The First Three Days in the UK - Five Hospitals in Two Countries!

Prestatyn Coastal Path

May 8 - 11, 2016

The arrival at Manchester was smooth and going through immigration quickly and with no problem. I was greeted with a big hug and we took off to Holywell. 

Michael had a dragging brake shoe on his car so the following day found us at the mechanic with five or six hours to kill while the parts were acquired and the work completed. We had a lovely day in Prestatyn walking the beach, eating fish and chips, exploring ancient Roman Baths and sampling a crepe in a local creperie. After picking up the car, we headed to the Clwyd Mountaineering Club (CMC) climbing meet at Dyserth Castle Slab.

Four other climbers were already set up and climbing by the time we arrived. I led five very nice bolted climbs. The most difficult of the bunch was Tegengle, a French Sport rated 6a (Yosemite grade 5.7 or .8) sport climb. After I led it, we pulled the rope and Michael was giving it a go. He was at the top, ready to clip the anchor bolts when a hold came off in his hand resulting in a 15'-20' leader fall to the next clipped bolt. On the way down, he grazed his ankle on a small ledge fracturing the left  tibia. There was about a mile walk out but fortunately, a friend was able to bring some crutches making the walk out possible for him. We might have had to call rescue services without crutches!

Michael clearly unhappy
learning he had a "red dot"
on his images

We tried to have the injury seen at the Glan Clwyd Hospital emergency department in Rhyl but there were 50 people waiting and the estimated wait time was 5 hours. Since it was around 9:30-10:00 pm, and he was in no pain, we decided to just go home and go to the local clinic in the morning. An x-ray confirmed the problem is a simple fracture of the tibia. The diagnosis from the orthopedic specialist confirmed the trip to Sicily is off, at least for now. He was put in a full leg split given medication and specific instructions for treatment for the next few days and weeks. 

Between working at a hospital, my injury of two years ago and now this, it would appear that a recurring theme in this relationship is hospitals. We have a grand total of five hospitals we can look fondly upon:

1. BCH - Boulder Community Hospital, my former employer, where Michael spent many hours waiting over the years
2. Ysbty Gwenedd in Bangor North Wales - where I was airlifted to and admitted two years ago
3. Wrightington Hospital in Wigan, England - orthopedic specialist for me two years ago
4. Holywell Community Clinic in Holywell North Wales - where Michael got the x-ray and tibia fracture diagnosis
5. Glan Clwyd Hospital in Rhyl North Wales - orthopedic specialist for Michael

With the Sicily trip off, we are regrouping and rescheduling our travel plans to accommodate the six week delay and hoping for no more new reasons to visit the hospital in the future!