Happy #%£*~{^ New Year
It may seem a bit late, but life’s been a bit complicated lately.
The view from my hospital bed as the New Year turned.
I was sick for a week before Christmas. The day after Christmas, great pain in my gut took me to the ER. Turns out you can have a gallstone even after they take out your gallbladder.
Two days later they let me go home. On Saturday night before New Years Eve, Gail and I went to Metro for one of the finest meals of my life. We had the carpaccio, then I enjoyed the Avocado Poke and finished it off with a torchon of foie gras. A meal so great it put me right back in the hospital–my pancreas was still inflamed from the gallstone and the doctors didn’t let me know about it, the high-fat meal sent me right over the edge into acute pancreatitis, I almost had the need of calling some lawyers specializing in medical malpractice claims since the doctors kept blaming me for what happened, and they shouldn’t have let me go home in the first place. We had a few people over to see the new year in, and I left them in an Uber headed to Kaiser.
Two more days later, and they let me go home again, with strict instructions to follow a very low fat diet and no alcohol for at least a month to let my innards get back to normal. Oh joy.
Things you learn the hard way. Most of the IV bags in the US are made in Puerto Rico. Or were, until there was a hurricane which left the island devastated and without power. If the residents of the territory were white and voted red, perhaps Trump would be making and effort to get the place back up and running. Since they are brown, and vote blue, there is virtually nothing happening and the US is suffering a shortage of IV bags. Your government at work.
We went to the regional in Monterey, as always. Clearly our favorite tournament of the year. Wish I’d played better.
Things are turning around. Tomorrow we are off to Buenos Aires and thence to Antarctica. I’ve got a fortune in thermal underwear and a super telephoto lens. Gail promises to never set foot off the ship, preferring to sit on deck with good binoculars and a glass of wine. Stay tuned, it should be a wild ride.
Totally Unauthorized 
I’m Sorry to hear of your health issues and glad you are improving. Lindy
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Glad you’re feeling better, Chris. Have a great trip!
Get well. And tell Gail that she really needs to go ashore in the Zodiac. Wonderful experience, and she will regret staying onboard.