It Happened in Italy – Physiotherapy in Italian

2016-11-19 | puppy1952

Before the Italian Doctors would discharge The Earl, they insisted that he should spend some time in their rehab facility. This would, of course, all happen in Italian. So down to Piano Zero he went. He still had a private ward separated from his neighbour by a curtain so not quite so luxurious. And the view was not as good either. Each day he would have at least three sessions of physio with qualified and student therapists. There was very little English spoken or understood so Lady Helen brushed up on the names of body parts and words for instructions she thought The Earl would need to understand. Stand up, sit down, bend your arm, breathe in, breathe out etc. She was then equipped to serve as interpreter during all his sessions. The therapy was excellent. His pulse was checked every few minutes and he was asked if he was dizzy or had any pain. L.H. was glad she’d been diligent in her study of all the terminology as most of the time she was able to help her husband answer the questions. Of course Itranslate helped too. The trouble with this app though, is that it is slow and if one mis-types a word it won’t give an accurate translation! Lady Helen’s accent and pronunciation were not perfect and there were some confusing and funny moments. On one occasion the nurses needed to help The Earl into a chair. Lady Helen saw that he was in pain and called out – Mela, Mela thinking she’d said pain, pain. But when they stared at her with a question mark on their faces she realised her mistake and said – No I don’t want an apple – Male, male. The nurses burst into fits of laughter.

This gorgeous girl was the only nurse who could speak English – and she was Polish!

The word for cough was learnt very quickly as it formed a large part of the therapy. “Aspirare, espirare, tosse” Breathe in, breathe out, cough.”

See the look of concentration (and fear for the coming cough) on the Earl’s face

Oooh and it was so sore! But The Earl was cooperative and worked hard with his therapists – he wanted to get well sooner rather than later!

Perhaps he should take up ballet now.

The amazing staff – Nurse, Duty Doctor and Physiotherapist

Student Therapists doing their thing

Student doctors

Anything to keep a pretty girl happy

Expressing his appreciation!

The teacher – “Ha fatto bene” (He did well)

The Earl made good progress and while he was in rehab the days were busy. All the therapy exhausted him though so he slept a lot between sessions. Lady Helen was sure to take breaks and would take long walks around Arechi or take the train to Salerno to buy airtime or do some sight seeing.

On one such trip she’d returned to the apartment to pack up all their belongings in preparation for the time when they would have to move out. On her way back to the station she stopped at a coffee shop and sat down to enjoy a croissant and Americano. The tables were all taken when two Italian signoras and a bambino came looking for a place to sit. L.H. invited them to share her table. How lovely to discover that one of them could speak English! Not the bambino. She couldn’t even speak Italian. No, it was the friend of the mama. She was an English teacher and interpreter! She asked L.H. where she was from and how she was enjoying Italy. “Wonderful of course except that my poor husband is in San Leonardo recovering from heart surgery.” She told her new friend.

Lady Helen still keeps in touch with Svetlana (centre)

She was very kind, gave her ladyship her card and said if she could help in any way she was to call her. Lady Helen doubted she would need to but it was heart warming to know that she cared! The friendly company, excellent caffѐ and wonderful English conversation improved Lady Helen’s mood a hundredfold. She returned to San Leonardo fortified and ready to face the language struggle again.

It Happened in Italy -Recovering on Piano Sei

2016-11-18 | puppy1952

Lady Helen was still in a dead sleep when the ringing of her phone awoke her. “What have they done now,” she answered in a panic.
“Nothing at all,” answered a cheerful voice, “I just saw a missed call and wondered what you wanted.” She breathed a sigh of relief – that missed call was from the day before when he’d had his roaming switched off. Lady Helen
The nurses had got him up and allowed him to go at his pace with no with no pulling from them. They weighed him and washed him and all went well.
She decided not to go up to the ward until she was sure that the grumpy cleaner had done the floors and just as she was leaving to have breakfast The Earl messaged , “The coast is clear – you can come now😄”
So after her coffee and croissant she went straight there. “Buongiorno,” she called to the duty man and marched confidently toward the lifts.
“Singnora!” He called. “No”
She went up to the desk and said, “Mio Marito ha una camera privata. Posso andare”
My husband has a private room. I may go up.
He wagged his finger at her and shook his head. She smiled politely as he picked up the telephone and prattled away in rapid Italiano. Then he put it down and without a word waved her on. ” I told you so,” she said cheekily in English. He just glared at her and shrugged his shoulders. And that was the last time she had any trouble from the reception staff. They all greeted her politely and sometimes even asked how her husband was doing. And when she saw the cleaner she made sure to compliment him on his floors, “Pavements pulito!” Even he had the grace to smile.
“Come stai Mio Marito?” she would call to the nurses (How is my husband?)
“Bene!” would come the cheerful reply. (Well!)
Filippo visited every day being able to have a conversation with someone he could understand always cheered The Earl up. What a lovely guardian angel he was.

