Thanks TCC

On the eighth day of what was to be a wonderful, long vacation, I severely fractured my ankle while walking on a shore excursion when our cruise ship was docked at Chania, Crete in Greece.

Urged by one of the ship’s doctors to have emergency surgery in Greece and by the other physician to stay onboard the ship two more nights until we reached Civitavecchia, Italy, I decided to travel on and seek further treatment in Rome. During the trip, the pain was excruciating despite medication so I practiced T’ai Chi Chih mentally many times to help handle the pain.

I then spent eight days in a hospital in Rome. Surgical repairs were made and a plate and eight screws inserted. At the same time, Hurricane Sandy was attacking the East Coast of the U.S. When I’d recovered sufficiently to travel, and flight arrangements could be made after the storm, a nurse escorted me on the plane back to New Jersey.

If all of this had occurred prior to my beginning the practice of TCC, I never would have remained calm immediately following the accident and during my treatment in a European hospital where very little English was spoken. I would have been panicked about what kind of treatment I was receiving, what the outcome would be, and probably would have been demanding and rude – out of frustration, fear and anger – to the professionals who tried extremely hard to care for me despite communication difficulties.

I enjoyed the experience as much as possible, in spite of the pain, and concentrated on positive moments. After all, how many tourists get to spend time in a hospital in Rome? I communicated with a lot of sign language with the nursing and kitchen staff, smiled sincerely, and used the word grazie (thanks) innumerable times. In the hospital, the fresh vegetables served with meals were magnificent, afternoon tea service was a delightful surprise, and I even enjoyed wine with my lunch and dinner meals. I still miss the rich, heavenly Italian coffee served every morning with breakfast. The nurses, with one exception, were delightful and cheerfully took care of all my needs. By the end of my stay, even the one exception was having friendly conversations with me.

Thanks, TCC, for turning a nightmare into an experience with many funny stories to remember.

Pyramid Poems

t/k if needed