Unexpected stopover in Kortrijk

I had been in a bit of discomfort for the past couple of days, but our first night in Kortrijk I was kept awake by excruciating pain.  In the morning, I nudged Martin awake and asked him to find a doctor for me.  30 minutes later a lovely local doctor was on the boat and examining me, I had developed an abscess.

He made a phone call and came back to me to say, “Get yourself to the hospital, I have arranged for you to get it lanced”, we booked the taxi which arrived as we were putting our coats on.

The hospital was clean, modern and the reception was like a five star hotel.  The doctor took one look at the lump and said “We will admit you and operate on you this afternoon.” Gulp!

Before I could panic, I was whisked up to a room, stripped and gowned and sedative placed on my tongue. 

Unfortunately, all the information sheets and consent forms were in either Dutch or French and as I can read neither, goodness knows what I signed, I am probably going to appear on the Belgium equivalent of Embarrassing Bodies, the ‘when cysts go rogue’ episode.

The surgeon and nurses were top class and I cannot complain at all about the care I received.  The next day I had to wait for the doctor to give me the OK to go home.  Whilst waiting I turned on the TV, luckily, it appears the Belgiums are addicted to British cookery and property shows which are in English with sub-titles. What they can find interesting about Tom and Lucy’s search for a flat in Islington I do not know, even I found the whole thing weapon’s grade dull.

I shared the room with an old Belgium lady as neither of us spoke each other’s language we just smiled and waved at each other. 

Lunch time arrived and a gargantuan plateful of food was plonked in front of me.  Some kind of meat stew with both pasta and fried potatoes but no veggies to speak of.  I asked the lady serving if she could put mine in a doggy bag as I wasn’t that hungry and there was enough food on the plate to feed both myself and Martin with leftovers for Oddjob. 

“Is it tea or coffee in the teapot?” I asked “No, no that is your soup” she said. 

Just before lunch the vicar popped in to see the old lady. Again, she was given a Desperate Dan sized portion which she merely nibbled at.  The vicar then finished the lot off with relish. I did wonder if he did the same thing every day and mooched a free lunch off her.

Finally, the doctor gave me the all clear and after some negotiation with the nursing staff he arranged for a nurse to visit the boat for the next two weeks to change the dressing. 

I can now say that I have experienced every aspect of Belgium including the healthcare!

Although this looks like an architect's CGI it is actually a photo

 

All the corridors were eerily the same with the rooms off