Hello From Bruges - or rather HELL from Bruges!

Well here I am everyone.
I am in the hotel business suite and I thought I should update everyone on the state of my band.

The road to Bruges was an easy one and the journey by car, just an hour from Calais.
We arrived at the Hotel Bistro Brugelhoff, parked up and went to the front. It was empty and closed up.

We called the number on the front of the door and a guy answered saying he would be right there in 5 minutes.

The Belgian equivalent of Norman Bates turned up and let us in through an underground passage and back door with the letters WC on it. WC summed the place up. It was disgusting.
However, it was cheap and TB and I had been on the road for 12 hours. He showed us around the 'room' or squat. It was only to sleep in and the sheets looked clean so I though OK what the hell, we will find something tomorrow.

So we paid for the night and then Norman left.
Left us alone...
All alone.

We were the only guests in Normans villa. Everything was locked up and we had to let ourselves out through the basement toilet. Lovely.

It was freezing in there, so I turned on the little electric heater, and the light above the sink in the room so that when we got back it would at least be light in our room and then we went out to explore Bruges again.

All was good, we bought some stuff, and had fun and saw the sights and had a wonderful meal and then made our way back to the hovel.

Picture the scene. Its 10:30, cold dark and windy. 2 foreign and beautiful (shut up!) ladies enter a deserted car park...

We walked down the driveway, the wind whistling in the electric wires.

The lights to the basement are out.

Bravely I pull my phone out and use the light of the screen to guide us down the steps into the cellar.

I fumble for the lock, open the door and flick the light switch... "Tack tack!" Nothing.

The electric is out.

I fumble around and drop my phone and scramble about for it in the dark whilst TB is yelling "Where are you?"

Ok... getting the picture? It was awful.

Anyway, we call the guy, he comes over and apparently, because we left a light on (!?!?!?!) it tripped the power.

I told him that that was F'ing pathetic, and to cut a long story short, we got our money and ran away fast!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got the Sat Nav out again and found the closest hotel to where we were, as it was now 11pm. We booked a room and stumped up £oodles for the 4 nights and checked into a swanky job on the 'Tsant.

Thank God. It is lush. It's also warm and you can have a coffee when you get up. Oh, and there is hot water, sweet mercy!

So.. with a long sigh, I settled into bed with a bottle of wine and slept.

This morning, we got up early and didn't have breakfast. TB ate some biscuits that we had bought yesterday, but I thought it would be wise not to eat just in case I was having surgery.

We got a taxi to the Hospital and the appointment was a bit of a farce. I was told that I would have an X-ray and then go see Dr. Dillemans. I went to get the X-ray, but they sent me back to to see Dr. Dillemans first. He saw me, and as I described what had happened to me and the pain etc, he immediately suggested that my port had become disconnected from the catheter.

He didn't muck about. He told me if this was the case that the company who make the band will pay all expenses and they will sort it out. Apparently they developed a new port and connection and started using it in March... so I was unlucky by one month.

So I went for the x-ray which was bizarre as I had never had a fluro fill. So I stood on a platform and there was a big round x-ray machine in front of my tummy. One the screen I then saw my insides. I could see my spine, my pelvis, my hips and all other bony stuff and also my port. Then further up I could see the band around my stomach on an angle (perfectly positioned). The catheter was hanging from the band straight down, past the port and down into my pelvic area.

I knew this was what happened to INFORMER and she had had the exact same thing happen to her, but nothing prepared me for this shock. Up until that time I TURLY thought that they would x-ray me and there would be nothing wrong with me, that I am just a greedy fat pig and I am yet again a complete failure destined to be a fat git for the rest of my life.

I now know that since May, my band has been screwed. The excruciating debilitating pain I have experienced when it burst, and at each subsequent fill has been because of this fault. I am so angry and ecstatic at the same time. It was nothing to do with my fall down the stairs afterall.

I am not a failure. I was losing weight so well and I was having such success, and then it was all ripped away from me literally.

It is totally weird to see that catheter hanging loosely inside your body cavity. No WONDER I was in agony. And I mean agony.

So I was in tears walking back to see Dr. Dillemans after having the x-ray and sobbing and I just couldn't help it. I wasn't worried, it was sort of like humiliation, and fear, and anger and everything all together - also a lot of 'poor me' in there too.

So we went back in to see Dr. D and he was totally cool. He is so angry about it and emailed the company too. I mean - he has to squeeze my surgery in to his day tomorrow, its the last thing he wants to happen. So he reassured me and put me at ease and I was laughing by the time I left his office.

I am now quite happy, but a totally ticked off that I have lost 8 months and re gained all my weight. I feel pretty crap about that, but at least I was not wrong. At least I wasn't going mad.

I am more angry with Dr. Dovey. I cannot believe after seeing me he didn't do the simple sum 2=2+4 and refer me back to see Dr. Dillemans. Even after he aspirated my band that time and found no fluid, you would think that might spur him into action, but no. What an idiot. I will be having serious words. He even saw INFORMER before he saw me on the morning of my last fill. Maybe thats why I saw him scuttying off after my appointment so quickly...

I have seen him 3 times, each time I weighed more, and each time he says I am making progress. YEAH RIGHT!! I bloody knew there was something wrong and now I am having surgery again because of it. I could have sorted this out back in May had Dovey said that those were the symptoms of a port break out.

So when I was bending down to feed the cats, or put the washing in, no wonder I was crippled... the metal prong that comes out of the port which should be sheathed in silicone is sicking directly up and jabs into my stomach muscle every time I bend over! I had to employ Mina!!!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So I am Nil by mouth from midnight, and tomorrow I will be going in for my surgery first thing. I hope I will be anyway!! I have to be there 8am and apparently I will be able to come home in the afternoon (or back to the hotel anyway). I am glad I am getting it sorted out, but now a bit nervous of the pain as I was in pain after the last one... Hopefully it wont be so bad.

So peeps, say a little prayer for me and keep me in your thoughts. Hopefully I will be on the road to success very very soon!

I will update this when I get a chance.