It Happened in Italy – The Last few days in Salerno

2016-11-30 | puppy1952

Apologies for skipping a day or two of Nablopomo. It’s been a busy few days in the the lives of The Earl and his Lady and internet has also been tricky.

14 September

The Earl managed quite a good walk down the Corsa Vittoria Emanuel and had his daily gelato but was exhausted when he got back and had to rest.

Lady Helen popped into an archeological museum and then took a very long walk along the sea front. It was a beautiful day and there were quite a few people swimming at the harbour and at the beach.

15 September
For the first time since The Earl took ill they had to wait to see the doctor. Fillipo collected them at 1:30 and they were 15 minutes early for the appointment at 2. The receptionist said she was sorry but the doctor was operating. Please would they wait. No problem but it was 2 hours before he appeared! It had been an emergency and the poor man looked tired. But The Earl took strain too. But it was worth it – Dr P and his colleague who had operated on The Earl checked him thoroughly – electrocardiograph, blood pressure ultrasound everything. All was fine. The all clear was given to fly home on 18 September

It was 5 o’clock by the time they left the hospital and Filippo took them to his favourite coffee shop and insisted they try a pastry or two.

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Delicious Italian Pastries

The Earl had a cappuccino and L.H. her usual Americano. Filippo could not get his head around this adding boiling water to ones espresso idea. She tried to explain that it gave her time to savour a longer drink. He asked her to pour some of her Americano into his glass – not a good experience for him. He turned up his nose in horror.

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His Expression tells it all!

After this he took them for a drive up to the castle so that The Earl could see the view – but it was closed. Anyway the view from the road was great. But all the activity of the day was a bit much for The Earl so he had a long rest when they returned to Montestella. L.H. wanted to get him a take away for supper but he insisted on going to Pinocchio’s on The Lungomare at 8. Good wine, excellent service and wonderful food. L.H. had Octopus salad and The Earl had pork cutlets served with a vegetable platter and there was plenty of Italian bread on the side too.

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The Earl outside Pinocchio’s

16 september

L.H. went to Salerno Centrale and booked their tickets to Roma Termini. She wanted to leave at 9:50 but the ticket man said if she left at 9:15 they could get the tickets at a discount so she went for that option. He also booked their connecting train to the airport.
She then emailed SalaBlu and organised wheelchair assistance at Salerno and Roma Termini. She got an immediate response. They would see them onto the train and help with the luggage and meet the train in Rome and provide help to the connecting train to the airport. They had already organised wheelchair support at the airport. Although the station was only a short walk from the hotel, she organised for a taxi to take them with their luggage. The less stress for The Earl the better.
It was overcast in Salerno that day and it rained a little. The Earl did not feel like doing much so they just took a short walk and sat down at a pavement cafe to have some lunch. L.H. had a glass of wine -she really needed the alcohol – but The Earl only drank water. Coffee was also an essential nutrient for stressed out, abused, care-giving wives.
She knew he didn’t mean to be abusive – he was in pain, homesick and worried that he would never recover. Her mind reading skills had improved but they were still not good enough for the invalid. So she took the abuse and drank!😂

Her Ladyship let alcohol help her cope!

The Earl was grumpy

It Happened in Italy – Meeting a New Friend

2016-11-22 | puppy1952

Family and friends were far away and yet because of the internet The Earl and Lady Helen still felt cared for because of the constant flow of messages by email, on Facebook and Whatsapp. Lady Helen was grateful for the instant contact she had with friends and family because of the miracle of modern technology. She had calls from her darling aunt in Australia, her best friend since childhood in England, her closest friend in South Africa, her beloved sister and brothers in Cape Town and England and as well as from a friend she hadn’t seen for years from Tenerife to mention but a few. How could she not cope with all the positive vibes been sent into the ether from all the Facebook messages from almost everyone she knew. A niece in Spain offered to do whatever she could. A nephew on a yacht anchored in the bay at Salerno messaged to say he wished he could come ashore to give her hug but unfortunately was on duty and moving off the next day – but it was the thought that counted! And of course there were the messages and calls from the kids and grandkids that really cheered the old man up.

At the end of each day since checking into San Leonardo’s Hospital Hotel Lady Helen was exhausted and content to return to her single room and enjoy her simple supper, chat online to one friend or another, write a daily email to close friends and family and then drop into bed. Yes she spoke to the other guests – all Italian – but the conversation was stilted. Then one evening while waiting to ask the receptionist for some change to put into the coffee machine, she realised that her Italian neighbour was checking in someone from Ireland. Her neighbour’s father was in the cardiac ward and his girlfriend had just arrived to share a room with Paula. L.H. was delighted to make contact with another English speaker and the two soon became friends.

4 September 2016

As The Earl was so much better there was very little L.H. needed to actually do for him. So she started going to the hospital a tad later. She went to the cafe for breakfast the day after she met Patricia and got a take away coffee for The Earl and stayed with him until lunch time. Then she went to the canteen for her own lunch. Patricia was there and joined her at her table. She told her about her partner, Mimo who was on the 6th floor after a triple bypass and would be coming down to rehab on Monday or Tuesday. He and The Earl would meet – he spoke English so The Earl would have someone to talk to other than Her Ladyship. Mimo’s daughter with whom she was sharing a room had gone to Naples for the day. It was great having somebody to chat to in English! After lunch they went to visit their respective partners.

At about 4 L.H. decided she needed some air so left The Earl and went in search of Arechie’s sea front. She’d asked about a beach but the nurses didn’t seem to think there was one. But there must at least be a harbour because she could see boats from the hospital window. Well she followed her nose and crossed over several streets until she came to the Arechie’s soccer stadium, crossed another busy road in front of that and then saw some people with beach towels and picnic hampers who must have been coming from some sort of swimming area. She said, “Buon Giorno, Dove spiaggia?” Good Day – where is the beach?”

“Marina Ingresso ci, ” They pointed down the road in the opposite direction to where she was heading. So she made her way there and passed through a gate and after crossing a car park and following a walkway next to the road she came upon a rather lovely little beach. It had lounges and umbrellas and a little gelateria where you could sit and order refreshments if you wished. Okay so the sand was black – but it was a beach at last! She then took a walk down the promenade and took photos of the boats. There was a river next to the marina too.

The Marina Beach

The River

Lots and lots of yachts

It took her about 15 minutes to walk to this place and it was another 15 back and even at 5 o’clock it was hot. So she had a shower when she got back and then went back to see The Earl. He wanted a gelato but the cafe was closed so she got him a Kitkat from the dispensing machine instead. Very naughty for a man with a heart complaint!

She met Patricia going up in the lift and the latter suggested they go for a drink after visiting. There was a tiny bar very close to the hospital and when they got there at about quarter to nine they were the only two patrons. It was after all a Sunday. L.H. was surprised it was open at all. It seems that they don’t have laws against serving alcohol on Sundays or after certain hours – but often places are just closed on Sundays.

The lovely thing about having a glass of wine in such a place is that you get complimentary snacks too – and it’s all you need if you’ve had a main meal at lunchtime.

They had a rather nice Italian sausage – almost like salami but with a nice chili bite to it, some cheese and bread with Avo and some other spread. All rather delicious.

It was really lovely to have this “girls’ night out” with a very interesting Irish lass. After two glasses of wine each and learning a great deal about each other they made their way back to their spartan rooms!

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 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!

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!