Sarah's Transition Diary .. days 1541 - 1568

.... is for those who might want to contact me about my diary.

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Memory Joggers ...

06.02 .. I’m awake .. I need the loo and quick .. I’m bone dry too and take a quick drink of water on my way to the loo ..

Something I ate yesterday hasn’t agreed with me for sure .. was it the two doughnuts I had when I realised I wasn’t going to make my desired weight for today, or the meal last night .. I’ll never know.

06.15 .. I head down stairs to see what the doom and gloom weight is .. I know I've lost that horrible bloated feeling that has dogged me for the last week or so ..


YES, YEs, Yes, yes .. lol .. am I happy .. 12 st 12 ½ lb ..  well clearly after the amount of bathroom activity in the last 7 hours, I’m empty again .. like a couple of week ends ago when I got 13st 0 1/4 lb. On my return to bed Karen says she can hear I’m smiling from the way I’m talking, she had her back to me .. she says where’s my tea ?

So I return downstairs to make her a cup of tea .. while I’m there I decide to grab the picture here .. this camera weights 1 3/4 lb .. DOH .. en-gauge brain .. I get my little door clamp mount for the camera ..

06.42 .. Back to bed with the tea .. and it’s a serious cuddle .. I can feel some warmth / emotion coming back too which is nice.

07.00 .. Karen gets up and heads for the shower .. I’m a little weepy .. I’m going to miss Karen the next 24 nights

07.15 .. Up and at it .. I do have more than a few things to do today .. but I’ll be leaving showering and hair washing till this afternoon .. to give me a chance of staying fresher on the flight tonight.

I sort the morning routine in the kitchen and head for the PC .. I check my e-mails and go visible on Yahoo .. with a message saying I’m busy packing, please leave a message. Julie soon pops up and I respond.

09.10 .. I head up to do my nails .. but I keep getting side tracked .. finding things .. and quick trips to the PC .. Kyle from Turo has left me a good luck message .. Linda has popped up a message too .. I answer both .. Kyle has gone .. but Linda wants to come round this morning .. I explain she’ll find me in my nightie and dressing gown .. not a problem.

I get a text message from Christine in Whitby to my company mobile .. she has a way with words .. “you’ll come back looking like a dead heat in a Zeplin race” .. and wishes me luck. We’ll be Skyping for sure. I send a thank you back. 

I get a few more nails done then go to attack my cuticles .. they are hard and dry .. I know a solution .. washing up needs to be done.

11.15 .. Linda arrives .. as Linda .. I make us some tea and we demolish half a box of French LU “jaffa cakes” .. Linda comments on the quality of the chocolate .. even better when they are really fresh and not on their sell buy date like these. Linda really does look good dressed in classic girl femme mode. She admits she dresses younger than her apparent years .. but she passes so well .. she’s heading off to Staines next, I give her directions.

Well we chat about the coming weeks .. I’ve booked her for chat during UK hours .. Yahoo and Skype .. apparently the other week when we discussed this, I promised another meal at the Siam Food Gallery far too soon .. Linda was going to try and barter for it .. LOL.

11.50 .. Linda leaves taking a year or mores worth of Fanisteride with her .. I’ve got 3 more nails to do .. so I head off to do them .. but not before a couple more chats .. one is with Tina Marie. She’s asking me, almost pleading, for me to talk to Dr Suporn about her sinus problems. Dr Chettawut had done some fairly radical FFS work on her and used a lot of “bone filler”. This has broken after an accident, she needs a repair .. Dr Chettawut doesn’t want to know. I promise that I will ..

13.20 .. My nails are done .. well new reenforcing’s at least .. they should last the three and a bit weeks if I pack my pliers and glue.

13.30 .. Time for lunch .. it’s a strictly working affair .. Pear, Apple and Banana.

I’ve missed a few people sending me messages .. including Nima in Iran .. he’s a nice guy, I’m sure we fly over Iran on the way .. I’ll have to try and get a screen shot.

I start to gather my clothes up .. I’ve probably got too many knickers .. I take 3 old size bra’s and my collection of 4 new size ones. 5 skirts, about 8 tops, 4 pairs of new unworn socks from the back of my draw to wear in the hospital, 3 white and one pink.

They say the Thai’s allow for foreigners in hospital .. regarding the issue of showing the souls of your feet to somebody .. I insisted on covered feet last time .. and I will do it now .. not wanting to offend anybody.

16.35 .. I’m just about to head up to shower when I suddenly remember I haven’t got my travel insurance sorted. I decide to use the same company, ten minutes later I have AIG’s Platinum cover sorted.

A quick look into work e-mails .. it’s howard’s birthday today .. so why isn’t he off .. I should have been yesterday .. but special dispensation was given for me to take it today. He’s bought a cake in .. I reply to his mail .. he replies wishing me luck.

16.50 .. I head for a shower and hair wash .. just as Karen comes in from work .. yes I’m running late .. she’ll go find a few things for me ..

17.25 .. I’m downstairs dressed, drying my hair .. dressing was a decisions, decisions moment .. to wear my white crops or a skirt .. Karen suggests a skirt .. she’s probably right.

17.40 .. OK ..I’m in panic mode .. I’m not sure if I’ve covered all my bases .. I’m trying to pack sensibly .. leaving my carry on bag as light as possible .. but the items in there .. mainly my Dilation kit, with all three dilators just in case .. it’s heavy. With all my HRT and supplements packed, including a whole box of Movicol, it’s pretty full.

I turn my attention to my hand bag .. big camera, Marantz recorder, batteries .. money and cards .. glasses .. packs of tissues .. Polo mints .. lip balm .. feminine wipes ..

