Staying off my neck did not have the desired effect, and after staying awake all night mostly sitting in a chair, I gave up and admitted that this was not going to get better on it's own, During the night, Del emailed Rasa, at the embassy, who looks after all the Fulbrighters, asking for advice. She returned the email as soon as she got to the office this morning, and at 10:00 I had an appointment with an English speaking neurologist at a private clinic. We went rushing out without breakfast to catch the cab to get to the clinic in time. It was amazing. Everyone treated me so kindly. The doctor's nurse escorted me to every station. The doctor, herself, was about 55 and had excellent English. She was also very thorough, pricking me all over my hands, arms, etc. with one of those neurologist pins, rotating my joints, probing my neck. She said she thought I had cervical radiculitis which sounds something like siatica of the neck, but suggested x-rays. (Del's diagnosis was sciatica, by the way. I reminded him that that nerve is not in the neck. I had diagnosed Iki-itis secondary to toting heavy bags from the Iki.) After the xrays were done, she prescribed naproxin to cut down on the inflamation and pain and some sort of gel to rub on. I also need to get a special pillow and to turn Del into a beast of burden. No more toting and carrying for me. She also took my blood pressure and gently alluded to the fact that weight loss often helps decrease blood pressure, but there was no scale involved. I still haven't gotten over the time I got something in my eye and they weighed me at the Akron Gen.emergency room before doing what needed to be done to be sure I would be able to see.
Anyone care to guess what a visit with a neurologist and xrays cost? $105 US. Insurance will cover it, but can you believe it? $105 US. No wonder US citizens go abroad for procedures. Maybe I should get a few double chins taken off before I come home.
There was a Vaistine (pharmacy) in the same building, so Del walked next door to a coffee shop and ordered coffee for us while I got my medicine. It was aabout 12, and this was our first coffee of the day. We asked the server if she would call a taxi for us, and she did. We went outside to wait in the beautiful fresh air, and when the right taxi drove up, she came running out of the shop to tell us it was there. People really nice.
We taxied back to the hotel and then walked down to the Italian restaurant in a beauty salon. Vilnius in Your Pocket recommended it, and who could resist eating good Italian food in such a venue. We walked into a quite fancy salon and turned right to enter a tiny restaurant with about six tables for 2 or 4. The person in charge explaned that they plan the menu each day based on what looks good at the market and order meats and cheeses from Italy each week. You did get a whiff of hair products from time to time and a couple of women in salon capes came in to order coffee, but it was a charming place, and the food was delicious.
Del and I each chose a pear and gargonzola salad and a small plate of pasta with shrimp and pesto. The salad was beautifully composed on the salad plate. The pear strips were perfectly ripe and the gargonzola cheese was so ripe it was almost like thick cream. It was dressed with a trickle of balsamic vinegar and basil oil. The pasta was fresh pasta with large and small shrimp and tiny slivers of zuchinni with oil. The pesto came in little cream pitchers. The pasta could have been eaten without it, but was even better with. The only alarming part of the meal was that we had each eaten a piece of bread with our salads and saved the other slices for our pasta course. When the young woman brought the pasta, she removed the bread before we realized it, but she kindly brought it back when I asked. Del was just sitting there looking pitiful.
We walked around a bit, but my pill had not kicked in and I needed to get home. I did not begin to fade until after we had seen the last of the market vendors, however. Perhaps it was physical, perhaps all in my head. We didn't buy anything. It seemed disloyal to my market friends in Klaipeda. I won't feel the same in Prague, I'm sure.
Once the pill took effect , I was able to lie down and had a 2 1/2 hour nap. Around 7:00 Del walked down to the Iki to get bread and cheese and grapes for a picnic because I had to have food for my pill and neither of us was really hungry after our lovely late lunch.
We took a few pictures today, but I will download them tomorrow while Del is off giving his speech. I'm going to stay here and only meet them for dinner. I may walk around a bit, it just depends. Sure is fun to take me off for the week end.
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