Rain keeps falling on the Spanish Riviera

Unusual for this time of year, The constant rain and cold temperatures still haven't left the Levante region of Spain. Truthfully, the weather isn't the only thing with a bleak outlook here. Last night I spent a half an hour in the pouring rain to fill up my car's gas tank for fear that soon there will be none. Despite the government's promises to lower excessive taxes on fuel for various sectors, their inability to follow through has caused these sectors to go on strike, causing mass hysteria throughout the country.
The truck drivers, fishermen and farmers are the most affected, and fisherman and truck drivers are now on strike to attract the government's attention, in reminder of the unfulfilled promises. (Being the wife of a fisherman, I know for a fact that the government didn't fulfill the promises made to the fishermen after the last strike, even though the media would have you think otherwise. Fishermen are still awaiting the promised funds and help that hasn't come.) While the country can survive without fresh fish, a truck strike means that soon the supermarkets will be out of food, gas stations will be out of gas (when I went, one type of diesel had already been used up, and there was only a bit left of the other type at a few of the pumps). People are stocking up on food and gas as if they were expecting a nuclear attack.
Anyways, I was a bit nervous that this would affect the buses, and that I would have a hard time traveling to Valencia, but luckily I arrived on time and without any problems. We entered the hospital a little before 1:30, awaiting news from Mauri's doctor, but Mauri was still in surgery. After a small wait (in which time the workers went out for two smoking breaks in their scrubs- and went right back into the ICU in the same clothes without any new protection), at about 2:30, the doctor finally came out, and said that the operation had gone well. They finished the grafting on Mauri's left arm using the remaining skin from the back of Mauri's left thigh. Since he had no remaining skin on either thigh, they also removed skin from his left calf. I asked about the area on the right side of his body, where they originally had wanted to graft skin, but it seems that they are going to wait to see if it will regenerate skin on its own now. So, it seems that they have no plans for any more grafting surgeries if all goes well. The doctor also said that the grafted areas of his right arm looked good, and that in about 3 weeks, he'll be able to remove the bandages and let the grafts start to heal uncovered.
We weren't able to see Mauri then, but went back to see him at 6:30. After the surgery, he is unable to use his hands as much as before (both hands have grafted skin and tight bandages), so we couldn't use the walkie talkies. Our visit ended up being a screaming session- to try to communicate through the hospital phone system that doesn't work. Mauri was as sore and upset as he usually is after a curing session, and was even more frustrated about the fact that they still hadn't given him anything to drink (because of the surgery, he hadn't drunk water since midnight the night before) and also about us not being able to communicate well.
As tomorrow they will most likely leave him alone, he should be a lot more comfortable, and in a lot better mood: that's assuming that it is still possible to travel to Valencia tomorrow.