The Earl had a great view from his ward window

It was fun to watch the helicopters taking off and landing on the helipad

Once the staff understood that she would be allowed in the ward all day they became used to her. L.H. tried not to get in their way and they soon realised that she was more use than nuisance. The Earl was too sick and impatient to use his ITranslate App but L.H. had learned some Italian before leaving S.A. and used her app effectively. And so she served as an adequate interpreter between patient and nurse or therapist. All the doctors they met could speak English. None of the nurses could except for one who was actually Polish.
Each day a team of nurses and student doctors along with a teaching doctor would come to examine The Earl. At the first examination a nurse asked L.H. to leave but the doctor insisted she stay. Some of the procedures were unavoidably painful but they allowed L.H. to hold The Earl’s hand and he was very brave. The doctor always gave her feedback and asked her questions about how she thought her husband was coping. The care was in fact extremely good.
For the first few days L.H. had to do a lot of ‘nursing’ but after a while The Earl was able to walk down the passage on his own, sit at the table for his meals and get up with just a little bit of assistance.

Even in hospital, Italian food is good – too much for The Earl to manage in the beginning.

He remained on the sixth floor for five days and then was transferred down to the rehab ward where he would have intensive physiotherapy. More on that tomorrow.

It Happened in Italy – Coping in a foreign language

2016-11-17 | puppy1952

Although it had been nine days since the first ambulance ride through Salerno followed by another three days later which led to hospitalization and a double bypass operation, Lady Helen still found it hard to accept that her husband was really ill. The Earl seemed so well those few days before surgery but now he was weak and reliant upon her. She knew he w0uld get better and that he was receiving excellent care but it was just so hard to see the strong man that she always relied upon for so much being so vulnerable.

On the third morning he rang his wife and was almost in tears. “Why aren’t you here? They’re killing me!” L.H. marched over to the hospital with her boxing gloves on. She walked across the cleaner’s freshly mopped floors. He yelled some profanities at her but she didn’t care, “Bastardo i pavimenti ! Mio Marito ha male!” In other words – bugger the floors my husband’s in pain.

The nurses had “rukked”him into a sitting position which caused the pipes to pull and hurt his chest. He’d asked them to let him get up slowly on his own but clearly they had not had the patience to try to understood his words and followed their lifting training to get him into the position they wanted him to be.

L.H. told the nurses to please be gentle and to do things slowly. “Gentile e lentemente per favore!” (Gently and slowly please) The Earl was in a great deal of pain and said he wanted the doctor so she insisted they call him. They glared at her and told her in Italian that it was normal to have pain after surgery but she insisted, so one of them complied. The duty doctor was there within minutes! She didn’t think that would have happened in South Africa.

He spoke excellent English. She explained to him that The Earl wanted to get up on his own, at his own pace and would he please tell the staff to comply with his wishes. He, of course, tried to be diplomatic and said it was because they didn’t understand English and thought they were doing the right thing. “Yes, I know,”said L.H. “And we really appreciate everything. We probably wouldn’t have had better treatment in our own country, but he is very upset and if the nurses just let him do things at his own pace he would be more cooperative.” He examined The Earl and gave him more pain meds then spoke to the staff. They glared at L.H. unhappily and pussy footed around her for the rest of the morning. She in turn did not want to alienate them so thanked them for all they were doing for her husband. It was a while before they smiled at her again.
She left for half an hour and when she returned a nurse was busy taking the tubes out of The Earl’s chest. The nurse indicated that she stay out. She asked The Earl if he was okay and he gave the thumbs up. “It’s okay,” he said, “He is not hurting me.” Then a whole team arrived and had a party in the ward. They kissed each other in the continental way and greeted each other like long lost friends. This included the duty doctor. They shut the ‘grande porta rossa’ (big red door) and L.H. was not even allowed to peep in.

La grande porta rossa – Chiusa!

She was feeling a bit miffed when one of the operating doctors arrived. He was politeness personified and asked her how things were. “Mostly good,” she replied “But they won’t let me in and I don’t know what’s going on. The language is a problem.” She also told him about the earlier rough treatment. He chatted to her for a long time and was very reassuring. He said that The Earl would not be able to travel for at least a month. This meant they would not be able to go to Diamante to join their friends after he was discharged. They would have to spend the rest of their holiday close to the hospital in Salerno.
The surgeon then went into the ward and after a while L.H. was called in to answer some questions about medication, allergies and past illnesses etc.
After this The Earl settled down a bit and the nurses left them alone until lunch time. L.H. fed him a few spoons of soup – his first food since the operation. He then decided that he would sit up and with her help and not a bully nurse in sight, he got himself to sit with his legs over the side of the bed and he finished his soup on his own.

L.H. then went to have her own lunch and brought him back a gelato al limonate which he managed to eat half of. A sure sign that he was on the mend.

Feeling a little better

L.H. was only going to spend a day or two at the hospital hotel but it became clear that The Earl was not going to cope without her so she booked in for longer and in fact ended up staying for the duration of his time in the hospital. She would arrive after breakfast, stay till lunchtime, take a break for an hour or two and then return till after evening visiting time. The Captain and his Admiral visited at the allowed times and moved on to Diamante when their time in the Salerno accommodtion was up. The Earl would be in hospital for almost three weeks and then he and L.H. would stay in a hotel until Dr P gave the okay for him to fly.