18.30 .. In the kitchen weighing my bags, my main suitcase is 21.7 kg .. 3.3 under weight .. OK, I can by some souvenirs. My carry on bag .. 6kg limit .. is 7.9kg .. I take some shoes out and ram them in the other case, face cream in my handbag .. I’ve saved half a kilo. I’ll plead the case of my medical kit .. it’s about all there is in there .. oh and the nurses chocolates that I don’t want frozen.

Finally to the laptop .. I fire up GoodSync to update the laptop with all my email accounts, diary, the works .. I pack it up .. including a three meter pink network cable I’ve got on loan from work .. I use pink CAT 5 cables on printers so they stand out as different.

18.50 .. I load the car up .. gosh it’s cold outside, I need my fleece.

18.55 .. We drive away from home .. yes I’m late again, how I don’t know .. first stop is the bank in Sunningdale, to register the new pin for my CITI Shell card .. and get Karen some more cash to use.

As I drive up the A30, Karen rings Claire, I need to say thank you for my birthday present from her .. a “Ghost” perfume and hand cream gift set. I stuck behind a crawler after Virginia Waters .. this is ridiculous .. so much traffic coming out of London I can’t over take.

At least the M25 is moving OK, despite the 50 mph signs near the M4 it’s clear and people, me especially, are doing 70.

As we enter the “Heathrow Spur” I start talking to Karen, asking assurance I’m doing the right thing and she’ll still be OK with me .. seems so.

19.32 .. We arrive at T3 departures .. Karen seems to be a bit red eye’d .. and I’m fighting to keep my composure .. we kiss in the car, she tells me she loves me .. I don’t actually hear those words as often as she does. Out of the car .. I get my bags out .. we kiss and hug gently .. a few times .. I have to go. In the stress of the moment I’ve ended up forgetting to leave my jacket in the car.

19.40 .. I check in, my seat at the moment is 22G, a centre isle seat, I ask if there are anymore window seats .. I’m told to go to another desk .. so I do. A young chap there is very friendly .. he looks at his screen, and 22G becomes 23K after he asks if I’m travelling alone. This will give some new photo opportunities .. this is a Starboard side seat, last time I was in a Port side one.

I’m directed upstairs to emigration and security .. security are suspicious of my bottle of Hibby Scrub in my dilation kit that is in my carry on bag .. but they let me keep it .. at least they haven’t questioned my 3 dilators, I could see a rummage coming, but I said this box was semi sterile and contained medical equipment I need to carry. I get an odd look .. but I’m left alone .. << phew >>.

Once in the departure lounge, I try to call CITI Bank to let them know I’m taking my card abroad .. except there 0870 number is faulty .. so I have to call the 020 number indicated for “international” use. It goes easily .. unlike Barclaycard the other night. So now I feel I should survive without embarrassment .. Visa, Mastercard and Amex all know I’m off to Thailand.

I start to work out what is missing .. things I haven’t got .. sun glasses .. I go buy some in a duty free shop .. some nice Fahriselane designer ones from Italy .. cheapish at £46. However, these are big glasses, and the “shop” seem to have run out of the large cases from this manufacturer .. I’m offered a lovely white “dior” case instead .. that’ll do nicely actually .. but the white will get grubby after a while I’m sure.

I give Karen a call .. I know it’s only been 70 minutes .. but I’m missing her already .. I list off the things I realise I’ve left at home .. Thai phrase book .. Dilation manual part one with all the hospital key phrases for the nurses .. sun block .. there will be more .. third time lucky I think. No this is my last trip I hope.

20.40 .. The gate is open .. so I head for gate 23 .. I know it’s quite close by. I get a couple of photo opportunities .. including of the aircraft.

21.05 .. The “Elite Class” passengers get to board last .. I must say there isn’t that many of us .. though I think economy must be pretty full. Well I have a spare seat beside me .. in fact here in Evergreen class most people have .. except where there is couples together .. definitely worth the extra.

The captain comes on and in English welcomes us, then gives us a weather forecast for Bangkok .. only 30C but torrential rain .. oh lovely .. and at home they’re forecasting sun through till Sunday.

21.20 .. “Push back” is 5 minutes late .. we are soon in the fairway and the engine’s grumble into life. An observation .. the taxiways seem to be as bumpy as the Gold Hawk Road .. well maybe not quite .. but as we trundle down to T5 for take off there are some lumps and bumps.

21.33 .. Lift off .. after 10 minutes the pressure in my ears starts to build .. pop .. that’s not too pleasant ..

21.58 .. We are on our way, we’ve crossed the channel and now over the French / Belgium border. The signs have just gone out so I can use the laptop .. << grins >>

22.10 .. We are crossing Belgium [5217] and they are starting to serve the evening meal.

22.15 .. The flight attendant offers me “chicken leg or pork” .. I’ll take the pork as it comes with rice. So I’ve got a tiny salad starter, a roll ( with olives in ) and butter, the main course, a tiny portion of cheese cake followed by a tiny portion of Camembert with two biscuits .. a small glass of white wine helps it down. It was very nice, and as I’m sat here for 11 hours or so .. it’s a sufficiency .. the “President” Camembert was rather good, almost evenly ripe !!

My nose has started to stream like no tomorrow, I’m not sure if this change of pressure is affecting my sinuses .. but this is really bad.

22.42 .. I’ve finished my meal, we’ve almost flown through Germany [5219] while I ate ..

22.50 .. I look up to see we are in Czech Republic .. as we hit a little turbulence .. not quite as bad a Honda Deauville on the Gold Hawk Road .. << grimace >>. 

22.55 .. The attendants return to collect the trays .. and we are asked to shut the blinds down as we head towards Slovakia .. [5221] ..

23.20 .. We cross the border into Hungry .. I decide to Listen to some music .. Labi Siffre “So Strong” CD ..the in ear headphones I use with my little Marantz do the job .. sort of anyway .. wish I’d bought my Sony MDR 3's.

