[Gocamino] abbreviated Camino and medical help...

[Tim]

Hi,
    I missed your original post, I must have been busy over the festive 
season and then saw the names.  I thought to myself that must be the 
people who stayed with me in September, went back, checked your original 
post saw that it was and hence this mail which has two purposes.  
Firstly to say that I'm glad 'all's well that ends well' and that there 
were to nasty ongoing repercussions.  The second purpose is to assure 
all of you from outside Europe especially the US and to a degree Canada 
that you are not entering a medical wilderness when you visit us in 
France or Spain.  Far from it, France is reputed to have one of the best 
medical systems in the world if not in fact the best, and Spain does not 
lag far behind.  Many of the practitioners speak English, treatment is 
easy to come by, the standards are very high, and it is much cheaper 
than the US
    An American friend who lives two doors away from me in St Jean Pied 
de Port explained to me that most US citizens have been brainwashed by 
the American medical establishment into believing that so called 
'socialist' medicine is primitive and doesn't work.  Please accept my 
assurances that this is just not the case, the flight home for Wes ended 
safely the next time it might not be such a happy outcome.
    I hope that you can call by and see me when you make your return 
this year, and would like to wish all Gocamino contributors Bonne Annee.
Regards
Tim Proctor

   
Wes & Rita wrote:

>Thanks for all the responses to our update on our medical emergency on the Camino.  Why did we not seek help in Spain?  Sheer panic.  Not knowing much Spanish and not knowing what was going on, all we could think about was getting home and seeing our own, much trusted, physician who had previously treated Wes for high blood pressure (my assumption at the time being that it had something to do with that).  Surely we would never have made a transatlantic flight if we had dreamed it might be what it turned out to be -- a pulmonary embolism.  If we were to face another medical problem while on the Camino (oh please, no, not again!), and knowing now what good experiences folks had in seeking medical help in Spain, we would definitely seek help wherever we were.  
>
>And thanks for all the information about wintry conditions in the high country in April.  We are moving our starting date into May as a result.  We were trying to avoid the crowds but crossing the Pyrennees in deep snow does not appeal!  I am grateful for all of you perigrinos who have been so helpful and supportive!
>
>Rita and Wes
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