May 1st, 2024

A year ago, I was leaving Marrakech, heading south. And now, a year later, I’m back from another visit to my surgeon!

Two weeks ago, I had a SPECT/CT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography combined with Computed Tomography) scan with contrast to take a closer look inside my foot. Today, the surgeon went through the results with me. I’m moving more easily now, although my ankle is still swollen. At night, I wear my cast, and during the day, my orthopaedic shoe.

The screws in my tibia are well fixed, and healing is progressing nicely. However, the ones in the talus, especially around the heel, aren’t holding properly. This is due to bone porosity caused by the staphylococcus infection I had last summer. One screw is broken, another bent, which causes a slight inward shift of my foot. This deformity explains the swelling, as the metal plate rubs against the talus.

In theory, this should be painful, but fortunately, I don’t really feel anything, except after long walks, when my foot swells and the shoe puts uncomfortable pressure on it, though it’s not utterly painful.

At today’s appointment, I was expecting to hear about a new operation, the sixth one! But the surgeon and I agreed to wait until the tibia has fully healed. We’ll meet again in early July to reassess.

To help fill in the bone porosity, I’m taking high-dose vitamin D3. Even though I’m still limping, I haven’t felt this mobile for a long time!

As I mentioned before, a year ago I was in that beautiful country, Morocco. A year on, I’m still not fully recovered from that foolish fall.

For about a month now, I’ve been struggling with sleep, becoming irritable and impatient. So I saw my GP,

whom I’m very lucky to have, as we get on well. He’s reluctant to prescribe antidepressants as a routine. Apart from a mild sleeping pill to help me get better rest, we’ve decided to try MBCT (Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy), a form of cognitive therapy focused on mindfulness, especially suited to managing long-term mood issues.

My GP recommended a book by Professor Mark Williams, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Foundations and Practice, which explains the approach and offers meditation exercises. I’m not really one for esoteric practices, but rather pragmatic, and this method seems to fit that. After reading the book and starting the exercises, I was surprised: I feel like I’m gaining some distance from my situation and learning to accept it better.

I also met a doctor, former head of anaesthesia at Bern University Hospital, who advised me to take an eight-week MBCT course. I’m currently looking for a group with available spaces.

All this explains why I’ve put my blog on hold. But it feels important to share these developments.

And finally, maybe a sign of renewal: after 22 years of pure pleasure, I sold my Peugeot 406 V6 Coupé and bought a new Peugeot 508 PSE plug-in hybrid. Spare parts for early 2000s cars are becoming hard to find, and those models weren’t designed with energy efficiency in mind. I’m due to pick up my new car in two weeks!