It Happened in Italy – The Day After Surgery

2016-11-16 | puppy1952

Lady Helen slept fitfully and woke up early the day after the surgery. Dr P phoned her at 8 o’clock. The news was good. The operation was very successful and The Earl was still in recovery but would be moved to the sixth floor later that morning. She could come and see him at 11 o’clock. He then allowed her to speak to her husband.

“Hi my darling – bring me some chocolate gelato!” he pleaded. The doctor’s voice could be clearly heard in the background – “no, no! Lemon Gelato only!” A clear indication that her Earl was better.

She wondered if she would have any problem getting past the mafia at Ground Floor Reception as she had every other day since he’d been in San Leonardo.   So she prepared herself for battle and practised the Italian sentences for “Dr P says I can go up to the sixth floor to see my husband. Phone him if you don’t believe me”. At said time she approached the desk with a look that she hoped was intimidating. She prattled off her sentences. He eyed her suspiciously, picked up the phone and she heard him bark off the query to whoever was on the other end of the line. Then he pointed to a chair – ‘Sedersi li’ — sit there. —‘Dr P sara venire’ — Dr Panzo will come.
So she waited a minute or two and then the great man himself escorted her to the hallowed halls of ‘Piano Sei’. The Earl was in a semi-private ward and when he saw her he observed the  emotion on her face and said softly. “Please don’t cry!”
Dr P said – “Everything is going to be alright. Your husband is making a good recovery” But there he was with tubes coming out of his chest and in his neck and nose and looking so vulnerable.   But his colour was good so she knew she needn’t worry.

The Earl looking good after surgery

Gelato, though, was not an option! All he could do was have tiny sips of water. It was nil per mouth for the rest of the day. The staff were told very firmly that she could stay for a while and that The Earl would be moved later that afternoon to a private ward and once there she could come as often as she liked for as long as she liked. The staff did not look happy but didn’t dare contradict the Lord of the Ward.
She stayed for 40 minutes and then left The Earl to sleep.

She’d discovered the way the lunch vouchers worked and got an excellent lunch which included fish, vegetables and pasta for just five euros. She could have had pane (bread) too but it would have been just too much. The water was also included in the price.

He was not a happy chappy when she returned at 3:30. A bully nurse had hurt him when they moved him from the semi to the private room. They’d been rough with him when they put on his pajamas and he was full of anger and frustration. His chest hurt and he was coughing painfully. Of course to he who is full of tubes and not feeling great all these were major problems. LH. spoke to two of the staff in very poor Italian and told them that he was upset and to please be gentle and that one of them had hurt him. They looked surprised but certainly go the message. L.H. was sure they were all very kind and caring and just doing their job. He’d asked them in English to please let him sit up on his own but they hadn’t understood a word and probably thought he’d said please help me up. L.H. also suspected that The Earl was experiencing a bit of post operative depression. Nothing was right. She didn’t hold the water cup to his lips correctly, she didn’t straighten the bed properly, the tubes were definitely not working properly and she was please to call a nurse to sort it out. A wonderful male nurse came to to the rescue and spent ages trying to explain how everything worked and that put The Earl’s mind at rest. As a noble electrical expert he needed to know how things worked.

A rather dishy nurse.

Some things did cheer him up though. Chantal and Jeremy put a smile on his face with their hilarious Whatsap voice message. Princess Lolz’s favourite daughter message had him asking her to bring him over a roast leg of lamb. Granddaughter Shannon brought a twinkle to his eye when she sent a message from boarding school filled with hearts and loving get well words and he even joked with Tommy by replying to him with these words – Sorry I can’t fish with you at the moment – I left my finger lappies in Cape Town!
L.H. was exhausted after spending four hours with him even though he slept part of the time. She was relieved to get back to her room to have her solitary meal washed down with a yogurt tub of wine.

It Happened in Italy – The Day of the Surgery

2016-11-15 | puppy1952

The Earl’s surgery was scheduled for 12 noon. Lady Helen walked over to the hospital, confident that she could go straight up to the ward and spend a few hours keeping her husband company before his ordeal. Well, she managed to slip past the man at reception downstairs but when she got to the ward the trouble began. A man diligently cleaning the floors yelled at her – in Italian of course. She did not need to understand the language to know that he was saying, “Get off my clean floors – you are not allowed in here!”

Mio pavimento pulito!

L.H. was in no mood to be cast out. “Mio marito – medico detto visito”(my husband – doctor says I can visit) Bad grammar – yes – but it was after all it was her third language and she hadn’t reached sentence level yet.

He was having none of it but a nice nurse came to her rescue and allowed her one minute; enough time to give him a hello kiss then she ushered her out and showed her into a sterile waiting room with a statue of Jesus looking down upon her with kindly eyes. Lady Helen was distraught and so was The Earl.

