Storing my bike in Peru when I return to Brazil

 I have made a separate page about "My Bikes" (link here My bikes) but the only way I could "add" posts to that page was by commenting (there may be another way, but that is beyond my skillset). I added a comment last year about how Oli, my Ronco Demolition, had been abused in my absence and how it had cost a lot to get repaired. I had tried to get to Trujillo to a mechanic there, but the logistics of that proved difficult, and a local motorcycle spares shop recommended a Venezuelan mechanic, who had set up shop at a street corner. Eventually he rebuilt the engine for me, and all appeared well.

I didn't use Oli much last year, mainly to get me back and forth to Trujillo for medical appointments as Chip was occupying most of my time, so never gave him a decent run, but he did appear to be running fine, and I had no real concerns. Towards the end of my stay I was considering where to leave him this time, as I was rather reluctant to go through the same drama again, and happened to notice that a mechanic's premises was open again. I had used this young man extensively in the past, but thought he had given up as I never saw any activity at his workshop, but stopped off for a chat. He had opened a second premises a short distance away, and had been working from there, but was running out of space so had returned. He offered to store Oli for me, and then prepare him for my return the following March.

Three weeks before I was due back I contacted him and asked him to give Oli the once over and prepare him for collection when I got back. However when I arrived he said there was a "noise" in the engine which concerned him, and though it was running he would like to investigate further. 4 days later the pandemic hit, everything shut down, and work ground to a halt!

I was under complete lockdown, due to my age, and for the next three months only "essential" workers were allowed to go to work, and people were only allowed out for food purchases, or medical reasons - and the mechanic was unable to work as most motor spares shops were also closed.

Early June some restrictions were lifted and he said he would be able to continue the repairs, but was till finding sourcing parts to be difficult as inter-provincial transport was still restricted to "essential services" only, predominantly food supplies. I did manage to see him at the end of June, and he told me that when he opened the engine he found some damage, and some issues that had not been resolved the previous year, specifically that the counterbalance was missing! It had clearly broken, and caused some "non-fatal" damage inside the crankcase, and never been replaced - apparently the engine will still run without it, but just runs a little rougher, with more vibration.

Crankcase, showing damage right of centre

These pieces were sitting at the bottom of the crankcase, but fortunately had not done any further damage

Oli, stripped and looking sad

Despite being told the engine had been rebuilt the previous year the mechanic said that many of the damaged parts implied this hadn't been the case, and Oli needed a new crankshaft, piston, connecting rod, clutch and, of course, the missing counterbalance! The damage to the crankcase was not severe enough to require replacement. I gave him a substantial advance to cover parts he needed to buy and left it with him - he also offered to re-paint Oli as corrosion was bad in places.

He contacted me a couple of weeks later and said he was having difficulty sourcing the counterbalance, but that the engine would run fine without it - it would just run a little rough due to increased vibration without the counterbalance - and he should have the bike ready soon, once he managed to get the paintwork done.

I was given a series of collection dates, each which came and went with no sign of completion - paint wasn't dry, there were some missing bolts, a new bearing was needed, gaskets couldn't be sourced, and so on - "nothing major"! Eventually I went round and found him there - he had been ill, but was now getting close, but had had to repaint everything as the varnish he had used had not dried, and caused the new paint to run, and was now waiting for everything to dry!

I was given a new collection date, but when I went round the pieces were still hanging like in the pictures. Now there was a new problem, or rather two - the tank had been sandblasted (all the frame had been) and because of corrosion this had revealed some pinhole leaks, and he was unable to find anyone who could repair it, so I would need a new tank, and also the wiring loom was a mess and needed replacing. This last one threw me as the Venezuelan mechanic had told me he had to replace the loom last year as it had burnt out, but clearly had done nothing of the sort! I was beginning to realise I had been well and truly had the previous year! More money for parts changed hands, and I was given a new collection date.

