Nacreous

Caught my first bus this morning at 6.40am. Another bus at 7.10am and arrived at the hospital around 7.30am. The surgery unit wasn't yet open so I had to wait outside for a bit. The receptionist arrived and I was able to get into the warm. Then through to the " pod area" - new name for cubicles. I was first on the list so was quickly seen by the anesthetist and surgeon and went through for my op at 8.30am.

After the op I came back to my pod to recover. Felt really terrible for ages. Nauseous and shivery . Was given drugs for the nausea and heated blankets to help me get warm. Took a long time for me to wake up properly. Then they told me I was yellow - jaundiced. They had to take blood and do a test for Bilirubin. The surgeon actually came to me himself to take the blood sample and re- assure me that he didn't think anything serious was wrong. Eventually my proper colour returned and the blood test was Ok. Whew!

Had something to eat and got dressed and they phoned Neil to come and get me. It got to around 6pm I was the only patient left and the staff wanted to leave so they took me to a ward so they could get off home. Neil eventually arrived after getting a bit lost and we got a taxi home. Got in the house around 8.15pm.

So a long and eventful day and at the moment - 11. 15pm - I am feeling OK. There is a bit of pain but I have painkillers which I will take before I go to bed.

Managed to take my blip shot this morning before I went to the hospital. Today's Forum Challenge word is Nacreous which means possessing the qualities of, consisting of, or abounding in nacre - which is mother of pearl. I have blipped a large abalone shell which lives in my bathroom - usually filled with lots of smaller shells.

The shells of abalones have a low open spiral structure, and are characterized by several open respiratory pores in a row near the shell's outer edge. The thick inner layer of the shell is composed of nacre (mother-of-pearl), which in many species is highly iridescent, giving rise to a range of strong changeable colors, which make the shells attractive to humans as decorative objects, jewelry, and as a source of colorful mother-of-pearl.