23.35 .. [5223] .. We cross into Romania ..

My nose started streaming about an hour ago .. my tissues are running out .. I head to the loo and sort myself out there .. and get a sick bag and a big hand full of tissues to keep me going for a while ..

00.16 .. [5224] ..We leave Romania heading across the Black Sea .. and a hostess brings me some more water.

00.28 .. Labi Siffre finished a while back .. I need audio .. Enigma or Era .. Era “Era Dance” .. will do nicely .. I need some better headphones.

01.10 .. Era has finished .. listening to loud ( ish ) music seems to have reduced the pressure in my ears.

I decide on  a little Enigma “MCMXC A.D.” the special addition .. as I click play we enter some turbulence .. hey this is chill music << LOL >> .. after one big bump the seat belt lights come on.

01.21 .. [5225] .. I look up from the laptop .. we’ve just moved into Georgia air space .. we are bumping around .. taking the picture isn’t easy.

01.35 .. Well I’ve sorted today’s diary out .. I’m just thinking of curling up for a sleep when a hostess replenishes my water again .. I’ll start fleshing out yesterday’s for a while ..

01.36 .. A look at the map .. we are just crossing into Azerbaijan .. if I remember rightly last time we do a right turn soon and drop down south a bit .. but we don’t .. we are heading for the Caspian sea ..

01.55 .. The seat belt sign gets switched off ..

02.20 .. [5226] .. We are just entering Turkmenistan .. I’m going to try and get some sleep. Then a hostess arrives with more water .. I’ll put it on the table next to me .. << glad the seats empty >> .. I crack the blind open .. it’s sun rise out there !!!

03.40 .. [5527] .. I may have dosed off once or twice, but no proper sleep .. we’ve now veered south down through Afganistan .. I get up and make a comfort break .. but it’s occupied .. so I have to wait.

03.45 .. On my return I’m ambushed by a hostess carrying a tray of snacks .. in the darkness I take a small bag .. she gives me three more .. 3 small bags of Eva Air “Mixed nuts and rice crackers” and a Lotte “Choco Pie” .. think small fat “Wagon Wheel” and you’ll know what it is.

04.00 .. “Refreshed” .. as we cross the border into Pakistan, I’ll try and snooze again .. and I think I did for about 2 hours.

More to come ...

Memory Joggers ...

13.00 .. They wake us up ( 06.00 GMT ) .. time flies .. well we have across India ..

13.10 .. The hostess’s bring breakfast around .. it’s a choice of “Western scrambled egg” or “Chinese fried rice” .. I enquire about the fried rice .. “it’s chicken, no fish” .. fine .. I’ll try that ..

So Breakfast at 38,996 ft, ground speed 615mph and -45C outside, having travelled 5505 miles, is ..

Boiled rice with spicy fried chicken, a roll and butter, an apple / orange / kiwi & 1 grape salad, a small Bio apricot yoghurt, a glass of orange juice and a cup of tea, again served with cream .. well it fills a whole .. and I’m feeling a little refreshed.

13.18 .. [5530] .. We’ve crossed into Bangladesh .. and I’ve just realised I’ve struggled all night with holding the camera steady, cause I had the polarising filter on the lens .. DOH .. that's worth "2 stops" in old camera money .. LOL.

13.40 .. [5531 / 5532] .. Breakfast is over, I open my blind .. not a lot to see from this side of the plane, I got distant pictures of the Himalayas, this time it’s just sky, cloud, wings and engines. The hostess removes my tray but refills my orange juice..

13.55 .. [5535] We are now in Burma air space .. an hour and ten minutes till he land acording to the flight stats ..

[5536] .. My first self portrait of the trip .. do I look a little jaded .. yes I guess I do .. << grimace >>.

At this point I try some video capture with my web cam .. the aircraft noise really drowns out my voice, especially with the web cam’s own mic .. I try using my headphones as a mic .. but realise when I hear a click there is phantom volts on the external mic socket .. well after a little playing .. I’ve got a 10Mb .wmv file.

14.30 .. I’m aware  we are starting to descend .. I’m listening to Michael Jackson “History” and miss an announcement from the captain. A hostess appears with a basket of boiled sweets .. so my suspicions are correct.

14.35 .. [5239] .. We are in Thailand !!!

14.40 .. I need go freshen up .. less than 30 minutes till landing .. more later .. I turn the laptop off and put it away.

On my return to my seat a hostess is handing out sweets to suck for our ears .. my ears are really hurting as we descend .. as we get to about 1000 ft I hold my nose and blow .. both my ears pop and I feel a lot more comfortable .. 

15.07 .. Touch down ..

15.17 ..  Elite were last on so first off .. gosh as you hit the passenger tunnel it really hits you .. the heat that is .. I use the travelators to follow the signs to immigration, stopping to take some pictures .. [5247 - 9] .. just before I enter immigration I buy some factor 50 sun block .. hmmm .. thinks I might have got stitched up .. 1,280 Baht ..

In immigration, there aren’t any fast queues like last year for people with Visa’s anymore .. DOH .. that wasn’t money well spent then  ..

15.43 .. I’m in the luggage hall and as I walk across I see my suitcase with it’s pink strap appear at the far end, plenty of time for me to grab a trolley walk across and scoop it off ..

I walk through the green channel at exit 9, I stop and take a picture of the arrivals board [5251] and have to walk down to exit 4 to find my reception committee .. it’s a long way playing dodgems when your tired. I soon spot Jib, she spotted me first I suspect .. she didn’t bother with the big clinic advertising name board .. she says she knew what I’d look like .. she comments on the weight I’ve lost .. << smiles >>. 

15.54 .. We are outside the terminal .. gosh it’s so hot .. she calls the mini bus .. it takes ages to get to us .. I’m not feeling good, tiredness and heat.