That, too, came and went, and I was given another - "Guaranteed, I give you my word, I need 7 - 10 more days!" On the tenth day, last Saturday, I went round, and was told it would be ready later that day, but I could collect it on the Monday. I tried contacting him before going round, just to make sure, but received no response, so walked round anyway - only to find out that he was closed until Tuesday (turned out it was his daughter's first birthday and was a big deal), but he did message me that evening apologising, and told me that today, Tuesday, he was going to Trujillo for the final part he needed - a bearing for the handlebars - and would message me as soon as Oli was ready!

It is now 9 months since I first made contact informing him about my return to Peru, and 5 months since I was so confident of getting Oli back that I renewed my SOAT (compulsory insurance). I am currently 2 months past the expiry of my tourist visa (but due to the pandemic and state of emergency here Immigration has allowed all over-stayers to remain until we can leave once the borders re-open), and have spent goodness knows how much on taxi fares into Trujillo for medical appointments, and still, as of this moment, do not know exactly when Oli and I will be reunited!

Being ill abroad - part 3

 When I had returned to my room there was another patient in there in the other bed, and a woman sitting on the sofa the other side of the room, Turned out it was her son who had appendix problems, and was awaiting surgery. I had been told to fast after 08.00, and by 19.00 I was feeling very hungry, and, though I had some water with me, had not even been given anything to drink. An orderly came in with a small jug of slightly yellow liquid with a straw in it, but told me it was very hot and I should allow it to cool - it tasted rather like hot water with lemon in it, and soon after I was brought some food. It was a chicken "soup" with vegetables and a chicken thigh in it, but only a spoon to eat it with - and was delicious, and very welcome!! I also got a visitor!! A friend here, who is a vet and married to a British lady, popped in - he works in the city, and brought a "get well" card drawn by his two young sons, and that was very nice!

The surgeon came to see me shortly afterwards and said he would come in the morning and discharge me if everything continued to look OK. During the night a nurse came in several times and checked blood pressure, temperature and so on, for both of us, and the father of the other young man had replaced the mother, and spent the night on the sofa! I didn't get much sleep, partly due to the discomfort of my shoulder, but also it was quite noisy in the corridor outside, so was really looking forwards to being discharged so I could go home! Breakfast was - well, I am not actually sure what it was. It was a very thin, runny porridge-like concoction, served in a mug, that had a slightly medicinal taste - but I was too hungry to really care that much.

The surgeon appeared, as promised, and gave me the all-clear to go home, and then showed me the amount I owed on his phone, so I had the strange experience of paying the surgeon in cash from my hospital bed! A short while later a nurse appeared with a trolley doing the morning rounds. She was dressed in a protective overall, which also covered her head, and had a mask and facial shield as well as gloves, but, very surprisingly, she did not change the gloves after tending to the other patient first, and then removing my cannula!! 

I was then allowed to get dressed and leave, but was given a prescription for antibiotics and pain relief (opiates!) and had to take my samples, which were in two flasks by my bed, downstairs to the lab for the biopsy! I had to pay for the biopsy, and was told I could collect the results the following week, and then waited by the pharmacy to collect my prescription. It was closed, but I was told they would be back in a few minutes, though after waiting for 40 decided to get my meds elsewhere. I was exhausted by the time I finally got home.

I was told that I should keep the dressing dry, so washing became a bit of a chore, especially hair washing, but fortunately the wound did not get infected - something the surgeon was concerned about due to my age and diabetes - and he changed the dressing after three days, for a smaller one, which did make life a little easier!

As soon as I got the biopsy results, which indicated that Chip, was indeed a benign lipoma, and nothing sinister, I emailed them to the surgeon, and he arranged an MRI scan for me, and the day before I had an appointment for him to remove the stitches, replacing the heavy dressing with a strip of tape.

This fell off after a couple of days revealing the scar!

The day of the MRI I had to fast for 8 hours prior to the 20.20 scan, so no food after midday, and I knew that it would probably be after 22.00 before my next meal - in fact it was 22.30 - so I was starving by the time I got back home and bought in a takeaway! The scan itself was OK, though the noise inside the MRI scanner almost drove me nuts! They stuffed some cotton-wool in my ears, but it just seemed interminable, though probably no more than 40 minutes in total, and I was eventually allowed to go home. I could have waited 40 minutes for my "plates" (X-ray type images) or collect them on Monday (this was Saturday), and they would email (or rather WhatsApp!) the "report" to me on Monday as well. I opted for returning on Monday as I was frazzled and so hungry by then.

