Hospital Day 8

I intended to write something about the Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus today, but I don't think I can do it justice. I'm putting it off until I'm back home, so I'll just write a few words now. It's impossible to write about the hospital without writing about the man Robert Bosch himself. It's a hospital that was built by Robert Bosch and given to the city of Stuttgart as a gift. The running costs are paid by patients via their health insurance companies, but it receives money for research and development every year out of the profits of the Robert Bosch corporation. This has led to it becoming one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in Germany.

The Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus isn't a general hospital. It specialises in "acute illnesses". That's a vague expression, and I can't even say what it means, although it's easy to say what isn't included. It's not the hospital you're taken to when you fall over drunk on a Friday night. On the other hand, it does have a few sister hospitals, also funded by the Robert Bosch company, with specialist areas, such as gynaecology.

Now let's get back to myself. These are the X-Rays taken.on 14th April which made my doctor tell me to go into hospital immediately:

I can't see what's so bad in the X-Rays. That's a secret for people with a medical degree.

I'm sharing a room with two other patients. The others come and go, but I'm the only one who remains. I try to be friendly with them all, but not all of them want to talk. Most of them are old men in poor physical health, much worse than me. That makes it all the more surprising that they can go home while I have to stay.

Two days ago I found myself alone in the room for the firt time, so I managed to wobble out of bed and take a few photos.

My bed is next to the window. It's not the Ritz, but the beds are more comfortable than they look.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm receiving an anti-thrombosis injection in my thighs every day. I asked if I needed it, and I was told that it's just a prophylactic measure. It's weird. The injections are just a small prick that I hardly notice, but they leave big bruises. Looking at my legs, you'd think I've been kicked around a football field.

Now for the daily update, which will be the main part of my future posts. After two sleepless nights, I managed to fall asleep a few times last night. Three times, about an hour each. That might not sound like much, but it did me well. I'm coughing more than I was yesterday. My temperature has been normal since yesterday, but I felt feverish in the early hours of today. I kept on seeing gates in a field with my name on them. Maybe it's just a result of my sleep deprivation.

Today I think I felt hunger for the first time since I've been in hospital. I can't be sure, because I've forgotten what it's like. I ate my semolina for breakfast, like every day. I couldn't eat my dinner at all. When my evening meal came, semolina again, I felt like I needed it. I ate it faster than usual. Let's see how my eating develops tomorrow.

I've been given painkillers, but my headache won't go away. I have to get used to it.

That's all for today. Till tomorrow, and a big thank you to my personal friends who've been worrying about me.