Jesus and Mary were her only comfort

Earlier his room-mate had been given privileged treatment because he was a staff member. His entire family of five had been with him till he was wheeled out for his surgery. Why then were the Inglese being treated differently? With the aid of his ITranslate App he complained about this to the medical mafia.

At the same time Lady Helen went to the duty desk and pretended to cry – Posso coraggio. (I can give him courage) she tried hard to impress upon the nurse. He shook his head and pointed to the waiting room. Obviously he was used to Italian histrionics -and her version was too tame for him.
But then along came another nurse. And she said it would be fine if the Earl joined her in the waiting room. She’d been the one to allow it for the room mate too. So they were left alone with Jesus and Mary presiding until The Earl needed to return to his ward to be prepared for surgery.

The Earl in the sterile waiting room

Before leaving she asked what time she could see him after the operation but all they did was shrug their shoulders and point to their watches.

It was great to have had that time with The Earl but L.H. felt a little shaky and tearful as she walked back to the hotel to ask about lunch.
“Ho fame – pranzo?” ( I am hungry – Lunch?)
Some other guests were there and they said they were going to the ospedele restaurante and invited her to join them. In Italian of course. The dad was due to be admitted for surgery and his kids were there to support him.
They thought L.H. was American but she put them straight on that – “Sud Africa – Chris Barnard – numera una cuore.” She tapped her heart and transferred her hand to the chest of the son trying to make the young man understand that it was a South African doctor who performed the very first heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in 1967. “Capisci?” He looked at her blankly but very politely said, Si!
But obviously he’d never heard of her Chris.
Lunch was lovely – a salad and acqua for L.H. and then coffee – and the Italians really tried to make her feel welcome.

The Hospital Canteen

A delicious salad

Lady Helen’s kind friends

She showed them photos of The Earl and said, “Mio Marito Cuore operanzione”( My husband – heart operation) which they understood. “Mia figlie preoccupato – papa” (My daughters – worried – dad.) They got that too! And so they continued to communicate with words and gestures. Priceless! It was a comforting interlude but she never saw any of them again.
At 4:15 L.H. headed for the hospital. Dr P had told her that she could be with The Earl when he came round. But the man on duty said, “No, visita alle sei” No, Visiting at 6:30. Lady Helen argued. “Medico detto mi posso visitato Mio Marito”. The doctor said I can visit my husband. He understood. But said No. She began to cry. Genuinely this time. A man who was sitting in the waiting area came up immediately and started to translate for her. She told him that her husband was having surgery and that the doctor had told her she could be there when he woke up. He started to interpret but the receptionist said, “I can understand English.” Then why hadn’t he spoken to her in English!! L.H. was furious and continued speaking to him in poor Italian. “Sono solo in Italia. Voglio mio marito visitare.” I am alone in Italy. I want to visit my husband. Perhaps it was because she continued to try to communicate in Italian or perhaps he genuinely felt ashamed that he had not been more gentle but he picked up the telephone and after speaking a few sentences he turned to her and said in a kind voice. “Your husband is still in surgery. Just wait a little while longer.”
Then a few minutes later he called her to follow him and escorted her to the recovery room. Three doctors whom she had not met previously greeted her at the big red door.

They spoke to her in perfect English and told her that everything had gone very well. One doctor introduced another like this: ‘This is not Dr Barnard – but he is close!’ That reassured her ladyship greatly!

The Real Chris Barnard in 1967

They were extremely kind and allowed LH. to don a sterile robe and slippers. Then they led her to The Earl. He was not conscious. She spoke to him and shed a tear or two and then they gently led her away and said that she could come back the following morning when he would be in High Care. They were so kind and caring and later Lady Helen found out that allowing her in was unheard of. She was clearly only given this special treatment as she was “Solo in Italia” and only seeing her husband in the flesh would reassure her that these Italian “Chris Barnards” had done a good job!

Share your World #Week 46

2016-11-15 | puppy1952

Here are my answers to Share Your World #Week 46

Are you a traveler or a homebody?

I am a traveler and use my home in Struisbaai as a base although I love it there too! Most of my travelling is done within South Africa and mainly to places where the game roam free.

What kind of TV commercial would you like to make? Describe it.

I would like to make a TV commercial encouraging parents to make reading to their children a bedtime ritual – there are so many benefits to this – special bonding time, improving vocabulary, creating a love for reading. Too any parents thing having children read to them for homework is what creates a good reader. They are wrong – it’s the other way round.

Describe yourself in a word that starts with the first letter of your name.

Here are a few – Happy, hopeful, hilarious, hip, honest, hungry for adventure.

List some fun things for a rainy day.

Definitely not playing board games. Snuggling up with a good book, blogging, reading blogs or watching a good movie.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

We have sold our family home in Cape Town and were there to pack up last week. I am grateful that most of the junk has been sorted and moved off to places where it will be put to good use. Our much loved and very old piano has gone to a little girl who is beginning lessons next year and this really makes me happy.

I am also grateful that we have found somebody to landscape our garden in Struisbaai – The rockery is done and I just love it!

The Cape Francolin also likes the new rockery

Next week will require another trip to Cape Town – I am sure I’ll be grateful for what is achieved there but I am not looking forward to going back so soon!

