Month's up, so back to the hospital. Everything's OK, so booked in for Friday. It's not an operation - they give the heart an electric shock, like the dramatic operating table scenes in ER and Casualty. Apparently it's agonising if you're conscious, so they knock you out for a couple of minutes while it's happening. The shock stops the heart, and there's a good chance that when it restarts it will be working properly. Basically Nick's going to be power cycled.

If this had to happen, we were lucky it happened here. It's the teaching hospital for Leuven University, and very impressive. With an international reputation, we're told.

And they have lots of interesting sugar free cakes and biscuits in their shop.

I missed this part of the Jaarmarkt last year, so I spent the day here this time. Well worth it.

The blood thinning is a balancing act, so Nick has to see the doctor every week to get it checked.

Fortunately there's an excellent pizza joint round the corner, to soothe the stress.

Atrial fibrillation, to be exact. That's when the first heart chamber goes all fluttery, so never kicks the main pump into action. Thank God for a pace maker.

Apparently the first thing to try is quick and simple. However the main worry is clots, so Nick has to have his blood thinned with rat poison for a month before they give it a go. And beta blockers. And one or two other things. He's starting to rattle.

Nick's pulse has been an unrelenting 60 since the 'flu, the default setting for his pace maker. The doctor has made an emergency appointment for a heart check at the hospital.