breathe

I nearly gave myself a panic attack in anticipation. Yesterday my long-awaited appointment with the cardiologist arrived. There were no openings for the dermatologist until May, which would give me plenty of time to recover from the impending trauma. I need forms signed by both of these doctors in order to swim in our local pool, and this meant only one thing: Return to the Public Hospital.

My anxiety started rising the night before. It was a difficult night anyway; a tough meeting and an overall discouragement about my work in Greece (see previous post). By the time Wednesday morning arrived and I was receiving instructions from Voula regarding which bus to take, and where to get on and where to get off (enough adventure for one day, in my current condition), it was full blown dread and doom.

It went so smoothly. It's a good thing; if anyone had so much as looked at me the wrong way there's no telling what kind of mess I would have become. Unlike last time there were no crowds. No lines. The physician's assistant (I'm assuming) took me immediately into the office. Apparently you can tell how someone's heart is performing by listening to it beat once. I got my form signed.

I took a chance and asked at the front desk about a dermatology appointment, since I only needed a form signed. She pointed upstairs and hurled some Greek garble in my direction, but I heard "second floor" and something about asking up there where the office was (or else I just gathered that from her pointing). Turned out to be the first floor (floor numbers start above the ground floor here), but who's counting. My basic Greek, "Χρειάζομαι ένα χαρτί για το κολυμβητήριο" ("I need a paper for the swimming pool"), got me quite far! When I finally found the right floor, the receptionist told me to go back downstairs and make an appointment, but I asked for the doctor and told her I just needed a paper. She waved in the direction of the office. I knocked on the door, they took me in after a few minutes, signed my paper, and off I went. The doc even spoke English.

Good for one year of swimming in Greece.

Small victories. Of course I couldn't enjoy it at the time, since I was still in prepare-to-hyperventilate-at-any-moment mode. But now, it's a relief to be cleared for disease-less swimming, so easily, without having to wait until May! I think it was a little bit of grace for me yesterday. :)