It Happened in Italy – The Hospital Hotel

2016-11-14 | puppy1952

On the morning of the 24 August Lady Helen woke to the sound of a message on Whatsap. Her darling sister had woken up at 3:30am worrying about her. Later she found that this was the exact time that an earthquake hit Italy and she messaged L.H. to find out if she was okay. As they were far from the scenes of devastation she was able to reassure her sister that all that was quaking were her nerves with the build up to The Earl’s surgery.

That afternoon Lady Helen sorted out some clothing and packed a small bag. Their guardian angel, Filippo had organised for her to spend two nights in the Hospital Hotel so she could be close to the Earl or the first day or two after his surgery which would take place the following day.

As Murphy’s Law would have it the trains were late – a most unusual occurrence in Italy. Perhaps it was related to the Earthquake 300km away?

There were lots of announcements in Italian and even when they came through in English they were difficult to hear above the noise of the loud, excitable Italians who were freaking out over the delays. Two young boys realised that she was Inglese and politely told her that her train would be leaving from a different platform. They’d read the board correctly but in fact the train had been cancelled so she had to trek back to Platform 7 again and there she waited another half an hour before the next train to Arechi arrived.
Checking into the little hotel, which was run by The Lions, was not an easy exercise. The receptionist was in a wheelchair and her English was non-existent. LH. told her in Italian that she would write her details in the book for her but she would not allow it and copied everything down from her passport. Then she prattled something off that sounded like directions to her room but she didn’t give her the key. So she said, “Chiave, per favore.” (key please) The old lady pointed to the key on the hook behind the desk – and that’s how L.H. found out which number she was in!

The Accommodation was cheap and cheerful

It was like a boarding school room

Clean but no toilet seat

Tiny shower – not for the oversized

It provided for all ones basic needs

Lady Helen then asked her about meals. “Domani,” she kept saying which L.H. knew meant tomorrow and finally worked out that she would only get vouchers for the Hospital restaurant the following day. “Pizza qui,” she said. “Pizz here”

No I can’t eat pizza -L.H. indicated that she had a sore tummy. “Insalata per favore,” she begged. She prattled away rapidly and L.H. finally got the word – negozio which means shop. The old lady pointed and waved her arms in a vague direction quite certain that her ladyship could figure out where to go. Luckily Filippo arrived just before she left to visit The Earl and he told her that the supermarket had a lovely deli and that it would be open till 9 pm.
That evening the visit with The Earl went well and except for a few gripes about loose wires hanging from the television and cleaners who could do a better job if they put some effort into it, he was feeling pretty positive. His tummy was still bleeding so L.H. went to find a male nurse to fix it. She practised the sentence before she called him and when he heard what was wrong he came immediately and dressed the wound again.
Before she left she spoke to the male nurse at the desk again and asked if she could come in to see The Earl before his operation at midday. With the use of his ITranslate and hers they managed to communicate and she was told that she should be there at 9 and that they would will get him ready for surgery between 10 and 11. It would be a four-hour operation.
She went back to her room to drop off all the stuff she’d taken from The Earl as he would not be returning to that ward. Then she walked to the wonderfully recommended supermarket and came back with some delicious Italian food. She had to buy plastic knives and forks to eat it with and she ate from the containers as her lady host had no plate to offer her. However, there was a small kitchen with a communal fridge, tiny microwave oven and a hot plate to cook on. She ate her meager meal of Italian delights and then sat down to write an email to family and friends.

It Happened in Italy – In Excellent Hands

2016-11-13 | puppy1952

International SOS did not get back to Lady Helen within the promised three hours. When the Earl phoned L.H. the next morning she had no news for him. The Earl went straight into stress mode. L.H. feared he would have a heart attack and ruin all the good care he had received. His mood dived from cheerful to depressed and to make matters worse he’d had an injection in his stomach which bled like crazy. “I called a nurse to look and he looked at it, prattled something and then just walked away. Nobody cares if I bleed to death!”

“I don’t think it’s anything to worry about,” said L.H. “It’s just that you don’t understand their words. I’m sure they said – ‘this is perfectly normal My Lord’ – only it sounds like ‘I don’t care’ to the untrained ear.”

The Earl was not amused. “You have to get me out of here,”he whined. “If they can’t stop the bleeding from a simple injection imagine what will happen when they open my chest! I will die on a foreign operating table. I want to go home!”

“Don’t be silly, Darling.’soothed L.H. “You’re in a First World country, in the best heart hospital in Europe. You’re more likely to die if you get on an aeroplane in your condition!”

“Well I’d rather die in my own language, and it will be cheaper too!” he sulked.

It was, of course, the worry of how much all this was likely to cost that was really causing the melt down so L.H. turned herself inside out to get answers from their insurance broker, International SOS and The Hospital. Finally the broker got through to I.SoS who then called L.H.

She was not at her best when the call came through and certainly not in the mood to answer in polite tones irrelevant questions like “How are you Mam?”