16.08 .. We are on the road to Chonburi ..

17.15 .. We pull up outside the hotel, the porters give me a smile of recognition .. and I’m taken in .. Jib sorts out my room and we are given some guava juice to drink .. it’s very refreshing .. but horrendously sweet. Initially I’m given room 711, the receptionist says “room with twin beds” .. Jib is in before I can .. “ no 1 big bed ” .. the receptionist looks at the computer screen .. 706 !!! is free .. what a result .. I actually asked for that room if possible with Sophie months back .. cause I knew it’s secret .. it’s massive !!!!! .. bigger than 701 that I had just across the corridor ( opposite door ).

Jibs phone rings .. it turns out to be Dr Suporn .. he wants me to go straight round without freshening up ..

17.35 .. I walk into the clinic, I’m shown straight into an examining room ..

00.05 .. I’m in that position ..

00.55 .. I’ll call it cooked .. I’m getting sore with the condoms ..

Sort some things out for my friend Tina Marie ..

04.05 .. I’m in bed .. nightie night ..

More to come ...

Memory Joggers ...

I went out like a light in the end ..

08.00 .. My alarm goes off .. snoozed ..

08.10 .. My alarm goes off .. snoozed ..

08.20 .. My alarm goes off .. snoozed ..

....

08.40 .. My alarm goes off .. snoozed .. but I get up .. time for a quicky routine this morning .. I open my curtains .. I notice they have a silver heat reflecting backing surface .. Looks lovely out there ..

Post shower I sort through some clothes and make a decision .. time is getting on. 

09.25 .. Breakfast .. I join a table with Andrea and Suzzi .. I don’t go mad at all .. I could do so easily. In fact Andrea comments on my first course of yogurt with fresh fruit salad in it. I return for a bowl of muesli and milk .. still doing ok .. it was the final course of fruit bread and stollen ( I think ) that might have broken the bank. But I was good .. pancakes and maple syrup .. I resisted .. an omelette with sauteed potatoes .. Thai sausages .. then all the chinese rice dish breakfasts .. I was good honest.

10.20 .. Frankie makes her first appearance after her arrival late last night / early this morning .. she looks better in the flesh than her web cam gives credit .. I’m sure mine helps fool people ..LOL.

10.30 .. I leave the restaurant with Frankie .. she heads off for the bank and the clinic, I head upstairs to get finished off, we agree to meet in the clinic then head for the supermarket together ..

11.00 .. I head for the clinic .. when I arrive Frankie is in with one of Dr Suporn’s girls checking up on implant size ..

However, Monique from Australia is here, she knows who I am .. for a moment I have a DOH moment .. she says her name  .. ping .. we exchange pleasantries and a promise to catch up later ..

11.15 .. I’m waiting for Frankie .. the heavens open .. wow it rains big drops here .. as I wait one of the clinic girls comes to me and asks me to confirm the implant size I’m having .. Dr Suporn’s advice was 400cc inside would look like 380cc on the outside .. though I had the option of 375 and 390 .. so I’ll accept what Dr Suporn has said .. I liked the external size of 380's I’d played with at home .. so I sign on the line for 400cc.

11.25 .. Frankie appears .. she looks happy .. she’s chosen her size. However with this weather .. we aren’t going anywhere .. so we sit and chat.

{11.41 ..  Back in the hotel, Cathie, the natal female escort of a patient I met last January is trying to chat to me .. I remember her on a coach trip to the beach house, she was so nice, and had me in tears on my last night here .. a seriously nice woman.}

Nanda, the dutch girl I met last year arrives .. we chat like long lost friends .. Frankie starts playing a guitar, I feel a bit guilty about suddenly chatting to Nanda as I did, as I type this later.

14.15 .. There’s a lul in the rain .. Cin lends me an umbrella and I head for the hotel ..

14.10 .. Back in the hotel .. as I enter the room, I tap the computers space bar .. I missed a message from Nima in Iran by one minute .. DOH. I also find Cathie’s box after a while .. and send her a message back .. but she’s long gone.

I eat the apple and big ( and I mean really big ) banana left in my room yesterday .. then I paint my nails .. they are looking really good now.

14.25 .. I spot Linda on line and send her a message ..

14.45 .. I give Karen a call on the Skype phone at home .. she can’t chat long as she’s getting ready for work ..

After saying good bye to Karen I sit and do some diary notes .. and chatting to friends on Yahoo ..

14.47 .. Julie is the first .. to chat this morning .. she’s up early ..

15.30 .. I head back to the clinic .. I return the umbrella then head out to the supermarket I used to use .. it’s gone .. the unit is empty. This is a blow .. cause the food supermarket in the Forum “mal” is on the second floor .. thank goodness for escalators.

So I do the Phoenix Food area, I want some hand washing detergent ( for washing my smalls ), a load of water .. I buy a 6 little tank, plus two 1.5 litre bottles to use as handier containers. A bottle of Listerine and 4 rolls of kitchen towels should see me through. But I can’t find any yoghurts .. something to hunt for tomorrow.

I head back to the hotel .. as I climb the steps for the bridge over the main road I start to feel a little breathless and light headed .. I pause .. doesn’t help, so I walk towards the clinic.. just a couple of hundred metres away.

16.15 .. I made it, and slump into a soft chair under one of the air conditioners .. my head hurts .. but I don’t feel thirsty. After a while one of the clinic girls comes over to me, she realises I’m a bit off and gets me a drink of iced water .. I drink it down ..

16.35 .. I’m starting to feel better .. it must be lack of water .. problem is the bottled water here tastes so odd .. the “Singha” water that supermarkets sell is sweet to drink .. the hotel supplied “Crystal” ozone treated water tastes .. sort of salty. The clinic water from a dispenser tastes quite nice when chilled.

