The last few weeks, in between Renee and Jordy hopping around Europe, we managed to have some fun times around Switzerland. Sadly the weather was cold and wet for their last few days. We went to Bern and Interlaken on Tuesday. We successfully missed just about every possible train connection. We really should have stayed home and watched the rain through the window. The highlight of the day was Jordy and Chad playing giant outdoor speed chess. We were all exhausted at the end of the day.
Wednesday we went to Luzern. We checked out the Verkehrshaus (Transportation Museum) which was really fun especially with the weather being so bad. They had a special IMAX film on the Alps. Sadly that was the most Renee and Jordy got to see of them. Then we hurried to get in a few sites in Luzern before it was totally dark. Jordy is making a t-shirt quilt so our quest was to find a good t-shirt in each city. We were not totally successful so Chad and I have been given the assignment to find ones for St Gallen, Bern and Zurich to bring back to her.
Eden is getting cuter and heavier each day. It was great seeing our visitors bickering over who got to hold her. There is no shortage of people who love her. She was quite a trooper to spend two days in her carseat/stroller. She has got to be pretty happy to not have to stare up at a plastic rain guard for awhile.
Yesterday morning we said farewell to our Idaho mom and sister. As far as we can tell we are officially on our own with this parenthood thing until we take our trip back to the states in mid-December. That is unless we have anyone else who wants to visit and lend a helping hand.
Just after finishing our first date, my mom and sister watched Eden so we could go on our second date… to the University Hospital emergency room. ๐
This little story started on Sunday night while we were getting creamed playing Phase 10 together. Elisa doubled over in pain. The intensity was comparable to childbirth for her. After some online diagnostics and a call to a friend we called a taxi to the emergency room. (We tried to rent a car, but the rental company’s computers were down. So I wasted 15 minutes trying to get a car from them before they said it wouldn’t be possible. But today someone really nice called and apologized, and offered to pay 50 Fr. of our taxi fare to the hospital.)
At the hospital they ran some tests. Eventually they sent Elisa to a gynecologist for a complete exam. And then they sent me to the radiologist for an abdominal ultrasound. All the tests came back normal. That was a relief but it’s so hard to not know what’s wrong. The pain killers really helped make her comfortable, and eventually the pain subsided. At 6 am the doctors still didn’t know what was the problem was, so we went home to sleep. Elisa and my mom and Eden and I had all been at the hospital all night waiting for news. Luckily before I went to the hospital I was able to express some milk for Eden. But she slept most of the night anyway. Too bad we couldn’t sleep!
I really tried to make the best of being in emergency all night. The doctors were great. They taught us new German words like “รลbelkeit.” There were a few times when the strong meds were wearing off or just starting that I got really nauseated and dizzy or my vision was blurred. That was too bad. ๐ [Jordyn: At this point she actually said her “blision was blurved.”] However, even though I felt terrible, the transportation in the hospital was awesome. They hooked Elisa’s gurney up to a hospital golf cart and cruised around through the deserted hallways for 10 minutes to get to the distant gynecological ward.
At 3 pm today we got to have our date. ๐ The doctors wanted to repeat some of the tests. We left Eden with my mom and Jordy and a full bottle of milk. I barely woke up in time to catch the train. The hospital was busy and it took hours for them to take care of us. They eventually came up with an explanation. We’re going to return on Thursday to confirm that the problem is resolved.
It looks like Elisa passed a gallstone on Sunday. Ultrasounds show that there are no more stones to worry about for now. The hormones in her body from pregnancy probably made the problem worse. We don’t know yet whether Elisa is going to have to worry about more gallstones in the future. (Although if she does, I read claims that they are pretty valuable).
Barbara and Marcus babysat for us so that we could have a romantic fondue dinner. Elisa and I can’t wait until we are empty nesters! (Just kidding.) We chose outdoor seating even though it was pretty cold. It turned out to be absolutely better than perfect. The staff brought out blankets for us to wrap up in while we ate. We had the whole yard to ourselves. We could kiss as much as we wanted.
Mom and Jordy arrived from Italy last night. All week this week I’ve been wishing they’d come back sooner. It’s hard for them to be so close and not here. My mom lost her passport, so that’s a bummer. The rest of the trip sounds like a lot of fun. We have more things we want to do now.
