Month: July 2012

The coin that Neve swallowed turned out to be a five cent piece as opposed to the one euro she claimed she’d ingested.

Yes, it was horrible and it went a bit like this. Yesterday, after lunch, Isa and I collapsed on the sofa to watch the rest of The Artist while the kids were in bed starting their afternoon nap. I was packed and ready to go and catch my 22:30 flight for which I’d need to leave the house at 8pm. We were tired and emotional, looking forward to a quick siesta as well. Lola and Neve were not settling down. Laughter and chat was getting louder and then took on a more plaintive tone. I went in to tell them to quiet down and found Neve standing near the door and Lola in bed. Neve was a bit distressed and Lola told me she’d swallowed a coin. We quickly took Neve into the kitchen to asses her. She was upset and crying and obviously in some discomfort. There was a brief period (a few seconds) of gagging but she started to settle down quite quickly and was able to drink some rice milk. As she could breath OK and could swallow her drink, we assumed that she swallowed the coin and that we would have to wait for it to be excreted. (A check with Google and BMJ resources confirmed that no internention was recommended in these cases and that the coin would make its way out in one to four weeks.) I calmed Isa, who was wondering about taking her to A&E, and we decided to keep her at home. As she was still pretty sleepy, we put her back to bed and she slept. We went in after twenty minutes and she was sleeping peacefully, so Isa and I went for a quick nap, too.

Within an hour of falling asleep, I woke to find Isa gone and the sound of Neve crying inconsolably with discomfort. I was exhausted and couldn’t wake easily. As such, I was far from a calming influence when I went into the kitchen to find Nonna calling a doctor and a very distressed Isa with an equally distressed Neve. Neve was drooling a fair bit and crying in pain — the kind of locked-in crying that is extremely hard to read and communicate through. I was slow and silent, not properly on-line; Isa was high-speed and panicked. It’s a common response and hard for us to overcome. But we did and within 15 minutes were on our way to Pronto Socorso with Claudio. Neve didn’t want to go and was screaming, “No! No!” as we drove off–though she had calmed down by the time we reached the end of the drive. At this point, our working assumption was that she had bruised or scratched her throat and that this was the cause of the distress.

We got to PS between six-thirty and seven. (A very impressive PS with an enclosed ramp leading right to the door for drop off, continuing down to the car park. The building was extremely clean, air-conditioned, and with an impressive traige system linked to large LCS screens around the waiting areas.) A couple of fantastic male nurses took our details initially and tended to agree that the coin would be in her stomach (as she had no trouble breathing) and we would just have to wait for it to come out. They put us in line for a paediatric doctor, giving us a “green” label. After about a half-hour wait, Isa, Neve and I were called through to see the doctor. The nurse and doctor were also both lovely. We had a quick chat and the doctor agreed it was probably in her stomach. The nurse had a child who had also swalled a coin, and that had been expelled naturally. The doctor, who looked to be in his twenties and also spoke some English, wanted to feel Neve’s stomch but Neve got very distreed and wouldn’t let him. No worries, said the doctor and sent us off for a routine X-ray.

More waiting in Radiography and then I stayed outside while Isa went in with Neve. More waitng and then the doors opened and I found out that the coin was in fact stuck right at the top of her throat. I asked the radiographer if it was in the oesophagus or the trachea, and he said you couldn’t tell from the X-ray–it seemed to be around epiglottis height–but that he expected the oesophagus as there were no respitory symptoms.

Yet more waiting in Radiography, during which the lovely triage nurse happened past and stopped briefly to chat. He’d heard about the X-ray result and said he’d try to get something for Neve to play with. He came back in a couple of minutes with a couple of plastic figurines for her–a princess and a little dog. Neve was delighted and played with them until the nurse came to take us back to the doctor. She was making up stories and songs for them, running around and singing: it was great to see, though I had to ask her not to jump up and down as I was worried she’d dislodge the coin.

By the time the doctor spoke to us it was nearly eight and I was getting pretty anxious about having to leave to catch my flight. I wanted to wait to see what they planned to do before I left. The doctor said that they would get a specialist up to use a short tube to look down her throat and, assuming there were no complications, to pull the coin out (jaws on the end of an endoscpe, I guess). Maybe, he said, a gastroenterologist would be required to take a deeper look.