16.45 .. I head back to the hotel with Sussi .. we have to negotiate a big puddle .. LOL.

16.58 .. I pick up a conversation with Ambre

17.17 .. Petra pops up to say hello ..

18.17 .. Petra says goodbye ..

18.38 .. I say hello to Alison, who flies out here tomorrow night with wife and daughter .. we chat about allsorts .. including the weather here ..

18.51 .. I tell Alison we both have things to do .. especially her .. so we say goodbye ..

19.20 .. I head down to the restaurant .. I join a table with Monique, Suzzi, and a couple who are the parents of a girl called Emma from the UK who had her SRS yesterday ..

Food wise I have the same as last night as it was so delicious .. and follow it with a “Caramel custard” .. it was a little odd and I won’t do that again in a hurry.

An American girl joins us a little later .. she’s only 24 .. she’s as thin as a rake with hair at waist level .. even makes me jealous ..

21.20 .. I’m back in my room ..

21.25 .. I see Linda on line .. so I say hello . .we start chatting about my day ..

21.39 .. Gillian from USA pops up to chat, and thank me for trying to help Tina with Dr Suporn ..

21.42 .. Her ears must have been burning .. Tina pops up to chat ..
 
22.03 .. Gillian says goodbye ..

22.07 .. Tina says goodbye .. I do some diary for today ..

22.17 .. I give Carolyn at work a call on Skype after she e-mails me .. we chat about all sorts for about 30 minutes .. she puts me on hold from time to time as she answers other calls. I do some diary and type chat with Linda as we chat .. LOL .. she’s aware of what I’m doing .. she can hear me typing. Linda tells me to say hello to Carolyn .. as she has met her .. and \carolyn does the same back.

22.44 .. I say goodbye to Linda .. she has her chores to do ..

23.37 .. I call Karen at home .. we chat for about 15 minutes about this and that .. my brain is so addled I go over things I said earlier .. DOH ..

00.17 .. I say hello to Rachelle in Canada .. we haven’t spoken for months ..

00.35 .. Jillian pops up for a chat .. she is due back here in early may for revisions to SRS and her BA .. she’s got problems with placement of one her inserts .. and she wants to go bigger than the 375cc she has now .. and there was me thinking that as long as you kept up with massage for 6 months . nothing could go wrong with BA.

00.49 .. I say good night to Rachelle .. I must get to bed ..

00.53 .. Jillian says goodnight ..

However .. that second wind has arrived again .. so I do some diary ..

01.55 .. I start to pack up ..

I’m not a happy bunny here really .. professional worrier .. I send a text to Karen, then regret doing it really, I don’t want to make her feel stressed .. or to worry about me.

02.35 .. Sorted in the bathroom, I finally climb into bed .. nightie night.

More to come ...

Memory Joggers ...

I slept well once asleep .. though I layed awake briefly worrying about that text to Karen.

08.00 .. The alarm wakes me up ..

09.49 .. I arrive in the restaurant for breakfast .. just 10 minutes left ..

It’s the Saturday morning weigh in ... in my dreams .. LOL .. though I could have used the clinic scales later ..

10.50 .. Back in my room ..

Frankie and I head across to the clinic .. Nanda is there .. following discussion between Andrea Frankie and I, Nanda offers to drive us to the local “Big C” supermarket .. it’s Thai owned one apparently .. but she needs to do her e-mails first.

11.25 .. Frankie and I head for the Forum .. Frankie is after some “cheap” ( according to Dr S Club notes ) glasses .. she finds they aren’t that cheap .. I go looking for skirts .. and end up buying 2 nice skirts for £10, Thai hand made apparently .. not sure though to be honest.

12.05 .. Nanda takes us off in her hired 4 x 4 .. it actually belongs to one of Dr Suporn’s staff whose doing a private deal for 10 weeks .. the traffic towards Pataya is worse than the M25 / M4 on a Monday morning .. it takes nearly 20 minutes to go about 3 miles.

One parked up we all head inside .. Nanda explains what the place is like and how the eating area works .. we decide to go and shop.

Andrea wants to buy a camera .. the camera store is by the entrance on the first floor. They don’t seem to cheap to be honest, compared to back in England. We spend a long time looking, zero time buying.

We go into the main shop .. my main thing is I need some tops, as we head to that section I nip into skin care and get some Nivea factor 50 sun block. But in the main clothes section I draw a blank .. their XL or FF ( large free size ) just won’t fit having tried to get one on .. sulks. However I do then manage to find a sort of smock top hidden round a corner as we head away, which is enormous .. and very colourful .. and just over £2.

Onto the food section .. a 12 pack of ½ litre bottles of water, 12 yoghurts, 8 of which are vanilla bio ones, some candied ginger and dried Mango and a large bottle of incredibly cheap Thailand honey .. I’m sorted.

We all are .. so we follow Nanda’s advice and go and eat in the restaurant part. We have to “buy” a credit card .. I put 100 baht on it. I follow the others in and cruise the area .. a lot of choice .. I decide on a plate of chicken curry, with boiled rice and a medium 22cl cup of 22cl Fanta .. that’s buy one get one free .. I can only drink one .. that lot comes to 70 baht .. £1.60 .. and the curry .. WOW it’s spicy hot .. but lovely.

Before heading back to the hotel, Nanda offers to take us for a drive and show us the sights.

16.00 .. ish .. We are back at the Hotel .. gosh Nanda is a star .. what a friendly thing to do .. of course we welcome it. We head away from Chonburi then head down towards the coast .. the roads look vaguely familia .. we drive past Dr Suporn’s beach house on the way to do a cruise past Nanda’s beach side apartment. It’s in a block just a few metres from the sea, with views out across the ocean. Folks the shock horror of true domestic Thailand prices is that Nanda says she’s paying just 7000 baht a month, plus a little extra to have it “serviced” more often .. £140 a month .. this is near to paradise location too.

