Where it all went wrong.

Sitting in a nondescript hospital cafe trying to keep it together. Peter is about to have a procedure to have a chest tube in to remove un wanted air in his chest cavity. Normally a routine procedure but after having a heart transplant any type of surgery causes me to have anxiety and my going to worst cause scenarios.

After 19 amazing challenging stages that took us from the north of Italy in Bolzano, crossing mountain passes, cycling to the Ligurian sea and then to the Adriatic our biking adventure ended on a bike path.

Our stage that day was 85 km which started with a 40 km flat route along the Adriatic and then another 45 km which would involve some challenging climbs to take us to the beautiful mountain village of Santa Maria.

It was a Saturday so the trail was busier than usual! We were both enjoying the view of the ocean and for once starting on a flat route. 33 km into the route with only a few more km’s to go before we turned off the trail I could see a young boy on a bike who was stopped. Peter only saw the family walking as they blocked the view of the boy on the bike. Peter moved into the other lane to pass. I watched in slow motion as at the exact minute that Peter was passing the boy decided to suddenly move into the other lane. Peter had to quickly swerve to avoid hitting the boy! Being clipped in, carrying heavy bike packing gear and swerving unexpectedly was a recipe for disaster. I had enough time to react so was able to avoid the collision.

I knew it wasn’t going to be good! Peter managed to clip out and was on the ground on his knees and you could see he was in great pain. The boy thank god was not injured. It could of been way worse as the boy had no helmet on! Peter managed to stand up and the first thing I saw was his right arm sliced open – not good! I scrambled to get the disinfectant cream and bandage wrappings out of his bag! Quickly realizing this won’t be enough! The family of the boy were very good. Concerned and apologetic. Paramedics quickly came and bandaged up his arm. On closer examination you could see bruising on his shoulder and ribs. An ambulance was called. A decision was made for the mother of the son to take me and the bikes to Santa Maria and then take me to the hospital in Lanciano.

I think I was trying to stay positive that Peter would have his arm stitched up and would be discharged. We could regroup in Santa Maria. Obviously the biking part would be ended but we could look at renting a car! Looking back I realize how delusional I was.

Bikes and luggage were dropped off and I quickly changed and grabbed some of Peters clothes and went to the small regional hospital in Lanciano. Upon arrival with the help of the mother to converse in Italian I was able to see Peter! Upon seeing him I quickly realized that he was not in great shape. Still thinking though that he would be going back to a hotel with me that night.

Shortly after arriving the mother went to investigate how I could get to Pescara to pick up a car rental. After seeing Peter I thought there is no way I’m getting a train and bus to pick up a car rental. After giving me the details she left! Have to say I did feel a bit of a loss after she left as I was waiting by myself as I wasn’t allowed to be in with Peter. You quickly realize you are a foreigner in a small town where very little English is spoken. At the best of times it’s hard to communicate but even harder when it’s in a stressful situations. Google translate became my best friend. Fortunately Peter has a good understanding and can communicate in Italian! All those lessons certainly paid off and if there is any benefit of being in hospital it’s that Peter has been able to practice his Italian!

After chest X-rays and ct scans it was determined Peter had fractured his rib. I say rib because that was what I thought until the next morning when Peter said it was in fact 10 ribs! After using google translate I asked why no one was looking at his bandaged arm – said it definitely needed stitches. It was overlooked and he was quickly brought into a room to be stitched up.

Word interpretation sometimes gets lost in a foreign country. Surgery for us means being put under and an operation occurring. Surgery for Italians being observed. It was definitely a breaking point for me when I heard the word surgery! They quickly calmed me down and using google translate were able to communicate exactly what surgery meant!

Peter was admitted to hospital and I went to the closet hotel I could find. The next day found out Peter had in fact broken 10 ribs and his scapula and strained ligaments on his left side. If there is anything fortunate about the break is that they were all aligned and it was on his left side and not on his right. An update later informed that they were not in fact aligned and he also had a slight fracture on his elbow. CT scans found air in the chest cavity which they were hoping would absorb naturally. He in fact had a pneumothorax and hemothorax. After 6 days they decided to move him to a larger centre where they would probably do the procedure of inserting a chest tube to extract the air. They do these all the time but with a heart transplant they were being thorough in moving him to a thoracic center hospital. We also found out later that the transfer occurred because the air was increasing in the chest cavity. Peter was transported to the hospital and I arranged a car service to take to take me the new town of Chianti. After 6 days I felt comfortable in Lanciano. Small enough that you start to recognize people and you find your local spot to have a coffee!

Throughout this whole ordeal Peter has been calm, stoic and amazingly positive. For the most part his pain is being managed. For me I have to say I’ve had moments where I’ve found it difficult. It brings me back to the heart transplant days and the feeling of what if you loose your partner and best friend in life. Loneliness creeps in as both of your parents are now deceased, sisters and children both live away. Moments like this reinforces what you already know – surround yourself with good people, be a kind and empathetic person, give back to your community, stay positive and enjoy each and every day!

I’ve been writing this as Peter was having his procedure. A distraction to what’s going on and a chance to reflect on what’s happened over the last week. The longer you wait the anxiousness starts to occur! A good news story though – procedure was successful and now we wait for a day or two for the air to be extracted!

I’m looking forward to Peter being discharged and being in his company! In Italy your only allowed to visit from 1 to 2 and 7 to 8.