May 2026

March and April 2026 were mostly spent addressing all the medical issues described in my March update.

The tooth that had ejected its filling was itself removed with only minor discomfort from two anaesthetic injections, one in the adjacent gum and one in the roof of the mouth. The visit to the optometrist found the normal slight deterioration of age requiring new lenses in the reading spectacles. The ENT expert offered an intermediate and a more comprehensive option for the nose issue and supplied a nasal spray for the interim. I left a decision on the more substantive options on one side pending resolution of the one remaining major issue – the left knee which turned out to require substantial (though technically only partial) replacement. That meant a stay in hospital. Despite the lure of cheaper options in Shenzhen, Gleneagles in Hong Kong got the vote where a robot (!!) performed the necessary after detailed exploratory MRIs and X-rays, though I noticed from the invoice that didn’t stop the surgeon also claiming a fee.

To say the cost was substantial would be to devalue the language, but in fairness I should add I was on my feet within a few hours, walking with the help of a Zimmer frame for the first week before switching to a stick. In the middle of the third week I was able to discard the stick also and am now engaged in a robust programme of physiotherapy. The one thing those who have walked this road before always say is “don’t skimp on the physio” and they’re right.

Three sessions per day of self-administered exercises plus two sessions per week from the house-calling physio. I’m already back in the swimming pool and next week will come a cautious return to the gym.

On the home front, Alex is back with us which is great for me and Fanny though I gather his big incentive at work is to earn enough to move out! Perhaps as a result he is making solid progress with the various qualifying exams. At the end of April a trip to Beijing with Marion to see son Victor and grandson Dan on his 12th birthday. Still no school place offered to him in Hong Kong for September so he may have to stay up north for the coming academic year.

We are now looking forward to Tiffany visiting in September.