walk until then. Next week, we learn if he has to go for surgery.
But, that isn’t all. Yes, I could read that day, and I joked I had to be more detailed with my wishes because my guardian angel is a bit sloppy. It’s the same as when I broke my back; I wanted time off and fell down some steps, disabling me for two years in total. Be careful what you wish for
During a regular check-up, a few months ago, the doctors discovered “extraordinary cells” in my body. That could mean cancer. More check-ups were needed, and they were terrible. Yesterday, I should hear the final verdict: cancer or no cancer.
I went to work. My colleagues didn’t expect to see me, and I was a wreck, of course. But I like my job and I figured I could talk to the boss about my ordeal lately. My boss was no where. One of my colleagues leaned over me, silently, looking so concerned... I fell apart. I ran to the bathrooms, crying for the first time in years, throwing out all the stress I felt.
Another boss came to me and pulled me out of the toilet cubicle. I was sent home for the time being. At home, my boss phoned me (yeah, NOW he wanted to talk to me, the asshole) and I told him I wouldn’t come until we know more about Theo and about me.
Not much later, the hospital phoned for me. They had found no cancer. But, before I was relieved, quickly added they had to do more tests, because they had found those cells earlier and there is something wrong with me, somewhere. They just don’t know where...
So next Monday, I have to go to the hospital to the anaesthetist. Tuesday, Theo will hear if he has to go to surgery. Oct. 30, I will have the new tests.
So now you know why I’m not very active, online...
Oh, and my guardian angel has done his best. That explosion didn’t cause any damage. We could have been killed already. We are very lucky, we really are.
xxx