IT'S A BALLOONING ADVENTURE

Cholesterol? Good. Bloodpressure? Excellent. Treadmill test? Aced it, because I am a ruddy he-man and can grin stoically during the worst leg pain, gosh I'm butch. Arrived fifty minutes before my appointment, got dealt with thirty five minutes before I was due, and rolled out in time for an early lunch in Chinatown, followed by a pipe, early tea, and another pipe.

The treadmill test, also called a stress test, necessarily involves the leg. The right leg delights in presenting a whole variety of painful sensations, and will be dealt with.
It is a needy spoiled brat.

Got two more medical appointments before I can call it a day for the year. Eye doctor in the morning sometime next week, regular care physician around noon same day.

Cardiologist: 心臟科醫生 ('sam jong fo yi sang').
Optometrist: 眼醫 、眼科博士 ('ngaan yi', 'ngaan fo bok si').
Family care physican: 家庭科醫生 ('gaa ting fo yi sang').

These are abbreviated terms, though commonly understood.

Barring any unlikely bad news -- "sorry to tell you this old boy but a ten-thousand year old tree daemon has taken up residence in your arse and is devouring your liver, we have to operate immediately" -- the rest of the year should be an easy slide, apart that is from the peripheral angioplasty of the lower extremities, which is a simple in-and-out procedure.

Ten thousand year old liver-eating tree daemon: probably 萬年古(萬歲的)樹妖 ('maan nin gu (maan seui dik) sik gon syu yiu'), but an image search for that simply brings up health food, mooncakes, and the Cincinatti Bengals. Devouring the liver: 食肝 ('sik gon').

Angioplasty: 血管再成形術 ('huet gun joi cheng ying sut'); basically shoving a balloon on a flexible stick up the old artery and shouting boo to make stuff go away.
A ream and clean, as it were.

A catheter with a balloon at the tip goes into the artery in the groin or leg and wiggles around playfully, while the patient is immobilized and possibly wide awake.
The procedure might take all of forty five minutes.
Recovery as much as six weeks or so.
Probably far less.


經皮腔內周圍動脈成形術
['Ging pei hong noi jau wai dong mak cheng ying suet']
"Skin pass-through internal arterial-environment fix-dimensions procedure"


Am I looking forward to this? In a way yes, because the alternative is walking painfully and swearing under my breath in Dutch (my other native language) augmented by terms from various linguistic sources. Because after one or two blocks the damned right leg hurts. And I'd like full bouncy vibrant mobility back. On the other hand, the prospect of more medical intervention, which this is, does not thrill me. And neither does the inevitable lecture about the evils of smoking etcetera wich will come with it.



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