March 26th, 2024

There are times when you just don’t feel like writing or sharing your troubles with others. That’s why I took a break over the past few weeks.

After my long weekend in Berlin, which did me a lot of good after all those months stuck at home, I’ve settled back into my daily routine.

Unfortunately, over the last few weeks, I’ve started feeling some pain in my foot. At first, mostly in the mornings, getting out of bed and walking barefoot to the bathroom, it felt like something was stuck. But as soon as I put on my cast or orthopaedic shoe, the pain eased off.

I still managed to get out a bit. I caught up with some old colleagues for a very pleasant evening at Café Pöstli (https://www.cafepostgasse.ch/), a cosy bistro in Bern’s old town that’s been serving the same menu for decades, a true institution. Without a reservation, you don’t stand a chance of getting a table! I enjoyed their moules marinières (mussels in a white wine sauce), as delicious as ever.

I also took a trip to an antique clockmaker to get an old Morbier (or comtoise) clock, which had stopped working, serviced. And I had a cinema night with Deniz. All these outings went well, with the help of a walking stick for extra support.

But the pain has been getting worse, and today I had an appointment with my surgeon, six weeks after my last visit.

I was anticipating bad news. The X-ray still shows the broken head of a screw, luckily it’s not causing me any extra discomfort, but both the surgeon and the chief doctor agreed that the bone healing isn’t progressing as it should. For now, no further surgery is planned. I’ve been prescribed new medication, and in six weeks they’ll do a CT scan and a bone density check. Depending on the results, a minor procedure to remove the broken screw head or a more involved operation might be necessary, but they haven’t given me any more details yet.

They also put on a new cast for me to wear at night, to keep the foot as stable as possible.

On another note, I’m now part of a discussion group of orthopaedic surgeons sharing complex cases, maybe they’ll come up with a solution.

With the increasing pain, I sadly had to cancel my planned crossing from Genoa to Tangier on 18 May. In my current condition, it wouldn’t have been sensible. Travelling alone with limited mobility would make things far too complicated. For instance, I wouldn’t be able to pitch a tent because bending down is too painful. Thankfully, the ferry company GNV refunded my ticket without any hassle.

It’ll soon be eleven months since that accident in the Atlas Mountains. It’s disheartening to realise how a seemingly minor fall can lead to such lasting consequences.