Independence day

We have now moved into a little apartment, quite a cute little place and it has a kitchen so at least it allows us to rustle up some of our own food.


Went for an XRay this morning and the pneumothorax has almost entirely gone, I will be having a, hopefully final, XRay on Tuesday to confirm that I will be OK to fly on Saturday 11th.

Still been taking it easy and trying to find things to pass the time up here. We went bowling with Rosie and Will (a friend of hers from teaching) this morning which was fun; my average is gradually creeping up, but still very poo! I just can't seem to pick up the spares...


Having an early night in our new casa - Jenny's not feeling 100% so good chance to recharge batteries. Tom, Larissa and Laura are due to arrive from Gibraltar tomorrow morning and we're looking forward to spending the day with them. Laura will be so different - we haven't seen her since the end of May!

Going native!

Just had a chest XRay to check out the status of the pnuemothorax, it has shrunk a lot but is still there so it is unlikely that I will be allowed to fly this weekend, boo. Got another XRay on Thursday to check the status but even if that is clear they will probably need to wait a week from then before I am allowed to fly.

We have decided to go native, we are moving to an apartment on Thursday and have bought Bip! cards for the metro and bus. Eating out and using taxis is all fine and dandy but was starting to get bloody expensive! It is going to be nice to be able to cook our own food.

Itching to get home now, but will just have to bide our time, got no choice really...

Viejo!

Had another quiet day, doing a bit of walking around to try and build up a tiny bit of fitness. It is amazing how weak the nearly 3 weeks in bed has left me. My leg muscles are stiff as boards this evening, feel like I have run a few miles instead of just bimbling around.

We went to watch the new Harry Potter film (great special effects etc but am I the only one who thinks that the actors playing Hermione and Ron are utter, utter crap?) and when we walked out I looked like an old man, I had stiffened up so much!

Gee gees...

Had a great couple of hours at the track, we stayed for about six races. Raymond had even bought a hat for the event!


My horse came in at 26:1, I had 2000 pesos on it so that was supper paid for.. Raymond and Heather had both bet on the same horse, Heather had 5000 running on it so had a really good win! That is the winning horse behind us.


Highlight/hariest moment of evening was Heather walking towards us waving her cash which resulted in us being mobbed by hordes of begging kids! Nancy soon got rid of them though with a few choice words in Spanish!

Said goodbye to Paicey today, it has been great to have him over here for the last week, a real morale booster, very sad to see him go...

Have just been for an X-Ray and the pneumothorax is still there but it has shrunk significantly, am booked in for another x-ray on Tuesday, fingers crossed for then.

Taking it easy.

Having another quietish day today, just mooching around Parque Arauco and enjoying being out and about in the sun. Went bowling this morning, that is about as energetic as I can get sports-wise at the moment!

The internet connection at our hotel is poo and very expensive so the updates will be a bit more infrequent from now on. Starbucks hot spot will probably be our connection of choice henceforth, why pay when you can get it free?

Off to see the gee gees with Heather and Snoozer, the Pooles and Rosie tonight. A bit of gentle gambling should be ok, have to watch the adrenalin though (Doctor's orders!)...

Sushi, steak and a virgin.

I am finally out and about and am my own boss again. Have made the most of it today, started off with a nice load of sushi...


Went up Cerro San Cristobal and had a look at the statue of the Virgin Mary up there (Paicey went up the last bit by himself... see if you can spot him!)

Met up with Bettsie in the evening and had the best steak I have had in ages... truly amazing...

It has been a big day and I feel quite exhausted. Really looking forward to a night in a bed with no wires or tubes attached now...

I'm free

Well that's it; I'm out. After 20 days in hospital I am finally 'de Alta' as the Chileans so foppishly call it. Just having a last coffee with Celia in the hospital before we go.


I cannot praise the hospital here enough, they have been simply amazing and I know I have already said it but thanks again to everyone at KEMH for looking after me so well when I was there. I am now marking time until my lung reinflates properly, I am allowed to lead a normalish life while here, no bloody skiing though and need to keep the alcohol intake well below normal Benny levels....

Forgot to mention that Jenny stayed the night in the hospital on Tuesday night, they have sofa beds in the rooms and are happy for family to stay, so that was a nice. I was still hooked up to a heart monitor though so no funny stuff!


And this has to be a good sign, I put on my usual random day of the week socks, and would you believe it they are the right ones for today!


Sushi time!