January has been a month full of medical appointments and emergencies. It’s not how I envisioned starting out the New Year. We did do a great hike right at the onset of the month, but mostly it’s been a time of necessary health maintenance. As always, what I share is just from my limited personal experiences. Though a few are routine, maybe you’ll glean some helpful information or at least have a laugh or two.

When looking for any kind of medical help, I check recommendations on Google and Facebook, as well as asking some of my local friends. This helped me locate my dentist and Romeo’s veterinarian. But when it comes to using the national healthcare, I may have a local doctor who would be assigned to me or I may be able to choose. When we lived near the much larger city of Atri, there were a half a dozen doctors, and I choose one that was still accepting new patients. Here in Roccaspinalveti, there are two doctors and I like the doctor I chose. He is a man about our age, speaks a little bit of English, has a warm and caring personality and a sense of humor. He also plays Arlo Guthrie & the Rolling Stones in his waiting room! That doesn’t mean I don’t miss my wonderful general practitioner in the US; a doctor with whom I had built a trusting professional relationship over 15 years. It’s okay, though. I am embracing life in Abruzzo and all that entails.

But returning to the present..The office here in Rocca is run like a clinic where no appointments are made. First come first served. There is no receptionist or nurse. There are morning and evening hours. The office here is modern and seems well equipped, but the waiting area is purely functional with chairs against the walls. Not intended for comfort but efficiency. Last year, when I went for my annual flu shot, I tried the morning hours. When I peeked inside the waiting room and saw about 20 people waiting, I balked. Wow, was I really up for that? No, I just didn’t have the mindset,….. yet. Luckily to date, I have not had a lot to talk to the doctor about and I did find that evening hours are thankfully less busy.

In the US, I could see a nurse at our doctor’s office and get a flu shot right then and there. You can imagine my surprise when I learned that the doctor does not stock the flu vaccine. He wrote me a prescription for the vaccine, I walked next door to the local pharmacy to buy it, headed back to the doctor with syringe in hand, waited my turn in line… again, and then received my vaccination.

An interesting note is that pharmacists wield a bit more power here than they do in the US. They can dispense many drugs, that require a prescription back in the States. I am able to buy some antibiotics and my thyroid medication, without visiting the doctor. That is a plus, definitely. On the negative side is that many OTC drugs just aren’t available here, and if they are, they are unobtainable in generic bulk and expensive.

This year, when I went for my flu shot during evening hours, I found out that the pharmacy was out of stock of the vaccine. I had to return in the morning to purchase the just-delivered vaccine and then wait with the 20 other folks during the morning hours to get my vaccination. 1 1/2 hours wait = 2 minutes for office visit. LOL ….thankfully I had an e-book with me. 😉

Next on the have-to-get-over-with list… the ‘dreaded’ dentist.

So something I’ve been putting off for way too many months is getting a replacement crown. It’s not that I haven’t found a great dentist here in Italy, because I have. He is very knowledgeable, up on the latest techniques, gentle and speaks some English. His office staff are welcoming and efficient. And prices seem very reasonable, even though dental procedures are not covered with the National Health plan. So why the hesitation to go to the dentist…. I was just plain nervous… nervous that when he tried to remove a 35 year old crown (!), another tooth would take the brunt of the work or I would need a root canal. Just silly fears…. So 10 months after he recommended that I replace the old crown, which had holes in it, I finally showed up for my appointment. I was a quivering mess, which didn’t bode well for my poor dentist. Per my request, he numbed my mouth and proceeded with care and encouragement, reminding me to breath slowly. It went exceptionally well, I calmed down and I return in a few weeks for the impression to be taken for the new crown. Whew.

On to our dear dog, Romeo, and the vet clinic:

Right now, we are in the middle of a mess with Romeo. We’re short on sleep, anxious and stressed. A simple surgery of removing a small mast cell tumor from the inside of his right rear leg has turned into the surgery from Hell. What happened? Very first day back from surgery, he sneaked a lick around his collar of shame and the incision opened a small bit. (Collar immediately got corrected but the damage had been done.) We took him back in the next day to see if re-suturing was necessary. It appeared to be healing but slowly. Ten days into the healing process, he turned suddenly and BAM, pop went all the sutures. It was a bit scary for me and we rushed him ( Sunday emergency) to the clinic. The surgeons applied a different technique and he is now sutured to the max. It will be a few more anxious weeks for recovery.

We were very happy to have found this vet clinic, even though it is almost an hour from our house. There are a number of surgeons on staff, some speak English, all excellent doctors. They are compassionate and very reassuring, with wonderful ‘bedside’ manner with their patients and humans. Once again, most medications needed are obtained at the local pharmacy with a prescription. The larger pharmacies carry animal-specific medications, which may be expensive. In some cases, the human equivalent is available at a much lower price. Here in Roccaspinalveti, there is usually a day’s wait for some of the dog specific medications to arrive. Sometimes I can wait, other times I have to use a larger pharmacy in either Vasto or San Salvo.

I don’t want you to think that January has only been a month of tedious if not alarming appointments! Yes, it has been and will continue to be those events in life that we’d rather avoid, but we did bring in the New Year with spectacular, challenging hike. This hike was organized and guided by the experienced ‘Majexperience’. This past Fall, we also attended a fun filled day outing with this group. We like their guides and how they plan their excursions. So this time, we headed off to the mountains on New Year’s Day for a hike to a waterfall. Little did we know that the trail, which meandered through a breathtaking gorge, was packed with ice and snow; highly challenging and precarious with just hiking boots.

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We were a small group of 6 and one beginner hiker found it a bit more than she bargained for. The waterfall was stunning but we arrived late. Options were given; continue from the falls on to the circuit to finish out the hike or return the shorter distance from the starting point. The circuit was nixed and we returned the short route, understandably.

In spring, we will return to do this gorgeous gorge and hike the circuit in its entirety. Location: Bocca di Valle Cascata di San Giovanni approximately 1 hour 15 minutes from our home in Roccaspinalveti.

We’re hoping Romeo is all healed up by the end of this month so that in February we can all hike together up the mountain. Until then, we are keeping him quiet as we sit by the fire. Enjoy your winter and we’ll be back soon!