“My husband is bleeding, stressing over money and threatening to die – not that fine at all I’m afraid!” came her rude reply.” The young man didn’t miss a beat and continued to be pleasant and polite. “I am so sorry for your troubles, Mam, and for the delay in getting back to you. Please just answer a few questions. ” She responded to questions that had already been asked and then said, “I gave the previous consultant this information. I am going to email it so that you have it on record.” He continued in the politest of tones, “That won’t be necessary Mam but by all means do so if you if makes you feel better. Thank you for your patience – we shall get back to you shortly.” She responded that they had better do so very quickly and to have one of two solutions – 1 – All expenses in Italy would be covered or 2 – they would pay for a medic to accompany The Earl on a jet back to South Africa to have his surgery there!

Her Ladyship could not believe it when they did indeed reply later that afternoon with Solution 1!

Earlier she had messaged Filippo, told him of The Earl’s despair and asked him to visit. He messaged me to say “Superman is on his way. Do not worry.” Then when he arrived he spoke to the doctor and then messaged her to come to the hospital as the dottoro wished to speak her.
So she, The Admiral and The Captain arrived before visiting which was strictly from 6:30 to 8. L.H. told reception in her best Italian that the dottoro wanted to talk to her and he allowed them to proceed to the fourth floor. The Earl was looking much happier. Filippo had worked his magic.
The doctor could not have been more charming. He spoke perfect English. He told L.H. that she need not worry about insurance – “In Italy, all emergency treatment is free.”he said, “Even if you are not a member of the European Union.” L.H. told him that her medical insurance would be contacting the hospital. He shrugged and said. “Yes I have spoken to them. I told them the Earl was too ill to fly and that the surgery must take place here. You will not be billed and there will be no forms to fill in.” This is also what I.SoS had told her so she decided to leave it to the hospital and I.SoS to decide who paid what!
The doctor then explained that the Earl would need a double bypass operation. They needed to wait another day or two so that the blood thinners could work out of his system and after the operation he would need to be in hospital for two weeks. So all in all he would be in San Leonardo for 18 days.
L.H. was relieved to see The Earl’s complete change of attitude. He was in excellent spirits and chatted happily to his friends for the rest of visiting hour.

The Captain and The Earl bonding

Seeing him happy caused Lady Helen to relax too. So their holiday was over – well it could have been worse – It could have happened in the middle of the African Bush. He could have died! But instead, It Happened in Italy – near an excellent heart hospital with amazingly competent staff!

It Happened in Italy – International SOS

2016-11-13 | puppy1952

Early the next morning The Earl rang to say he had been admitted to the cardiac ward. “They are talking about surgery,” he said.

In South Africa there would be a million forms to fill in, Medical Aid consulted to see how much, if anything, they would cover and the Hospital Admin would want to see the colour of your money before you could cross the threshold of the hospital, dying or not!

She expected the same would be true at San Leonardo but nobody seemed in the least bit concerned about how they were going to pay. So armed with their medical insurance papers and her practiced Italian sentences she set off to settle things at the hospital.
She had hardly slept a wink the night before but the adrenalin gave her energy to cope. Upon arrival at the cardiac ward into which the Earl had been admitted she was confronted by a firmly locked red door. Other visitors prattled at her in Italian and it was clear that neither she nor they would be allowed in so she Whatsap called The Earl. “Tell those Mafia nurses to let me in,”she demanded.

A stern male nurse appeared and told her to return at 6:30 – visiting hours.

“Io besogne palare il medico.” “I need to talk to a doctor,” she pleaded.

Eventually the duty doctor who had limited English appeared. He wouldn’t allow her in either so Lady Helen decided that she’d better just call the emergency number on her insurance forms and give them what information she could. This turned out to be the right thing to do.

“I’m in Italy,”she explained to the amazing consultant at the other end of the line, “Nobody understands a word I’m saying and they won’t let me talk to my husband on the other side of a big red door! And I’m scared I’m going to run out of airtime talking to you.” “Oh dear,” she said “That is very stressful for you. I am so sorry you’re going through this on your holiday. Now you hang up, get as much information as you can and I will ring you back in five minutes. I will need your names, passport numbers, dates of departure from South Africa, Insurance number and the name of the hospital.”

“Yes – I have all that information,” said L.H. “I will wait for you to ring back. Thank you.”

Her Ladyship was greatly relieved and felt so much better after hearing a nice South African voice who spoke perfect English. And just before she rang back the doctor reappeared and allowed her to see The Earl who had managed to get through to him that he and his wife needed to communicate to ensure that the insurance problems were timeously sorted out. He confirmed that surgery would be necessary and that no they would not allow him to fly to South Africa to have it there!

The nice South African consultant rang back and and they were able to furnish her with all the required details – SA doctor’s name, exact date of his stent op two years previously, no the doctors here won’t let him fly home etc. etc.

“Do I need to fill in the form and email it to you?” asked L.H.

“No came the reply – we will now send all these details to Discovery and let you know what they will cover. Just give me three hours and we’ll chat again.”

