An Unwanted Adventure: Visiting the Local Hospital
This past week, I had an opportunity to experience another first in Slovakia. More than that, it was a “first while abroad.” Although I managed to avoid hospitals and doctor’s offices in France and Poland, my days of evading foreign medical care came to an end today in Slovakia. After slipping and falling yesterday, I gashed my tow and turned my apartment into something that looked more akin to a bloody crime scene. The suspect, in this case, was the innocent-looking shower mat that took me for an unexpected ride in which I landed on my back with blood pouring forth from a wound in my toe. After using paper towels and borovička (a traditional alcoholic vodka-like drink) to clean the wound, I tried in vain to stop the blood as I limped around. With a bit of mixed success, I (against my mother’s advice) decided that I’d tough it out because I didn’t want to burden anyone, and I thought I could “fix it” and allow the wound to heal on its own. Additionally, I have taken an odd pride ...