We head up the back of Monkey mountain, Nanda stops on the top of a hill in the road where monkeys have gathered .. I get a few nice shots .. I take a few pictures of the scenery too .. Nanda is one lucky lady.

We head back to Chonburi we go past the hospital on the way to the beach road, Nanda stops so I can get some decent pictures of the outside of the hospital. Back on our way, we drive through Bangsaen Beach .. it’s packed .. it’s a Saturday so it’s like an English Sunday .. the religious day when folks stop work.

As we get closer to Chonburi, I have an accident, as I twist in my seat with my camera, the lens cap and polaroid filter sitting in my lap get caught by the seat belt and take of out of the window. Nanda stops .. but it’s too late .. the lens cap is unmarked, I’m not sure if a following car hit the filter or if it was the road impact, but the thread is badly damaged and the outer won’t rotate .. £30 filter wrecked .. I’ll have to hold it against the lens if |I want to use it out here.

21.10 .. I’m back in my room ..

21.49 .. Tina says goodbye ..

23.25 .. I call Karen at home again .. she finally got my text at 14.30 UK time today .. she says nothing about it  though.

00.23 .. I phone my mum on her land line .. she surprised to hear from me .. as we chat I hear her door entry buzzer sound .. that’ll be Karen arriving .. I say goodbye shortly after.

03.15 .. I finally turn the lights off ..

More to come ...

Memory Joggers ...

I didn’t sleep well, and not for long enough, I’ve got to force myself into Thai time .. somehow.

08.20 .. I get up .. quick visit to TGO chat room ..

09.30 .. I’m in the restaurant for breakfast ..

Breakfast is yoghurt with fruit in it, but they’d run out of muesli, so I’ll have toast and marmalade as a substitute along with the two pieces of cake .. all washed down with coffee and orange juice.

We chat for ages .. time flies. Frankie re appears and says she’s going to the hospital to visit the patients, Jib has given her a list of who is there ..

10.55 .. I’m back in my room ..
   
11.39 .. Jillian from Seattle pops up for a chat .. it has to be a quick one as we are going out ..

12.04 .. Andrea arrives and Jib drives us to the hospital .. she’s doing the clinic girl ward round today ..

12.20 .. We  are on the 9th floor where the Dr Suporn girls are looked after now ..

We go mob handed to see Emma first .. her parents are already here .. she’s a really pretty English girl, young too .. gosh she’s so lucky .. we talk a while before going off to see some others.

Next stop is Tamara, she’s just had a nose job with Dr Suporn. She tells us of the horrors that is her SRS with Dr Sanguan .. she has little depth and no sensitivity, she’s looking for a colon section rebuild .. something Dr Suporn won’t do. I suggest she joins SRS in Thailand so she can tell of her experiences with the three doctors she’s used so far.

We move on to 2 girls from Iran, Ausrawan and Nassim .. who are sharing a room. We had been warned that they are loners, but they seem to open up to us and are happily chatting in reasonable English.

13.30 .. The ward reception orders us a Tuc Tuc .. we wander down stairs and wait .. I use this as another photo opportunity to get some more pictures of this place of fantastic recreations by Dr Suporn.

14.05 .. We are back at the hotel .. a quick clean up and pit stop before we meet down stairs again .. we are going for a little pampering.

14.25 .. We are outside the massage parlour a few doors along from Dr Suporn’s ..

We go in .. this will be fun .. we try to organise what we want .. initially Frankie and I only want the body massage .. Andrea wants body then feet.

Three of us are lined up being massaged .. the ladies have a few more words of English than I have Thai .. but we all end up laughing and giggling .. I get them to say there names into my Marantz .. “Jit” is treating Frankie, “Anon” is torturing me & “Maam” is working on Andrea.

15.40 .. The foot massage starts .. they find a couple of pressure points that hurt .. this means something .. 

16.40 .. We head back to the hotel briefly .. comfort breaks and all ..

16.45 .. Back in the hotel, a pair of American’s are waiting to be driven to the airport .. one gives me her e-mail address to send a photo and group membership details.

16.56 .. Back in my room briefly, I find a 4 minute old message from Debs in Wales .. I answer, she doesn’t respond ..

17.05 .. We head off again for a wonder around the town .. just an idle wonder .. time to take some photo’s and we walk past the Thai GP’s surgery I was taken too post poisoning in the hotel. Frankie, a diary reader knows about it, Andrea doesn’t .. so I tell her briefly what happened .. she’s a little horrified.

We wander around, and wander into the grounds of an education establishment .. gosh some of the building are Thai traditional .. so pretty .. a photo opportunity. Andrea flags down an ice cream seller in her search for a juice .. a Thai lady suddenly appears and interprets for her .. Andrea realises the mistake.

The Thai lady asks us to join her group and have a drink .. that could have been interesting, but Andrea declines, and I really want to get back to the hotel. For a moment we’ve lost Frankie and I go looking for her.

We find Frankie and head back towards the hotel .. I see an open bookshop .. thinks Thai phrase book .. I’m told to go upstairs .. I find a load of straight dictionaries .. it’s takes Andrea to find a small section of phrase books .. I select a handbag size one .. 69 Baht .. how much did I pay baht home.   

18.20 .. I’m back in the hotel .. Alison, Christine and daughter Zoe have arrived, in fact, due to the odd room numbering .. they are in room 701 .. right opposite my door. As I head for my room I see a figure in the corridor walking towards me .. Christine .. we meet and greet .. then go our ways. I knock on 701, Alison and I get to meet for the first time in the flesh .. and I meet Zoe.

DOH .. where’s my key card .. it’s not in my handbag .. I join Christine in reception, who is organizing Zoe’s bed .. a put you up. A receptionist gives me an extra key and I ( we ) return to our rooms. My original card is by my big hand / camera bag ..