Lady Helen was allowed to stay and chat to her husband for a few minutes. While she was there a man in a white coat appeared. “My name is Filippo,” he said. “They told me there is an English patient with no Italian here and asked me to come and chat to him.” He was a retired professor and volunteered at the hospital. He was charming and friendly and told the Earl he would visit him every day while he was there. Little did they know then what a guardian angel he would prove to be.

It Happened in Italy – Not part of the plan

2016-11-11 | puppy1952

The Earl was still not feeling great and did not feel up to doing much the day after the Castle Excursion. Lady Helen thought he needed to at least take a short walk out and encouraged him to come with her to get a coffee and croissant for breakfast.

The coffee shop was a mere 200 metres from the apartment but by the time they got there The Earl was breathless and complained that his chest hurt. He swallowed a black Americana and ate his croissant but then held onto his wife’s shoulder as they made their way back home. Lady Helen walked slowly. “Go faster,” he urged. So she sped up a little – “NOT THAT FAST” – he gasped. “Shall I get the ambulance?” she asked. “No, just get me home. I’m obviously not taking enough of the medication – Google my symptoms and see how much you need to up the dose!”

Dr Google? Really!

That short distance seemed to take forever, The Earl’s chest hurt, he was breathless and he wanted to vomit. They made it to the lift and as they entered the apartment she yelled to The Captain to get the paramedics. He and The Admiral took off like hurricanes and returned running ahead of the ambulance as they were not allowed to ride in it. Lady Helen feared that they too would collapse with heart attacks. Three paramedics took immediate action, took the Earl’s blood pressure and stuck a drip in his arm. They put him into a special chair and got him into the lift and once again he was rushed off in the ambulance and back to San Leonardo. Much to The Admiral’s horror they would not allow Her Ladyship to accompany him this time. “But she’s his wife,” she implored. “She must go with him.” But her words fell on deaf ears or ones that did not interpret the English tongue and they shrieked off at breakneck speed.

“My Earlie,” freaked The Admiral “How could they just take him off like that”

Lady Helen comforted her – “It will be fine – it’s an easy ride by train – we can go a little later. In any case they won’t allow us in while they’re treating him and we’d be left fretting in a waiting room where no one speaks English. It’s best we fret here instead!”

keep-calm

It was a 15 minute walk from the apartment to the station and a pleasant 20 minute ride by train to Stadio Arechi. The trains ran every 25 minutes so getting to the hospital was not too dreadful an ordeal. After calming down to panic and gathering a few things together the three friends set off with high hopes that The Earl would return with them.

But this was not to be. The Captain and The Admiral were not allowed in to see the invalid and Lady Helen was given just a short time. The young lady doctor in attendance spoke to her in imperfect English but it was enough to ensure that she understood that her husband’s blood pressure was dangerously high, they needed to find out why and he would have to remain in hospital for at least 24 hours. He was on blood thinners and they were doing tests. “He will stay here until I can get him a bed in the ward. I want to keep him for at least three days,”she explained.

The Earl was smiling and looked perfectly comfortable. His chest pain had gone and he was breathing normally. “Don’t worry,”he said “I’m quite happy here. Give the others my love and come see me tomorrow.”

“He’ll be fine,” Lady Helen assured Captain Ray and Perci. “A few days rest and we’ll have him back better than before.”

But it was rather a subdued ride back to Salerno – Lady Helen tried to remain upbeat but her companions took a more realistic view of the situation.

It Happened in Italy – Castello di Arechi

2016-11-10 | puppy1952

After The Earl’s episode he and Lady Helen decided to take things easy and while the Captain and his Admiral went to do some chores in town they took a slow walk to a nearby pharmacy to get blood pressure medication which the Earl promised to take for the rest of his life!

The following day The Earl was still not feeling up to anything strenuous because on top of everything he’d bruised his foot and found it painful to walk. Also his medication made him drowsy and he just wanted to sleep. He insisted the rest of the group do a trip to the castle without him. “Take lots of photographs,” he commanded.

This required that they take a bus so they set off reasonable early, stopped at a popular coffee shop and had coffee and chocolate croissants for breakfast and then waited – and waited – and waited. Three hours later the bus arrived! The castle is atop a very high hill and they would have walked but were advised against it as the road was quite dangerous.

The bus was full of Italians who soon picked up that the Inglese were headed for the only tourist attraction en route. And when they approached many voices called out – Castello – Castello – otherwise they would have missed their stop and been taken heaven knows where!

The Arechi Castle dates back, according to some scholars to the third century AD, while others believe the earliest parts were only built in the sixth century. It is situated at a height of about 300 meters above sea level. It has breathtaking views over the city and the Gulf of Salerno. The castle assumed great military importance in the eighteenth century, with the Longobard Prince Arechi II who, although didn’t introduce major changes to the fort, made it the cornerstone of the defense system of the city.

They enjoyed exploring and taking photographs and really wanted to walk back home but fear of the dodgy road made them wait another couple of hours for a bus. However, the time was spent beneath the shady pines relaxing and chatting to other tourists. Meeting people on vacation is also part of the fun.

