We don’t do things by half, especially in Cyprus. On a sunny afternoon in Paphos, we had two doctors’ appointments (one each) and - unfortunately - there was a lengthy gap between them. No problem. We would go for a light lunch and pass the time in a civilised fashion.
Parking was a slight problem, so I dropped Ann off near the entrance to the restaurant and told her I would park somewhere and walk back. I suggested she take her walking stick but the distance was short and she decided against it. I parked the car in a side street and saw Ann walking towards me, saying she had forgotten her mask. I told her I would get it, went back to the car and turned back to meet her. Suddenly she disappeared and gave a cry for help.
All I could see was parked cars and a car that had stopped in the middle of the road, with the driver getting out. I was momentarily convinced she had been knocked down, but saw she was sprawled on the pavement. There was a fair amount of blood, she had lost a tooth, her chin was bleeding, her knees were skinned and one toe looked battered. Ann was determined to tell me that the driver had just stopped to help (possibly fearing her enraged husband might do something imprudent).
A Cypriot man and woman appeared from separate houses with water, paper towels and all helped to clean Ann up, and eventually she regained her feet. The woman wanted to call an ambulance but we did not fancy submitting to the tender mercies of Paphos General Hospital. We thanked them all profusely and decided to drive back to Polis and visit our medical centre. We rang ahead and also rang and cancelled my later appointment.
Ann was patched up by the practice nurse, and we returned to see doctors a couple of nights later. X-rays were taken and we were advised to return to see the orthopaedic consultant who visited weekly. To cut a long story short, Ann ended up having both arms in plaster for the next six weeks. Consequently I had to run the house (shopping, cooking, washing etc.) and do almost everything for her as well. She must have been very fed up but was quite stoical about it all.
Plasters removed eventually and then straight off to have her second cataract procedure. This was an astounding success and she has now joined the land of the sighted (with excellent colour vision as a bonus).
As a result my blog went into abeyance. Added to which, my first novel - “Bridges over the Tyne” - was progressing apace, so writing time was at a premium. All in all it was not a summer to remember but we got through it with the help of some extremely skilled medical help. Don’t believe all you read about the standards of medical care in Cyprus. Use your Personal Doctor as a conduit to specialist services, and try to keep away from the public hospitals … they appear to be in the grip of the unions. Private hospitals (available under GESY) are excellent.
