Go With the Flow

After our laid back weekend retreat, we expected the relentless pace of A&E to wake us with a jolt.

However, our return to Cornwall Regional Hospital was greeted with an uncharacteristically quiet waiting room. Presumably the 'mean streets' of Mo Bay had had a similarly peaceful weekend.

Following some now-routine suturing cases, we found ourselves with a gentle trickle of catheters to change. Thrilled by the prospect of such ideal preparation for his impending urology job, Joe launched himself with great vigour into the world of tubes, bags and lubricant.

Strain on surgical services mean that the transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) operations that are so readily carried out in the UK, are far less routine, leaving a population of middle aged men requiring regular tube changes.

Moreover, cases of poor administration or communication mean that many patients arrive with their changes long overdue.

Away from the rather sedate flow of patients through the emergency department, we breezed over to the Montego Bay Yacht Club for a glimpse of the high life.

Situated on an isthmus amongst five star all-inclusive resorts, we had to exercise our very best manners and behaviour to navigate our way into the more refined end of Mo Bay.

In constant pursuit of contrast, we quickly found ourselves in the grittier sways of Downtown, where the shouts of street vendors combined with the cacophony of taxi horns to add further beats to the already musical streets.

The juxtaposition of these two areas, so close geographically, seems to encapsulate the wider variations of culture and wealth that we've seen so far in both our travels and medical travails.

The adventure continues!

Over and out, Joe & Harry