Poor Helen was backing a wheelbarrow, tripped, and fell down to the next terrace - about 5ft. In the way of these things, at first she thought she'd cracked her ribs, and then she rather thought she hadn't, so she carried on working. Then her ribcage told her this was a bad idea so she went to lie down.
And getting up at lunchtime was seriously unpleasent, so they went to the Health Centre to see a doctor. He poked and prodded, and wasn't sure either. so he gave her an injection of pain-killer in the bum, and sent her off to the main hospital for an X-ray.
I met Helen and Theresa there, and explained things to the A&E receptionist. And we waited for a while, as one does. Then I went to collect my son from chess club, and got back to find that Helen had just been called in. And no, they wouldn't let me go in to translate. So we waited some more, wondering how Helen was coping without an interpreter.
Eventually they called me in to translate the final verdict. No broken bones, thank goodness, just the granddaddy of all bruising. So more painkiller, anti-inflamatory and muscle relaxant. And take it easy for a week.
Whew! But she's going to find it frustrating.
Poor Helen.
2 comments:
What's with this not letting people in to translate even? There is an association here in Tenerife: a support group of volunteers who go to appointments with cancer patients. They seems to think that all patients have the right to take along a friend, a translator, indeed whomever they like to their medical appointments with them and were absolutely shocked when I was told that nobody could come in with me. It was the first time they'd ever heard of that happening. Is this another kind of perverted cruelty to foreigners?
Sorry to hear you had such a rough time.
They don't officially let anyone in here, but I know exceptions happen. And yess, I suspect they make fewer exceptions for foreigners.
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