maryand1suitcase.italy

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The best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go astray and instead of the Colosseum, we had a tour of the Umberto Primo Pronto Soccorso or the ER of the local university hospital. We know just enough about the medical system to be concerned about which hospital to pick because of Gary's complicated medical history. We had help from the American Embassy in Rome and their advise on the hospital was golden.

Gary had started having hip pain yesterday and was unable to put any weigh on his right leg. The good news is, his hip replacement is fine, but he has extreme inflammation of his hip. He is on crutches and pain meds, but we can continue our trip. We couldn't have asked for a better hospital experience; the doctor spoke English, was extremely competent, the entire trip including x-rays was less than 2 hours , their was no charge, and the ER nurse call a taxi for us. We couldn't get that kind of service at St. Luke's back home!

Just a few observations on Rome before we leave. The drivers here are mad! There are thousands of motor scooters that weave in and out of traffic between lanes of cars, but the taxi drivers are certifiably insane. They drive where there are no lanes or in the oncoming traffic lanes. Oh my the mom-brake has had a lot of use here! I haven't seen drivers like this since China. Gary's co-patient in the x-ray department was an American whose motor scooter lost an encounter with a car. Luckily he only had a broken clavicle. With the price of gas at 2.50 a liter it is understandable why they don't drive cars, but one needs nerves of steel to drive here.

More tomorrow from Pisa,



Ciao, Mary

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