and the west is winning this time.
I am not much for going on about personal health issues here, mostly because it is boring! Even although I work in the area of health and healing, its just not me.
So this is a step out, but I am working through a big big internal conflict.
On Boxing day I ended up in the emergency department of the nearest hospital to our little village with an unexpected gallbladder attack. I say unexpected because this was the first indication I had that the gallbladder was not happy. And what makes it stranger to me, over the course of the last twelve months I had consulted with various doctors for various things - western, tibetan and chinese. No-one picked this up. I am not saying that any of them were remiss, it must have been hiding from them too.
So I have the pain relief, get the instructions for follow up x-rays etc and go home happy to be out of pain - which was truly awful, and puzzled by the whole thing. Within two days I have the scan then a quick follow up phone call from the admitting doctor, here is your referral to a surgeon. Pardon me? Yes yes it has to come out. But but but I am saying, only one attack. Brick wall staring back at me.
It has to come out. It's like an auto-reply on a loop.
Of course my first thought is to treat this with Tibetan medicine. There must be things I can do. I read, email colleagues, say mantras, take some outstandingly bad tasting medicine, I can't bring myself to tell you what's in it. And think. Think about the fact that maybe this time I have to go down the western path. Even although it goes against everything I believe as a healing practitioner. Now I am not against western medicine, but its not what I do! This is me wailing against the irony of it.
Then the messages and emails about gallbladder flushes start to come in. And really if I wasn't in it, some of these remedies would have me rolling about laughing. Some are well known and do work, in some cases. (And everyone means well and really want to help.) Some of the flushes are too scary to contemplate and I have huge moments of sympathy for people in time past who went through their attacks without mega painkillers.
So eventually, because of the timing all the specialists are on holidays, I get my appointment, my scans, the report and head off to see a surgeon and hear what he has to say.
It has to come out.
Oh great back on that loop. (And by the way, all those who love to tell you that its nothing to have a gallbladder removed should grab a basic anatomy book and read about what it does. Funny thing about the body, it doesn't contain any spare or useless organs. And all of these people still have theirs!) Oh, that was grumpy, oh well.
But the cold hard truth is that the stones are large, impacted, not going to budge, and will continue to make my life miserable and indeed potentially create some serious health problems.
It has to come out.
Tomorrow it is. All being well it is key hole surgery these days, four small incisions instead of a six inch one. His Holiness Dalai Lama had his gallbladder removed a few years ago, it hasn't slowed him down.
So I officially stop moaning now. Instead I practice gratitude that this very amazing, kind and experienced surgeon is able to help me, that there is a large, clean, well staffed and modern hospital for it to happen in, and people to look after me for a few days when I get home.
And I get the stones in a jar, I should be able to annoy everyone for months with those
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