As I type this, I’m sitting at one of my favorite spots to people watch in Positano…La Breeza. It’s a little restaurant/pub that sits raised on the corner of the promenade and one of the main walkways coming down the mountain. This is actually the first time I’ve hung out at my spot during this trip. Why? Because I sprained my foot on day 10 of a 30 day stay in my favorite spot in the world. I was wearing a sandal with a strap in-between my big toe and second toe and said strap was a little loose. Which means, it hung down a bit as I walked. That tiny little space between my foot and my shoe set me up for what would be every travelers nightmare in a village that consists of steps! A sprained foot.
As I was walking up the steps in my villa, my sandal hooked on the lip of the shiny marble steps and because it was a hand crafted Italian sandal, it didn’t snap. Which means, the sandal bent down and stayed intact and my foot went up, and didn’t! I didn’t know I had the capacity to string together such a variety of happy colorful word as I displayed at the moment of the “impact”.
Once I got my bearings, I hobbled up to my veranda and proceeded to self-medicate with a bag of ice on my foot. Being the silver-lining sort of girl that I am, I sat there thinking, “I’ve got a bad foot with a great view and good friends with me”. Admittedly, that attitude was a tad temporary until I woke up the next day to a foot that was shaped like a purple floatation device with 5 little sausages sticking out the end of it!!
After years of “summering” here, I’ve made a few friends. One in particular, who’s brother happens to be an Orthopedic Surgeon. Did you know they make house calls in Italy? A highly skilled doctor will actually come to your home and check you out? Yes, it’s true, I’m friends with his brother, but he makes calls to homes, boats and such on a regular basis. I was in awe. “No, I don’t think it’s broken but go get an x-ray just to play it safe”. Here is where the story takes a left turn vs the “up-turn” my foot took.
My wonderful doctor wrote a note in Italian for me to carry on my person to the hospital with instructions. Sounds easy enough right? Nope! Pulling up to the hospital in Sorrento made me question where I was. The building clearly hasn’t been maintained in years. In fact, it had a 3rd world look, and I was nervous. While the receptionist was very sweet and tried her best to be helpful, it was apparent that as a tourist, I was not going to get the time of day from the staff that would actually do the x-ray. After about an hour of waiting in a dirty hallway sitting in a wobbly wheel chair, the nurse running the show came out and said, “you are not an emergency, we will not see you”. Whoa…harsh…and she was, harsh!
We ended up at a private clinic and while the staff was lovely, “the x-ray tech was out for a couple of hours but we could book an appointment”. At this point, I scratched the entire process and went home to continue to self-treat. As it turns out, initial assessments where correct and it was a sprain and the healing was fairly rapid. I did all the right things with rest, compression, ice, elevation and crutches, but the real change came on day four when I was determined to get in the sea. I had a hunch that the salt of the Mediterranean would accelerate my healing. I’m sure I looked like a real idiot hobbling into the sea with two “sticks” (i.e.; crutches) and a wrapped-up foot, but I didn’t care. At one moment I actually thought, “this feels almost biblical in that I need to dip myself in the sea three times to be healed”. And I must confess, my foot’s response to the sea was biblical. I went into the sea with a purple foot and I came out with a yellow foot. For those who don’t know what that means, yellow is the progression of healing. I was amazed, and with each “swim” my foot got progressively better. Today, as I type this 7 days later, I am crutch free, almost bruise free, with some soreness.
Lessons learned for my future travelers to this region should you have a medical issue:
1. Doctors do make house calls. Most hotels will have relationships with medical professionals that will come and see you. There will be a fee, but nothing to significant compared to the United States.
2. For minor injuries, the pharmacists act much like a physician’s assistant in the United States and can give you over the counter remedies that you might not get without a prescription back home. In fact, they will also offer natural remedies that a homeopath might suggest as well.
3. Should you need to go into a clinic and it’s not an emergency, schedule time at a private clinic vs the hospital. Only go to the “war torn” hospital in Sorrento if it is absolutely necessary!
4. Get in the sea! Perhaps it’s the volcanic minerals coupled with the salt density, but the Med is remarkably medicinal. I jokingly refer to it as the “fountain of youth”. If I could only figure out how to keep my face under the water as long as my foot!
There are certainly risks to international travel, but over time I’ve learned that no matter what happens while I’m abroad, there is always a solution. In some cases, the experience will leave you missing some of the amenities of home, but in most cases, you will be surprised by the kindness of strangers. The key? Stay calm. Do not panic. Ask for help, and watch the solution unfold. I suppose a little biblical water doesn’t hurt either!!
Sorrento area emergency information
Trip advisor community on Amalfi vs Sorrento for medical care
Totally know what you are going through! Will have to share my foot x2 injuries while in Kenya stories when your mom brings us together to talk about my trip to Italy next year. So glad you healed!
Thanks Danna! Kenya sounds like a rough place to deal with an injury…glad you healed too! 🙂