Some days I want to just go home.

I say that because I’ve been here 9 months and unfortunately have been sick 7 times. That’s an average of once a month. I was never sick this much in my life until this year.

 I know being around the kids every day is a risk as they touch everything. And the stress of arriving and living in an apartment from hell coupled with dealing with all the bureaucracy would tax anyone.

But I’m finished with school until October. So I have 4 months off. I went away for 2 weeks to the cooler north(Galicia) to relax, and I did hop around a lot but rested on my last 3 days by the ocean. Then I came home exhausted anyway. I rode 4 trains as 2 trains stopped mid-route for some reason and we were put on other trains.

Then my last train from Alicante to Elche was late as the security was throwing some kid off the train and then he kept jumping back on in other cars; it was like a roadrunner cartoon, the kid ran by a window, a cop chasing him then back again and 2 cops chasing him. Back and forth they went. I thought can’t someone just trip him? It went on for 30 minutes. So I was home very late and had to start the paperwork for my VISA renewal process for the next day.. I’ll post on that shortly.

In the meantime, Jorge and I went to the beach in Alicante for the day and found a beautiful Cala. A rocky outcropping on the coast with crystal blue water perfect for snorkeling and with only a few people. Well, half of those few were nudists and the 2 chubby baby Hueys I saw were more than I needed to just keep my head down and not look.

And then I fell. The rocky shores extend into the water and although not deep are slippery even with water shoes. I stepped and went down on my right side going one way the rest of me to the left. You get it.

I thought I was ok except for a couple small gashes on my leg. But the wine numbed it. Well, I hadn’t had a drink yet so I can’t blame that.

Anyway, my back pain started the next day and I could barely sit or walk for long. Then two days later, I had a fever and sore throat.

By the 3^rd day, I couldn’t lay or sit for more than 5 minutes from the back pain and my fever got higher and higher.

So on my 3^rd day of taking paracetamol (Tylenol ) with no relief, I started with nausea and vomiting.

That was it. I went to IMED the local private hospital to which I had low hopes of getting decent care.

I’ve been here before to see the useless rheumatologist and the just-got-out-of-bed- hematologist and seen the no-one-wears-name-tags staff everywhere and I don’t like the place. But it’s the closest hospital with a so-called emergency room.

Jorge drove me and we arrived early at 7:30 am in a near-empty waiting room. I’m limping and partially bent over from back pain. The man who was completely disinterested in me sits behind a desk. He saw me walk in but doesn’t ask me if I need a wheelchair or anything.  Of course not. Maybe if I had a limb falling off, he might have shown an ounce of concern.

He was obviously not a nurse or triage person. In a real ER someone takes your info and then has you see a nurse who makes the decision on how quickly you are seen. Does this happen?

Nope. All he wants is my insurance cards and Id. No hello, no smile, no how are you this fine morning? I see you can’t walk, are you in pain? Nothing.

I tell him I fell and hurt my back, but I also am having a fever, nausea vomiting, etc. He interrupts me at the word back pain and just asks for my passport. Then says go sit down.

I go limp along sit and wait. It’s the same cold design as the rest of the place; black leather chairs with cold silver arms and black smoke glass doors that slide open when someone comes out to get you.  Too bad with such modern-looking digs they don’t have staff to match.

After 15 minutes the smoke glass doors open and out comes someone in white with no name tag or badge and calls my name, no greeting like hi my name is _______ please follow me. No confirmation of my name or date of birth. How does she know it’s me? I could fake it and just get up with anyone’s name except I look deceptively American and not Spanish.

But Nope. She says nothing, turns and all but runs to the examining room not once waiting for me as I limp along following.

She points to a room with an exam bed, a desk, a crash cart, a wall suction unit, and oxygen. She says nothing like sit down or lay down…… nothing. And before I can ask who she is like a nurse or a cleaning lady she leaves. Although I’m sure the cleaning lady would have acted nicer and waited for me.

Wow, I’m underwhelmed already.

Then in walks a person with a lab coat who does have a badge, but her name is written so small I need a magnifying glass to read it. She barks at me why are you here? I start to tell her I fell and now I have a fever. She backs up and put on a face shield and snaps at me did you to the man at the front? I said yes, but he didn’t listen. She said, “you could have covid”.  Really? no shit sherlock. Did you just graduate med school? It’s not my fault your front desk idiot didn’t tell you seeing how yall don’t communicate here.

Then she snaps at me I need to see all your medicines, or I can’t treat you. I’m thinking what if I’m in a coma? Then what? you send me home to die because you don’t have a conscious person to give it to you?

So, knowing she should look in the computer as I’ve been to this place before to see my meds and history, I bring it up and she looks really irritated now. Then I pull out a baggy of meds. All 9 of them. I didn’t type them up cause I’m going to make her look at each bottle. She looked at maybe 3 of them, looked more irritated than ever, and went to the computer and saw my records. So there bitch, my back pain was screaming.

