Things are starting to heat up

Yes, things are starting to heat up in what seems to be every sense possible. "Hace más frío ahora que en enero" said the woman next to me waiting for the bus this morning. Amazingly, she's probably right. Every day I travel to Valencia armed with a jacket, a raincoat and full-length jeans- something usually unheard of this time of year here. With some luck, though, it seems that the sun may decide to show its face tomorrow.
Unfortunately, not all rising temperatures are quite so welcome. For the last few days, Mauri has complained about not being able to sleep because of the heat in his room. Apart from the fact that he normally gets hot quite easily, a number of factors are contributing to that. First of all, his burns throw off the body's ability to regulate body temperature as usual. He has been constantly feverish, and the numerous blood transfusions also make him feel hotter. Combining all of these factors with the fact that he's been, around the clock, in a bed that floats him on a current of 37ºC air (99ºF), make the heat feel unbearable to him to the point of him not being able to sleep at night.
Anyways, the hospital doesn't allow for the entrance of fans, but after talking to Mauri's doctor, Dr. Herrero- one of the only people who seems to show the slightest empathy, we worked out a compromise: we could bring Mauri a fan without fan blades (one that works by air propulsion). So, we bought one.
So, this morning, Mauri was already frustrated. The morning cleaning session was just as painful as ever, despite having been told that each time would be less harsh. The treatment and moving of him was just as brutal as ever. By the end of our visit, though, his spirits were raised by the promise of the fan.
During our visit, a couple of doctors also went to talk to him to show him some exercises that he can start to do to help make the new skin more flexible. He was also told that he'll be able to sit and stand and walk a few steps soon.
We also had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Herrero, who told us that the grafting areas looked good, and that the regeneration of his back also seems to be advancing favorably. He told us that they would do another cleaning session on Friday, which he compared to scrubbing dishes, and that next week they would do a bit deeper cleaning there to try to stimulate further regrowth. With some luck, it is still possible that they will not have to do grafting in those areas.
So, we left the clinic, ate lunch, and then went to buy Mauri his fan. Of course, when we brought it to the clinic, we were once again met by opposition. No matter what I bring him, whether it be a fan or a toothbrush, seems to bother whoever is there to receive it. Heaven forbid that they have to walk the 10 meters to his bed to bring it to him there. The fan, though, seemed to provoke an even stronger reaction.
--No, this can't come in here.
--but we talked with the doctor, maintenance, and those in charge, and bought what we were told was acceptable.
--Well, then, we'll let them plug it in tomorrow because I don't have a written order to allow it.
(OK- up to this point, I can understand the conversation, but the next question seemed to provoke real hatred and anger- an exaggerated response).
--Can't you ask the doctor about it, so that he can sleep with it on?
--No, the doctor is probably busy in the ER. Look, I clean Mauri, I sit him down, I treat him well. If you push me, though, I will treat him badly. Do you want me to treat him badly???
("yo le trato bien, pero si me aprietas, lo trataré mal. ¿Quieres que le trate mal?)
I don't think anyone said anything to provoke this type of threat. Mauri is defenseless all bandaged up, and can't do much by himself. We can't go in there to help him, so we are also helpless. It is frightening, then, that he is being cared for by someone who threatens to treat him badly, and who thinks he's doing us a huge favor by just barely doing his job.
Unfortunately, though, here you just have to "suck it up" and put up with any bad treatment given you. The patient really doesn't have any rights- especially not if he can't defend himself.
To worsen the situation, Mauri had asked to go to the restroom before we arrived at the waiting room at 6PM. They told him that they were bringing someone else first, and that then they would bring him. When we went in at 6:30, though, he still hadn't gone, but didn't push the matter because we were there. He was sitting in a chair and was also quite uncomfortable and tired and wanted to go back to the bed. No one was anywhere to be found until 7:30 sharp when we were told that we had to leave (7:30 sharp, and not a second later: someone also has to treat us badly now- since we don't have enough to deal with as is). So we told the man out front about how Mauri wanted to go to bed and to the bathroom. We were told that he was fine where he was sitting down and that he'd have to wait because a helicopter was coming with a serious burn victim. (A one and a half hour wait isn't enough for having to go to the bathroom, I guess. Who knows, now, when someone can get to him.) He's in intensive care to supposedly have more people around, and get better care, but there are many times when not even one person is around. Mauri has no way to call anyone for help- not that they would anyways. Up until now, the only way to get help was if another less serious patient heard him screaming and got up and left the ICU to look for help. (No, I'm not kidding!!) Unfortunately, though, now he's by himself in the ICU. So, what it comes down to is that they won't let us in to help him, but they won't help him either.
Yes, things are heating up everywhere.
Who was the patient in the helicopter that kept Mauri from having anyone in the ICU to provide him with even the most basic care? A victim of the "peaceful" truckers strike: a trucker whose truck was set on fire with him in it. Lest you think I exaggerate things, I took pictures of the meat section of Mercadona. You'll see that there is little left other than containers of egg yolks and trays of animal fat. These pictures were taken on Tuesday, only a day after the strike began. Since then, there is no fuel left for cars in Denia, and there is very little fresh food left anywhere. I would have taken a picture of the empty produce section and the emptying water/drink section, but I was scolded for taking pictures inside the store.
As much as I'm worried about how the strike will affect our visits, I can only think that I hope they hold out until they actually have a settlement in hand. The fishermen are still awaiting the money that was promised to them in their strike 2 and a half years ago!!!
Who knows, if someone can get the government to take notice, maybe the fishermen will benefit. I'm not holding my breath, though.