The most exciting part of the excursion was the bus trip home – the road was steep and narrow and hair raising to travel in the hands of the crazy Italian Driver who had no fear! It was better than a roller coaster ride!

It Happened in Italy – A Scary Incident

2016-11-09 | puppy1952

The Earl was delighted to have his Lady safely back with him. He bragged about his improved fitness telling her, “I’ve been walking up the hill without having to stop and rest. I think I’m Italy Fit now.”

Lady Helen was delighted to hear it but on their first long walk together she noted that he could no quite keep up with her. “I really was better,” he said “It’s just that you’re walking too fast!” And so she slowed down – she slowed down a lot!

On her third day back they set off to visit the Medieval Gardens. The Admiral and The Captain did not accompany them as they’d done it on their own on a previous excursion. They hadn’t gone far when the Earl had to stop. “I have a chest pain,”he gasped. Let’s rest a while. “I just need a few minutes” But the pain did not subside. Lady Helen began to worry. “This is worse than before,” she said. “I’m taking you to the doctor.”

“No!” He said. “I’ll be fine. Just walk slowly.” But even at a snail’s pace he could not cope so Lady Helen insisted they go to the emergency room. “There must be one where we see those ambulances parked just around the corner.” It was a minute away from where they were. The minute they arrived she rushed into the building and said to the first person she saw – “Mio Marito ha male petto” “My husband has sore chest” A woman who must have been a nursing sister was called and immediately ushered ithem nto a small room and indicated for The Earl to lie on the bed. A doctor appeared out of nowhere. He took his blood pressure and attached a heart monitor to his chest.

Lady Helen began to explain that she didn’t have their passports or medical insurance on her but she couldn’t quickly run home to get them. The nurse shook her head and just wrote down The Earl’s name. “No passaporto – no pagare” No passport – no pay” Was Lady Helen understanding correctly? She didn’t think so.

Then some paramedics appeared and started wheeling the bed out to the street. Lady Helen did not know what was going on. They prattled away in Italian to her and all she picked up was “ospedale” “ambulanza”

“You’re taking him to the hospital in an ambulance? But it’s just a chest pain!” They ignored her and indicated that she should sit up front next to the driver while a doctor and paramedic accompanied The Earl in the back.

Lady Helen had never been in an ambulance before and now she was screaming down the streets of Salerno on the wrong side of the road!

The Earl was in good hands

As they screamed down the busy streets of Salerno, Lady Helen gazed in awe as the cars made way for the speeding ambulance. “How many euros is this going to set us back?” she wondered. She had no idea where they were going not how they were to get back. It was a 15 minute ride before they arrived at outpatients, The Earl was wheeled out and Lady Helen followed but was barred at the big red door and told – “Solo pazienti – aspettare qui” “Only patients – wait here.” She stared at the red door for a full minute before coming to her senses. She must phone The Captain. After two rings he answered, “Hello – Lady Helen – talk to me” But the words wouldn’t come – finally she managed to stutter out the story and he asked, “What’s the name of the hospital” “I don’t know,” Lady Helen cried.

Then held up her phone and called out to those in the waiting room – “Ospedele – nome – per favore” hospital – name – please” A young man approached and said, “San Leonardo”

“I don’t know how to explain how to get here,” said Lady Helen “But it’s not far by ambulance.”

“Don’t worry, ” said The Captain “We’ll Google it. Keep us informed.”

Lady Helen waited anxiously for half an hour but nobody came to give her any news about her husband’s condition. Finally she could handle it no longer and went to reception. The receptionist could not speak English. “Voglio vedere mio marito” “I want to see my husband” The receptionist sighed, picked up a phone, prattled a few words in Italian and then pointed to the big, red door. Lady Helen approached the door which was soon opened by a man who spoke excellent English. He allowed Lady Helen in and took her to The Earl. There he was looking perfectly comfortable and pleased with himself.

“There are some very pretty nurses here,” he said

His pain had gone, he was on a drip and he was feeling on top of the world. They’d taken blood and were monitoring his blood pressure and heart. “We have to keep him for a few hours and then we will discharge him.” said the man. “There’s no need for you to stay. Come fetch him later on.”

“Where do I pay?” asked Lady Helen. The man looked surprised. “Nothing to pay.” he said.

Lady Helen couldn’t believe it – they were not Italian citizens or even members of the EU yet as tourists the emergency treatment was free of charge. It gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling and a sense of relief that her Euros were safe!

Now she had to find her way home. She approached an ambulance driver and in her best Italian asked directions to the bus stop. He wanted to know where she was going and when she said The Lungomare, Salerno, he suggested the train instead. The station was a minute away and the ride there only 20 minutes. Nervously she found her way there, got help from Tren Italia personal how to use the ticket machine and then hopped onto the train. It was not necessary for The Captain and The Admiral to come to her rescue after all.

They did not discharge The Earl that day but kept him overnight. He caught a taxi home early the next morning and declared that all was well! It was just high blood pressure (200 over 100) and he needed to get his cardiologist at home to send him a script for the medication that he was supposed to be taking but wasn’t!