Every other week our new blogger Marie-Anne will take you into her life. She talks about her (patchwork) family, the care in the Netherlands and her knee, which she recently had surgery on for the ninth time. This week she also tells about the first meeting with a special roommate.
I am Marie-Anne, 48 years old, married and mother of three daughters. I have a serious cartilage problem. It all started after a skiing accident, but hereditary factors and factors that doctors still don't know much about also play a role. I have been struggling with my knee since 2000.
Hulk Hogan
Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. After a serious knee operation and two nights in a university hospital in the middle of the country, I am not yet ready to go home. Just before the weekend, I will therefore be transferred from the 'short stay' department to the orthopedics wing.
Not quite clear
I move from a spacious four-person room to a cramped double room. When the nurses roll me in, bed and all, I nod to my new roommate. Since I'm still on morphine, I'm not completely clear. I look and look again. Do you know Hulk Hogan? Google it otherwise, I'll wait.
Look-alike Hulk Hogan is an American wrestler with an unusual appearance. An oversized blond Viking with his own reality soap. He roars loudly and with the best will in the world can't even be called a bit civilized. The ultimate Hulk Hogan look-alike is now just a few feet away from me in his hospital bed. I mumble good afternoon but get no response.
Prejudice
After an hour, Hulk's family comes by. Lots of family. They drive the corset-wearing man out of the room with bed and all, leaving his not-so-subtle body odor behind. Now I like to think of myself as open-minded. I'm not allowed to have any prejudices and decide not to act like that. Hulk is not here for fun, after all.
Don't feel like chatting
I doze off and after an hour my roommate returns with his relatives. He smoked and drank beer so I can smell clearly. Apparently he drove out with the bed and all. I decide to have a small chat but there is no response. Also good:put on headphones and watch television.
Night
Meanwhile, it appears that Hulk has little embarrassment and makes noises from various orifices. I'll spare you the details, but it doesn't sound nice and it doesn't smell fresh. Do I really have to spend the night with this - excusez le mot- Neanderthal so chillingly close? My thoughts are spinning. Am I unkind and frivolous? After some more belching and farting, I now call it man and horse, I decide to throw a ball to the nurses. "Um, I don't feel quite happy here," I say hesitantly. A sweet nurse explains to me that the ward is completely full.
Small surprise
I'm getting ready for a night of live reality with the wrestler when the nurse returns. He has come up with something:at the very end of the corridor is an empty room where I can spend the night. Great!
