Thursday October 31, 2019
Friday November 1, 2019
ATHENS, Greece – If there is one, dreaded consequence while on holiday, it is the reality of not continuing on the prescribed itinerary. Most common of this is simply being sick, missing time on the tour or trying to recover in your hotel room.
After several days of walking miles through various sites in different countries, we both felt the need to recover. That included spending a few days in Israel of resting and reliving our bodies of stress and pain.
For me, the dominant event was at Petra and walking over 13 miles that day. My body really never recovered and I developed a headache near the right temple and down into the ear area. The pain, which began during the last days in Israel, was recurring, on and off, on and off, on and off for about three days.
On Friday, the weather in Athens was rain and the combination of inclement weather and the sense of our bodies falling apart at the core, we took afternoon naps. The pain for me was rather relentless and Waynette began to began to Goggle urgent care locations in Athens.
Our first response was insurance reimbursement and we also took out an insurance policy from AAA before we left the states. Combined with our regular health care coverage, we agreed to argue with the insurance companies later but immediate care was imperative.
Based on reviews, we settled on the Central Clinic of Athens and about 15-minute cab ride put us there around 7 p.m. on Thursday night. Because we are not citizens of Greece and do not hold national health care cards, all costs would have to be paid up front. As our visit was after ” normal business hours,” we had to pay 50 euros for a call to the doctor and 50 euros for the visit.
At the desk, I explained about the recurring headache, the receptionist took my passport and called the doctor. Upon his appearance, we repaired to his office and he proceeded to check both ears for pressure build-up as a possible cause.
There was a wax build-up in the left one and he attempted to clean as best as possible. Then, he found no build-up in the right ear and suggested I see an internist currently on site. From that visit, the internist suggested I return Friday morning and visit with a neurologist. The internists gave me two pills, not as strong as ibuprofen, and suggested I take these before bed. We returned to the front desk and arranged to be back at the clinic by 10 a .m.
Upon our return Friday morning, I saw the neurologist who performed some basic tests and suggested I have blood work done along with a CAT scan. That done, we waited for the results and an additional consolation.
Around 2:30, we meet with the neurologist again and went over the tests. The results were all good and he found nothing alarming in the blood work or the CAT span. He then wrote a script for an noninflammatory and said to take the pill once a day with food. I suggested at dinner time and he agreed.
With that, I shook his hand and thanked him his service. Overall, I was satisfied with the health care provided and the CAT scan was professional and with up-to-date technology. We also thanked Christina, our point person through the ordeal on Friday and the Clinic’s health care facilitator.
From the facility, we started out on our daily tourist trek. Eventually, we make our way through Sygtoma Square, the major plaza in Athens and down to the Acropolis section. We walked past the Roman Angora and the Greek Angora and saw, as during our previous trip here nearly three years ago, the ruins of antiquity.
We found dinner at an outdoor restaurant and, after we finished, I took the meds prescribed by the neurologist. After about 30 minutes, the effect kicked in and pain from the headache disappeared. The doc recommended I take the meds for about 5 to 6 days and no more. I’ll do that tomorrow night at dinner. Then on Sunday, our travel day back to Miami, I try to push the meds down with that “delicious” airplane food.
STEPS – Despite spending most of Friday at the clinic, we managed 11,700 steps or about 5.5 miles.
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