“Moulage?” I asked the nurses when I was back at JK yesterday. She told me it was French for casting/moulding. I guess I’ve missed a few expressions, even though I’ve studied this particular Romance language. I am starting to wonder where “all” my French has disappeared to considering the amount of time and, not to mention, capital I’ve spent on it. Paradoxically, going to France doesn’t automatically mean that you pick up the language, but there were exceptions; IMEF (Montpellier ‘95) and CIDEF (Angers ‘97- ‘98) are two. Moreover, if I had gone to Angers a year earlier I would have been class mates with no other than the Swedish Crown Princess herself, Victoria Bernadotte. No wonder there were so many Swedes there my year. At least we could sip “café crème sur terrace” in the bistros she had allegedly graced with her presence.

Unless you are interested in French courses or Swedish Royalty and already clicking away, I thought I would let you in on what happened yesterday. Firstly, “Moulage” i.e. casting of the mask. I felt like I was back on the operating table again. However, instead of the oxygen mask, my face was now covered with something warm and wet. They were quick to “stretch” the soft plastic-like material wrapped over my mouth and nose to provide air. My masked head was subsequently strapped down and securely fastened. For the next five minutes or so a nurse massaged my face as the plastic dried. I’ve never treated myself to a facial; perhaps this is what it’s like? My masseuse seemed new to the game and under close scrutiny of another nurse. All went well apart from her forgetting that the mask was initially soft and so are my nostrils. I could only make incoherent sounds and I’m not sure whether she realized that for two long seconds I was sure to suffocate. Click here to see the final result.

I thought this was enough for one day, but no, a Computer tomography (CT) had been scheduled as well. I don’t mind the CT, as I was fortunate to get one in ER all those weeks ago (time flies, doesn’t it?). It’s just that they inject you intravenously with a contrast agent and, well, I’m not going to start rambling about needles again.