Last Thursday night, close to midnight, I was waiting to take my last set of eyedrops for my glaucoma, and I fell asleep. It was unusually late for the drops and I was soooo sleepy. Next thing I knew I had fallen on the floor, hitting my head and banging my shoulder really hard. I took the drops with Rajan's help, then went to sleep (in bed); but Friday morning my shoulder and arm were so painful, we went to emergency.
Long story short, we were wonderfully taken care of. We have insurance through the hospital, which reduced the expense incredibly: They took X-rays of my shoulder and did a Cat Scan, given that I had a goose-egg on my head. Good news: no broken bones and Cat Scan was fine. They did give me a pain-killer shot and a prescription for pain pills, and I was told not to go on one of my 3-4-mile walks for a few days and to keep my arm in a sling.
I am so grateful no damage was done! Just momentary discomfort, so I used the following days reading and studying Portuguese. Luckily, the doctor and nurse who attended me spoke English.
Already my shoulder feels better, but it's not quite back to normal yet. Still, I'm back to walking (have walked 2-3 miles for the last three days).
Meanwhile, My very kind friend, Carla Pereira came by Monday morning with a delicious dessert treat to make me feel better. Also, knowing how I like Pessoa, the Portuguese poet, she brought a deck of Pessoa playing cards. The backs all have a picture of him looking mournful in a trenchcoat and his tell-tale hat. But on the playing side, each card has a different short quote from one of his writings. The usual sets are there (hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs, and Ace through King in each set), but individually each has a different (and short) quote — ideal for learning my Portuguese. 
Also, at the Amazon site for Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls, there is a little snippet teaser you can listen to on Audible HERE . 
I hope this finds those of you stopping by enjoying your lives and busy with good things (and not falling off chairs.) Take care and stay well.
10 comments:
Ouch, so sorry for the fall. But no broken bones is a very good thing, as is a friend who brings dessert.
Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear about your fall. If you don't mind me asking, how does insurance work when you are out of the country?
Those cards are too cute. Love them.
Oh Elizabeth! What a scare. As I read your story, you kept us in suspense until the very end. Granted, that is what a good writer does! This is good news that nothing is broken, and you are back walking again.
Enjoyed seeing the playing cards. Looks like a great way to learn Portuguese, since you have now moved here permanently. Stay safe, dear.
Hi, Mirka, yes, I'm so glad there were no broken bones. Meanwhile, my husband is equally grateful for our friend's sweet treat! Hope you and your kitties are still relaxing. There is nothing like a pet to demonstrate the art of living!
Hi, Sandra, glad you like the cards. As for the insurance, we took out insurance here. We automatically get national health for a small fee, although they are a little behind in registrations, etc., due to Covid. But we also took out insurance through a French company that insures older people, as we needed to show local innsurance before coming into the country. And then, as a bonus, we've taken out insurance provided by the hospital itself, which works a bit like Kaiser does back in the states. They have very good coverage for very small fees and good reductions on procedures, etc. So, now that we know we are staying for sure, we are going to discontinue our US insurance.
Good Afternoon, Elizabeth (and Bleubeard). Thanks for the concern and good wishes. I do feel extremely lucky the way it all turned out. My only frustration is not quite being back at work on my book. Hopefully tomorrow I can write out a scene that has been playing in my head for the past week. (I suppose the good news there is that Ive re-written it as well in my head a few times. :-)
I do wish, Blogger had a proper email function for when people ask questions; commenting back and forth is not ideal.
Think of a RAW photo as a negative. You have to develop a negative into a print. But you would also have to develop it to share online ((although you would usually just scan the developed print (but stick with me here) when it presents it to you onscreen)) but leaves the data intact for the photographer to process as he or she sees fit.
You can program a camera to develop the photo to its own taste (ie jpeg) or a RAW file. In the jpeg version, which most people shoot, especially on phones, the camera has made its decisions and has discarded whatever information that it didn't use. A jpeg (or standard image) is kind of like a print; it's complete. While you can still edit a jpeg, you are more limited. A RAW photo contains every bit of data that went to the sensor when you clicked the shutter. This gives the photographer more control.
Sorry to hear about your fall. That is pretty scary. But I'm glad you seem to be mending quickly. Poetry playing cards. That's an interesting idea. I've never seen anything like that. Enjoy your walks and your language lessons.
Thanks for stopping by, AC.I found this really interesting. My husband is familiar with this process (I just checked with him). Originally he was hoping to do print photography here in Portugal, but our flat isn't set up for it, and we can't find a lab to rent, so recently he has been considering going to digital.
Thanks, Rosi. Yesterday I got back up to 4.7 miles between various trips to the historic center, first for lunch with friens who have recently moved here from California, and later to hear a Fado concerta at the archeological lmuseum. (It has an auditorium, and the seats were limited so that social distancing was maintained.) Our teacher (and friend) sings Fado and was one of the singers. The other was a local, also, whom we hadn't heard before. Both were pretty good. Rajan and I love Fado.
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