May 15th, 2023

Today, I had an appointment with my GP, whose practice is conveniently located in the same building as my apartment, very handy. After examining my wound and noting that my foot was still quite swollen, he decided to send me urgently to Sonnenhof Hospital (https://www.lindenhofgruppe.ch/de/ueber-uns/standorte/sonnenhof/), which specialises in foot and joint injuries.

Without wasting any time, I took a taxi to the hospital. There, I underwent several X-rays before being isolated, since coming from an African country meant they wanted to minimise any risk of bacterial contamination. A little later, an orthopaedic surgeon came to see me. He explained that the pins placed in Morocco had shifted because they weren’t stable enough, and my foot was still dislocated. The verdict: emergency surgery.

At 9 p.m., I was in the operating theatre, under general anaesthesia. Three hours later, I woke up in my room under observation. The “Moroccan pins” had been removed and replaced with two screws, and the torn ligaments were repaired. It was a complex operation because the dislocation was severe.

Having not eaten or drunk anything since the day before, I was very hungry. Unlike Midelt, they served me a light meal with drinks. I wasn’t in any pain, but a morphine pump was set up just in case. Soon after, I fell into a peaceful sleep.

The biggest difference between the two hospitals was clear: here, everything was sterile, clean, and the protocols were strictly followed. Back in Morocco, I had been amused to see a cat wandering around the operating theatre!