18.25 .. I’m back in my room ..

18.26 .. I answer a message left by Tina a while ago .. she soon responds.

I try calling Karen on Skype a few times .. no answer .. so I call my mum and wish her a happy mothers day.

Tina starts to tell me about her surgeries, and her “massive” 550cc implants .. she says she doesn’t notice them any more .. I bet blokes do ..  LOL.

18.57 .. I say goodbye to Tina ..

18.58 .. I intended to call Karen quickly on her mobile .. but not as quickly as happened, she answers and tells me to call back later .. hmmmm .. thank you. Took all of 10 seconds.

19.02 .. I knock on Alison’s door .. they are nearly ready. Alison and Christine have one lively ( and lively ) daughter, she’s playing with a little stuffed dog, I tell her I’ve got a rabbit called loopy in my room .. she asks to see it, so I take her across into my room so she can have a look.

We head for the restaurant .. once there I introduce them to a couple of folks I know. The waiters move in and two tables for 4 become 1 for 8 .. soon more tables are shunted up as more Supornista’s arrive.

Well I’ll need to go easy tomorrow night .. so I order a sirloin steak from the Thai menu .. the waiter points out I’ve ordered from the Thai menu and it comes with a chilli sauce .. “yes I know, make it Thai hot too please !!!”

Though Alison and Co. ordered after me ..their meals arrives a good few minutes ahead of mine. My steak looks a little anaemic for rare steak .. but it’s nice enough, though yesterday lunch times Thai chicken curry was much hotter. There’s a little conversation about food fads .. I’m with Zoe on vegetables .. she looks at some green leaves on my plate that I’m leaving and asks what they are .. I don’t know .. “I’m not going to eat them either” .. LOL .. possibly not the ideal answer in Alison and Christine’s view.

21.13 .. My Skype starts ringing .. it’s Karen .. she got the mothers day flowers I’d arranged and the truffles and card I left with Robert. We chat about our days, she had been shopping in Staines earlier with her sister when she abruptly told me to call back later.

21.37 .. The call is over ..

21.38 .. Lucinda pops up for a quick chat .. as we chat I start looking through my latest Suporn Clinic manual. These are custom made for each patient, and have pre op, post op and return to home instructions for the procedures your ( I’m ) going to have. So this has info about Upper Lip Lift and “Augmentation Mammaplasty” (AM). My SRS revisions aren’t covered by this.

Gosh the AM notes are a worry .. sleeping upright for the first 48 hours won’t be easy .. but it’s the warning about avoiding “rapid, sudden or excessive movements. Be very slow, gentle and deliberate. You should be able to return to fully normal activities within 6 weeks.” Hmmm .. work might be interesting then .. 

21.53 .. Lucinda disappears .. I missed a couple of lines while distracted by my manual.

I start some serious diary work ..

23.10 .. Petra pops up for a chat .. I do some diary while we chat ..

23.32 .. Petra says goodnight and disappears .. I should try and sleep but this isn’t as easy as I thought it should be. I carry on with the diary and get today’s pictures off the camera .. there are some fun ones from the tuc tuc earlier .. << smiles >>.

02.15 .. I’m going to bed .. I must try and sleep .. nightie night.

More to come ...

Memory Joggers ...

I layed awake for a while, thinking about Frankie, I know she’s OK with things, though through her tone yesterday I could sense she was a little nervous .. eventually I drop off.

05.00 .. I wake with a start .. I’m glowing profusely .. through off the bed clothes that were really only covering my shoulders and take a drink. Now I’m feeling tired .. and soon drop off to sleep as I cool down.

06.30 .. The alarm goes off .. This is a rehearsal for tomorrow .. I need to eat if I can before 7 as I’m nill by mouth there after. I get up and shower ..

07.20 .. I’m nearly ready to roll .. I call Frankie’s room to see if she’s ready for breakfast .. she is, we arrange to go in 5 .. I just need to dress .. << grimace >>..

07.28 .. Frankie and I head down for breakfast, and end up sharing a table with Emma’s parents .. I must try and remember their names ..

09.16 .. As I walk back into my room, there is a Yahoo message box open from Kathie in Seattle, she’s typing as I sit down .. so I answer. We chat for a while, she thinks she’ll be back with Vanessa for revisions in September or December .. they were here with me last year.

09.42 .. I  excuse myself from Vanessa to go to the clinic, but ..

09.45 .. I spot Jessica in Indiana on line on Skype and give her a call .. she answers .. she’s in the tub with a book she’s revising with for an exam tomorrow .. she’s training to be a nurse now .. what a change in career .. << smiles >>.

We chat about things, my concerns and things.

10.10 .. I say goodbye to Jessica ..

I start to do some diary and copy a load of pictures from yesterday and the updated or processed ones from Saturday for Frankie .. the memory stick soon fills up, but not before InFRanView installer goes on it .. so she can play herself with them when she’s stuck bored in bed, as she will !!!

I need to get some decent pictures of myself down below so I have a reference for the post revision improvements .. the K10D and new lens do a brilliant job .. I cut and paste them off of the camera card to my laptop .. will save any embarrassment with the camera .. I’ll  do my breasts later.

So I sit and crop these new and some old “medical” pictures to show Dr Suporn, I want to chat to him again about the now continuous adhesion around my most sensitive part .. which is robbing me of some sensitivity due to the thickness.

11.53 .. I go knock on Frankie’s door to see if she’s ready to roll, she is, I give her the memory stick and I walk her down to reception .. I bet nobody does this for me tomorrow when I’m quaking << grimace >>. We bump into Tamara, just back from her nose job at the hospital, we saw her Saturday there.