After collecting my results the following Monday I forwarded the report to the surgeon, and expected him to ask me to bring in the images (and CD they had also provided). The MRI had also confirmed that Chip was a Lipoma, but called it a Fibrolipoma, a fibrous lipoma, which is hard (a lipoma being fatty is usually soft and pliable), and they also confirmed it was non-malignant. Instead of being asked to see him he arranged an appointment with a surgical oncologist, his professor, and I had to take the results along to him.

He took some notes, looked at the biopsy report, examined Chip, muttering about how hard it was, and how big it was, and then looked carefully at all 8 of the images (each one is a series of about 40 smaller images) - I had shown him the report on my phone as I did not receive a hard copy - and said he thought we might need another biopsy, as he was not convinced it was a lipoma! He said from the images it was very close to my ribcage at the back, and looked as though it was attached to, or underneath, my shoulder-blade, but that he would refer me to the Neoplastic (abnormal cell growth, including tumours and cancer) hospital for further investigation!!

5 days later I got my appointment for 09.00, armed with my biopsy and MRI results, and  I arrived more than 30 minutes early. I was directed to "admissions" and to the "new registrations" counter, where I was asked for "copies" of my paperwork! No-one had told me I needed copies, and do not have the facility at home to make them anyway, but they sent me away to get some done - informing me that one of the "security" guards would show me where to go. This turned out to be a pharmacy outside the gates, and across the Pan-American Highway, and they could "copy" but not "print" - the MRI report was on my phone! So at least I got a copy of the biopsy report, but they suggested I go back up to the roundabout a couple of hundred metres away, and maybe one of the businesses there could print my report - I would have to send it to them by WhatsApp and they could then print it!!

I was starting to panic as my appointment time had passed, so tried contacting both the referring surgeon, and the person I was supposed to meet, while trying to get someone to print my report, with no success!

Both surgeons responded quickly, and both said that the printed reports were not necessary as they could do it later! So back I went to the hospital, and security on the gate were waiting for me - and directed me to a different entrance, where my name was called and I was give a "pre-appointment" ticket and sent back to admissions! The first thing the desk asked was for my copies, so I explained the situation and showed them the messages with the two surgeons, and the receptionist then told me I could send the MRI report to the hospital WhatsApp number and she could print it!! Why couldn't they have done this in the first place??

While waiting for this to go through a doctor in scrubs appeared and addressed me by name, but reception told him I had to be processed first so he wandered off again! I was given a ticket I had to take to the cashier, in another building, and pay for the consult, then return to admissions, and was given a numbered ticket for my appointment. Apparently the 9.00 original time was not an actual appointment time, but a registration time - once processed patients are seen on a first-come-first-served basis - so I had to return to the same area the cashier was in and take a seat and wait to be called. I was number 15, but had no way of knowing how many were still ahead of me, as they called people by name, not number, so I just had to wait patiently - for what turned out to be over three hours!

When my name was finally called the lady surgeon (another surgical oncologist) asked me some historical questions (family history, previous medical history, etc.) then took a look at Chip. Again surprise was expressed at size and hardness (of Chip!!) and then she looked at 2 of the images briefly, before declaring that she was sceptical that it was a lipoma, or that it was benign, and that I needed another biopsy! She handed me three pieces of paper and told me I had to take them to the cashier, then collect some "supplies" from the pharmacy (there is one on the hospital) and then return.

The cashier told me I needed to take one to the pharmacy, but I paid for the other two, and then went to the pharmacy with the "prescription" for the biopsy supplies - it is quite normal here for you to have to provide the equipment needed for the surgery, like needles, scalpel blades, and even Lidocaine - and they produced a typed "bill" which I had to take back to the cashier to pay, before collecting the goods!

Back to the consulting rooms and a brief wait before a nurse came out, took the bag of supplies, and then led me into another consulting room, where the surgeon appeared and performed the biopsy. It was pretty straightforward, and painless, and in 10 days I have to go back for the results, and the circus will commence again!