She then examined me.  Checked my ears but didn’t look long enough to see anything as it was a split second, groped my neck glands like she was searching for gold, then listened to my lungs. And no blood pressure. That makes a record in this country; I’ve been to 4 specialists, two GPS, and 2 ERS, and no one has taken my blood pressure yet. And they say Spain has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Where I ask, where?

Long story short she says I’ll get a covid test first, then a pain shot for my back, x-rays of my chest and back.

Labs? No, blood work? No pee test? No, I felt dehydrated and weak, any thought of maybe some IVs? No again, is this an ER? Or a back road cover for one? She ignores me.

She leaves and walks in another person in white. No name badge either. She grabs a cue tip to do the covid test, gives no instruction (now I’m a nurse, I’ve both given and gotten covid tests myself) she just shoves it up my nose and hard. It hurt like hell and she never said anything. No, I’m sorry nothing. I know it’s uncomfortable but who trained you? A f***ing plumber?

Then comes another one in white with no name with a needle. Again, no instruction to give me a shot. I know what to do, stand up and bend over, but she doesn’t tell me to do anything. I could have given it to myself. And of course, just like every person, no verification of my name nothing.

Christ, I was pissed.

Then comes a man for an x-ray. Whom I think I’ve met before during a private visit with a rheumatologist. He at least waits for me as he leads me down the hall. Then is pleasant. He doesn’t verify my name either. And has no name badge but at least actually acts like he cares an ounce.

Incredible. I want to talk to the CEO of this place. What kind of chicken farm are yall running here?

I was so irritated. The Dr. then comes back in and hands Jorge, not me, instructions in Spanish. With a list of meds to take at home. i.e., Tylenol, cough syrup vitamin c whatever. and tells me, oh BTW you have covid. Come back if the fever doesn’t go away. Really? Why so you can ignore all my symptoms again, take no vital signs and let me die? I don’t think so. I’ll go to a veterinarian maybe I’ll get real care there.

And I leave. No one tells me to stop at the desk to check out and I’m not asking, if they want something they can call me. Assholes.

So many people here put the USA down for not having “free medical care” if this is free care you can keep it I say. There needs to be a channel 8 reporter to go in secret to show just how shitty the care is and the lack of compassion, lack of security, and lack of patient management.

So, the survey from IMED hospitals came in before I arrived home in my email. I wrote them a long very detailed letter. It will probably be shit-canned. Obviously, no one is afraid of ever getting sued here.

Maybe they should be.

So, after nearly a year I’m worried If anything else happens to me I don’t think I can trust them here at all.

The lack of name verification when giving meds is huge, and the lack of basic vital signs is a big one. I know in the USA we use a lot of people when we provide care. And I know that contributes to our high cost of care. I get it.

There is a front desk person to check you in, then you see a nurse who does vitals and writes down all your meds and your problems, and triages you.

Then there may be a tech that does blood work or x-rays. Then there is the doctor.

But then you see the nurse at check out to give you instructions.

And we have a “patient relations” department where one can register complaints. I’m sure there is none here, or it’s called the black hole room.

Our nurses have a lot more responsibility than any I’ve seen here. Seeing how I can’t verify there are any since none have identified themselves in my two ER visits. And every private doctor I’ve seen doesn’t use any at all.

Free health care they say? Take your life into your own hands I say. And I’m reporting on the private side of health care here. My boyfriend is under public care. When he goes to his next appointment I’m going with him, then I’ll have more to compare.

Well, in the interim, I found out who the CEO of IMED hospitals is here. He’s a lawyer. I am writing a letter to him. My letter will emphasize the danger of poor patient safety when people don’t check to make sure you match the patient with the medication. I’m sure he’ll understand “potential lawsuit” better than a “you need more compassion” complaint from me. If the letter ever gets to him.

Will this solve anything? Probably not.  Something tells me the average Spaniard does not complain. And I read somewhere the doctors get paid the same whether you live or die so they don’t really care. “Oops lost another one”, time for our 2-hour lunch and siesta. See you at six.

That’s nice

Maybe they think those siestas solve everything. No siesta will ever make up for a major medical error. So if you see a physician here. Be on your toes.

Do I want to go home?

Days like this make me reconsider staying here long-term. The only thing that lifts my spirits is looking at the photos of all the great places I’ve seen since being here. I’m hanging onto hope.

Anyway, It’s a real concern having no trust. The jury is still out, but when you’re an older aux or one with a past serious medical history of cancer and 2 chronic diseases this may really have been the wrong thing to do.

But that is as far as I’ll let my attitude take me today.

Somewhere in Spain