So I took a difficult and tearful goodbye of Isa and Neve and went to find Claudio. We got home just after half-eight. I was anxious. All the family were there. I rushed around double-checking my bags, packing the stuff that was in the fridge, trying to grab a few mouthfuls of food, and trying to explain all that was going on. Lola, thankfully, was very happy and playing with Stefi. Isa rang and said that they were going to give Neve a general anaesthetic and try to remove the coin, and that she would be kept in for two days. While attempting to digest this, I jumped in the car with Renzo, Stefi and Lola and we set off to the airport.

I explained what was happening to Lola and she understood and was happy that everything was OK. I checked in my bag and joined the queue for security, chatting to Lola all the while. I asked Stefi if she or Giada could stay with Lola that night, as it might be hard for her with just Nonna. As the queue receded, I said my goodbyes. Lola went off looking a bit folorn and I carried on through the system. After security had discovered it was only cibo in my hand luggage (the jokey lady telling me what a feast they’d have had with all the cheese and salami and coffee), I joined a long queue for gate four. Which I where I was still at twenty past nine to say that Neve had gone into theatre. By ten o’clock, we’d gone through customs and I was sitting waiting at the gate when the text came through to say the coin was out without complication and that Neve was out and sleeping.

That’s what that smell is, said Neve, as we cycled up to Volpago del Montello at 07:30 this morning, having got up early to avoid the heat.

We went up the Via Sambugo and then Via Antiga. Past the quarry, dodging the water squirters watering the maize fields. Past run-down farms and ageing dogs, roadside shrines and basking dragonflies. Over the canal and on down towards the Montello. The heat was rising as we hit Volpago at 08:30 so we stopped for a quick breakfast at the first bar we found (which, unfortunately, produced cappucini alla Inglese along with some rather dubious pastries) and then headed home down the same route.

Neve’s bum has become a famous local landmark as it is barely ever covered. She can hardly be blamed for disrobing at every opportunity: it’s often hitting 40 degrees and is generally over 75% humidity. Afa they call it here. Humans hate it; mosquitoes love it. Mosquitoes also love Lola, who is getting bitten terribly. She seems particularly reactive and has had quite a few go weepy and pussy.

It’s true. Though they are getting longer: it’s getting dark by nine now. Though when it’s light, it’s very very light. (Or “wewwy, wewwy light, as Neve might have said not so long ago.) Neve has done one of those growing-up spurts while here. I remember we noted the same in Lola before–there’s a lot of context change, a lot of new data to crunch. She’s doing a great job of trying out Italian and is always repeating and using phrases she hears.

Neve’s got over her timidity around i zii now — she’s quite happy to play with Claudio and Renzo. In fact, she greets everyone with great delight and excitement. She really is an incredible little girl, so like her own caricature with the great big brown eyes and that amazing grin. She continues to love to chat and tell stories and talk about what she’s going to do with her friends. While we’ve been here in Italy she keeps saying, “when we get back to our house I’m going to go with Otis to the swimming park”.

She’s been getting really into the two Barbie dolls which are here–she gets up in the morning and the first thing she wants is her Barbies. I say “her”, but that is, of course, the root of some litigation as Lola wants to share and expends a lot of effort trying to get them away from Neve and to be “fair” about sharing them. Fairness is currently the cause of quite some parental exasperation…

She still often runs to Isa or me for a big cuddle and a spontaneous, “I love you sooo much!”. Which is as lovely as ever.

After great anticipation on Lola’s part, her and Neve’s moment as flower girls finally arrived. Saturday was a hot day, but not blistering, and with the frequent but unrequited threat of rain. Preparations went pretty smoothly. Isa was, as ever, stuck doing everyone’s hair throughout the day and we (Lola, Neve, Dedi, Nonna and I) left her doing Giada’s hair when we set off for pre-wedding refreshments at Bruna’s house.

Isa turned up in time to join in for a while before we had to head off to the church for 5pm. We should really have left five minutes earlier because Selena, not one for adopting the role of fashionably late bride, beat us there and was waiting, chomping at the bit, outside the church while we struggled to get the kids unbelted and into position.

We all had no doubt the priest was right when he later said Selena was the most punctual bride he’d ever had. We managed to get the girls in front of the bride and her father just in time and Lola did a great job of walking the rings down to the altar. Neve, who is terribly timid these days, broke ranks and walked down the side with Isa, joining again at the end.