12.00 +.. We’ve waited for the clinic staff to whisk Frankie off, the receptionist hands a phone to Frankie .. they are running late .. 12.45 now .. so we return to our rooms so I can press on with the pictures for Dr Suporn.

12.40 .. I go knock on Frankie’s door .. and we head back down. We have a short wait before the big clinic bus arrives .. Cin is Frankie’s escort, at least into the bus .. I wonder if she’ll jump out as the bus passes the clinic .. it’s a lonely drive from there with just Danny the driver for company. Before they leave, I get a picture of the two of them in a hug .. Frankie towers over Cin, as most people do.

They drive off, I go back to my room, I feel so alone now sitting here .. I finish loading on the pictures for Dr Suporn and put them on a key.

13.30 .. I head round to the clinic .. I speak to the girl there who books me an appointment for 17.00 .. great .. she takes my key and will load up  Dr Suporn’s desk top with the images. I sit with some others and have a drink of water .. before heading back to my room ..

Back in my room I do some diary, gosh I’m feeling really guilty now about my photo pages .. haven’t touched them yet. My stomach is churning with anxiety, I’m not really hungry, I force down the apple which is in my room from yesterdays lounge fruit selection.

14.55 .. My clinic supplied mobile rings for the first time .. it’s Aey’s mobile, but not Aey speaking .. the girl says come to clinic for 15.30 to see Dr Suporn. I look in the mirror .. my hair is terrible .. so I do a quickie job on it in the sink. The bathroom hair dryer isn’t good .. I end up leaving my hair down as I head for the clinic so it can dry.

15.30 .. I’m in the clinic .. it’s packed !!!

Well I wait .. and wait .. Alison & Co. are here, Zoe shows me there wrist garlands given them by the clinic, just like mine. With Alison’s approval I take a couple of candid shots of Zoe .. she looks round on the first flash .. but you won’t see them here.

Nanda arrives .. and then goes, she’d been having golf lessons earlier and was rather warm. However she does promise to come and see Frankie and I in hospital on Thursday.

17.15 .. I finally get to see Dr Suporn.

18.55 .. My room phone rings, it’s Christine ( Alison’s wife ) .. do I want to eat .. I do I think, I ask for 5 minutes.

More to come ...

Memory Joggers ...

Did I sleep .. not a lot .. 

06.25 .. The alarm goes off .. I feel sick ..

I drink 1 litre and have a yoghurt with some honey in it .. I immediately feel really sick .. wish I hadn’t eaten it.

A message box pops up on Yahoo, it’s Kirsti, Christine’s wife .. wishing me luck for tomorrow, I point out it is tomorrow here already.

Last chat is with Gaynor from Guildford .. should be Karen but she warned me off .. << sulks >>.

09.15 .. I’m packed .. time to turn the laptop off and head down to reception to be collected by Wi and taken to the hospital, to join Frankie who will at this time be in the hands of Dr Suporn.

I head down to reception .. it’s waiting game, Wi appears on foot, Cin appears soon in one of the clinics vehicles .. a Volva 4 x 4. Alison, Chistine and little Zoe have come to say goodbye. It’s hugs all round, Zoe comes forward to do the same .. I get down low for her on one knee, she’s so cute.

So we drive off, Cin overshoots the clinic and reverses back, she’s collecting Emma’s folks. I suddenly remember .. loopy. I leap out of the car and run back to the hotel and get her ..

09.50 .. We are at the hospital.  Wi gets me booked in with the same administrator as last year .. she remembers me.

Once booked in it’s the usual queue jumping routine, as I’m whisked though .. weight check, 83.5 Kg, Blood pressure 146 / 63 and heart rate was 87 .. I was a little het up. It’s then a quick charge around all the departments for blood test, ECG and finally chest x-ray.

10.55 .. I’m then taken up to the ward and into my room, where my weight is checked a gain. I’m allowed to settle in and put my things out or in the safe. The IT man turns up to plug a router in for me .. and I’m on line.

A nurse comes in wanting to shave me .. underarms that I did myself this morning and my vulva. Following that, and yes she nicked me down there, it’s time for my allover hibi scrub shower.

12.05 .. I start to dilate, initially with a nurse hovering over me. This doesn’t go to well, it takes forever ...

13.15 .. I’ll call it cooked then, cause I’m getting sore..

I take a tablet the nurses gave me earlier and then nip in too see Emma in 903, it’s her last full day in here. While I’m standing talking to her I start to get a bit light headed. Emma’s mum helps me back to my bed and I lay down.

14.05 .. They are ready for me, a trolley is in my door way .. a nurse steadies me as I walk to it. I lay on it then my scrunchie is removed. I’m put into a lift with a ward nurse and the porters wheeling me around. The nurse strokes my hand occasionally as to reassure me.

I’m wheeled into the theatre wide awake. Mor Ning is talking to me and asking how I feel .. she adds I wasn’t very happy last time. The sedation has done it’s job I guess, Dr Suporn enters and asks me to sit up, my top is taken off me and Dr Suporn marks me around my breasts and nose. I lay down again, the anaesthetist assistant tries to find a vein in my hand and fails on the first attempt .. I hear the heart rate monitor pick up, Mor Ning, apologizes to me and says some thing in Thai to the assistant.

The needle is in, I’m asked if I have any questions, no I said, “Ok I’ll put you to sleep now then”. I didn’t drift off, a switch was flipped.

19.45 .. I’m awake just about, and oh so dry. A nurse helps me take a dink .. I feel my chest which seem’s very tight.

I dose on and off all evening .. it’s a blur ...

More to come ...

Memory Joggers ...

12.50 .. My post lunch tablets arrive .. four of them.

20.00 .. I’m really tired, so little I can do except chat with my friends on  yahoo and Skype. I wish more had Skype installed so I can speak to them rather than use my arms to type.

More to come .. I doubt it .. this day was just a haze in Morphine land ...