Step Four: Game Time! (Part Four)

Weekend

I felt ok waking up on Saturday and had a big brunch. It was raining, so I laid down for a bit to read. A few hours later when I got up, I felt pretty nauseous and woozy. Even as the rain cleared, I just sat around and read. Finally by the evening I was feeling ok enough to find a bag that would fit my implant box to take home. I checked out the Hatfield Galleria and was finally successful. I made it a quick trip though because at this point in my life, malls are pretty overwhelming with the smells, noise, and crowds. 

I managed to have a tiny dinner after, though it gave me a lot of reflux into the night. 

Sunday morning I woke up feeling ok, so I had another big brunch. It rained again in the morning and cleared up slowly, so I debated between checking out another estate or going to the zoo. I'm fairly ambivalent towards zoos but I figured since this one was in a pretty rural setting and had connections to conservations I'd heard of, it might be worth a shot. I decided to go there instead of walk around dreary gardens. 

The drive there was both nerve-racking and beautiful. Several roads were two-way but only wide enough for one car. That's tough to manage in the best of conditions, but the fields and houses and horses on the way made it even more difficult. I got there no problem, though.

I was a little disappointed in the zoo. The enclosures were pretty small considering the zoo is surrounded by fields (I really didn't understand why the zebras didn't have a legit grassy horse paddock) and half of the park is made up of redundant playgrounds, jungle gyms, and stupid, flashy kid attractions. This led to a lot of noise pollution for the poor animals. One of the gibbons seemed to be exhibiting stereotypical behavior. However, some of their animals were rescued pets and, if the signs were right, they had two very healthy-looking fourteen and fifteen year old wolves, so it definitely wasn't the most depressing zoo I'd ever been to. They also put a lot of emphasis on conservation education, if the kids can be bothered to leave the play area.

On the way home, I stopped at a parking lot on the side of the road to wander around some woods. I didn't plan on being there that long but unsuccessfully tried to make a loop, so eventually I had to backtrack. I met lots of happy off-leash dogs along the way.

I also came across some farm's private agility field

I came back to read and watch a movie and went out for another short walk before dinner. Unfortunately halfway through dinner, the nausea came back and I had to put it away and save it for another day. It lasted into trying to fall asleep and I ended up only getting about three hours of sleep. I also had the worst GI symptoms all weekend. On top of the nausea, I had a little diarrhea and pretty awful gas almost the whole time. Jerusalem artichokes are possibly to blame. 

Day 9

I woke up feeling pretty awful. The implant went ok, though. I spent the next few hours wandering around Hitchin one last time, wandering into the stores I'd missed and buying a couple of things I'd been thinking about. I sat around and read there for a while and then headed home. I ate lunch with a movie, read some more, and went for one last walk while dinner warmed up. I was able to retain the implant the whole day for the first time. 

Hitchin

Day 10 

My allergies were awful this morning and I'm not sure why. My last implant went ok. No angels came down and sang or anything. Afterwards I had my exit interview with Annie. Under the question of what improvements I've seen since the treatment began, I had a big, fat "N/A." But that's ok, because she said that's what 70% of the exit interviews look like. She also told me I should be eating to minimize symptoms. Oops. She said that if I'm experiencing symptoms, I'm not ready to be eating those foods, which makes sense. I'm not concerned I ruined my chances for success, but unfortunately I caused myself unnecessary suffering. I think my plan right now is to go low FODMAP but include sweet potatoes for a few days, and then slowly increase the FODMAPs.

We also talked about how the ideal scenario is that Taymount is just a little local British clinic, since travel messes people up so much, and that implants would be so cheap that people could get their ten, and then take at least forty home with them to use every two every week. I hope that's what the future looks like--lots of little Taymounts all over the world. Maybe if it works and I feel I later need a top-up by then there will be more options. 

I didn't linger in Hitchin and instead headed back to the apartment to clean up and pack. I swung by Hitchin on my way to Heathrow to pick up my two implants. Tonight I'm staying at a hotel close to the airport so my 7 am flight tomorrow is as painless as can be. It's a little bittersweet to leave Hertfordshire. I'd be happy to stay in the area for another ten implants, but I'm also ready to go home, see my animals, and drink some bone broth.