The service was an odd mix of formal liturgy and personal musings from the priest who revealed the reactionary nature of the Church when he spoke of Alvise’s needing sometimes to recognise his wife’s tiredness and offering to wash the dishes occasionally. And of how he had to make sure he showed his wedding ring to any pretty females he encountered so that they would be put off and, presumably, save him from his own temptation. All a bit wince-worthy. By the time they got to the mass, Lola had her arms folded and was staring heavenwards with a look that might have caused any deity to waive the rest of the show. It wound up pretty quickly after that, though, and the bride and groom retired into whatever the area behing the altar is called to have some pics taken. Lola was a bit put out that she wasn’t invited up there with them but we managed to get their attention and they were very happy to pose for a couple of pics with Lola and Neve. Lola was very chuffed.

So then it was time to line up outside the church and throw rice at the bride and groom — another moment of great excitement for the kids who, not happy with the brevity of it all, spent the next 15 minutes collecting fallen rice and re-throwing it Isa and me.

After the picture-taking, we all drove off to the reception which was in a restaurant about 30 minutes drive away called “I Sette Nani” (“The Seven Dwarves” — don’t ask me why, the staff looked pretty normal to me). We started outside with prosecco and sangria and pre-antipasti food: the sliced-to-order carpaccio of swordfish was my favourite, I think. But there were all sorts of things from battered whitebait and fishy pastries to fruit skewers. Once the bride and groom arrived, and a little more milling had been done, we all retired inside for the start of the meal proper.

Nine or so courses later we were all done. Amazingly, the girls managed to keep going to the end. Lola had a bit of a crisis around course six, but got a second wind and was dancing and playing chase at midnight. We left “early” — just as the coffee was being served at around 1am. The girls were asleep before we left the car park. Dedi didn’t know the way back and her own in-car navigator didn’t know the way home, so I fired up Google’s navigator app and that took us home without problem.

Isa had a haircut booked with Susi today, so Neve and I tagged along for the chance to wander round Treviso a bit. Lola, true to form, didn’t fancy shopping, or going to the coffee shop, and opted to stay with Zia Dedi and help her in the gelateria.

Neve was fantastic company: chatty and funny and interested in everything as she generally is these days. It was a blisteringly hot day so the first thing we did was to get an ice-cream each and sit on the steps of the duomo to eat them. We sat there for a while, licking and chatting and watching the world go by — a favourite hobby of Trevigiani. Then we browsed the bookshop at the top of the road and bought notebooks for Neve and Lola to use as diaries during their stay. (I always remember the diary Mum and Dad made me write when we spent that holiday near Etel. It means a lot to have such things to look back on.)

Then we wandered off around Treviso, under the portici down to Piazza dei Signori, round the back and past Grazia’s old shop, and back up via Piaza Borsa. Or something like that; I’m not convinced my knowledge of Treviso is that accurate. We stopped for a coffee in that old bar with the lovely stained glass skylight. Well, I had a coffee and Neve had some water. She sat with me at the bar on a high stool and the ladies running the bar were delighted with her. As were many other people around Treviso who commented on how pretty she was in her Chinese dress.

After our tour, and after we’d popped into a supermarket to buy a bottle of plonk, we went back to Susi’s salon and waited for Isa to be finished. Time was running late by the time she was, and Susi kindly offered to drop us back at Dedi’s. Which meant we had to pop to Susi’s place first to pick up Sole and Duccio. By chance, Marino was there, too, so a spot af chat ensued before we all (except Marino) piled into the car and went to the gelateria where Lola was delighted by the surprise visit.

For the first time, we are visiting Italy in July, despite dire warnings not to due to the suffocating heat and humidity. Not that we had any choice — that’s where Selena plonked her wedding. She’s obviously a sadist. Still, I’m a bit of a fan of suffocating heat and humidity, particularly after being exposed to the persistently wet and chilly weather we’ve had in England for the last few months.

What I’m not so keen on is the possibility of further shocks following the 5.8 magnitude earthquake the hit Bologna in May. Residents here were recently treated to a “what to do in the event of an earthquake” meeting courtesy of their local council. Very reassuring. According to Nonna, “they” expect a larger quake to round off the series.

It’s only 32 degrees here today and there’s a fresh little breeze. We arrived yesterday morning and did the traditional stepping off the plane into a wall of heat thing. We spent a sticky day around the house getting reaquainted with all the family; and the girls re-found their bikes and toys.