Being Ill in Bulgaria

Seeing people of my own age around me draws me to compare health. Of course you can't tell how healthy a person is just by looking at them. however you can see how they walk, posture and general body language to give you clues to their wellbeing. One of my great pastime is people watching anyway so when my focus is on someone akin to my age there is bound to be comparisons with myself.

We all have been ill at some point and now it was my turn for a change. Pain is something I can bear when I am in control such as pushing myself physically on my bike or cycling, but pain caused by illness is at the very least an intolerable scenario.

As you get older you put up with aches and pains, it grows upon you gradually that is acceptable it is a message reminding you you're getting older and can't run around like a spring chicken anymore. That doesn't mean you become stagnant, just more careful with excursions for example proper warming up and warming down before and after exercising or thinking first before running for a bus or picking up that heavy box. It took some painful experiences to come to terms with that way.

Well now back in Bulgaria and putting up with a painful left hand for months, which I put down to a history of tension initially taking up the viola after puberty, (long story). Then working in Bulgaria full time in a boiler factory in Bulgaria back in 2007, basically with an active drill in my hand 8 hours a day (I'm left handed). The latter did the most damage. I started up the piano again for a least and hour a day a few months ago and the left hand was giving me problems with tension and stress which gradually got worse, but I persevered. Perhaps I should have read the signs and given it a break. On top of this my cycling requires hours on end of grip on the handlebars, which doesn't do the wrist any favours especially when the weather turned a little damper and colder. So come the end of November it wasn't very comfortable at all.

The Barrels That Did The Damage

27th November arrived and it was the evening before Rakia Making Day. I had to help get two big barrels full of fermented wine out of my garage and onto a van. It was a cold evening pouring with rain and I had been waiting for half an hour for the van to arrive on the street in these condition. A cold man with no head cover or gloves and soaked through with the thought of rakia making motivating him. The van duly arrived and as I began to lift the first barrel my left wrist cracked under the strain accompanied with a sharp dagger like pain. I worked through the pain on the second barrel and struggled with four heavy sacks of wood. That was it I thought, give it a rest overnight and will be fine in the morning. That evening I took a couple of paracetamol and an early night to bed for a 5:30 rise in the morning and very excited for the Rakia Making Day ahead.

The following morning on waking up before the alarm, I should have gone to the Doctor, but with the excitement and adrenalin of Rakia making in front of me I pushed through the pain and got through the process one-handed, including the driving to the village. It didn't end there, the pain was becoming very close to intolerable now and apples had to be peeling and cut to add to the fresh rakia crying out for them. Galia insisted she should do it but being the fool I am for some reason I have a compulsion for self-suffering and a steeped history for working through pain just for the hell of the challenge. The apples were duly albeit painfully prepared and my left wrist was now transformed into constant pain rather than intermittent with movement. Something quite wrong there now I thought. Still I will rest it overnight and tomorrow with no plans to do anything. It will be fine.

Bed at 11:00 and the pain now was constant increasing to the degree I couldn't sleep no matter what position my hand was in. By 02:30 I was at the end of my tether end and in tears with pain. The wrist was compressed by wrapping in a pair of socks around it to support, but that made no difference. The agony now was completely out of my control and that's where the decision was made to visit the hospital. But I was feeling light-headed and dizzy almost to the point of passing, so I reluctantly had to wake Galia who was in a deep sleep next to me for assistance.

A&E My First Hospital Call 2:30 am

A taxi was called and we arrived at the local hospital some 10 minutes later. I was seen immediately and examined thoroughly by a team of at least four Doctors in attendance with three nurses in turn. I was laid down on a bed and put on a drip for three hours. I was shaking from cold and nerves as they mentioned that I might be suffering from a stroke!! Bloody Hell was my reaction to that, after all the fitness I do and this? Can't be! I was left to ponder that for quite some time. During this time I was distracted by an argument right by the side of the bed I was lying on with a Gypsy Mother and Daughter demanding a prescription off the Doctor. The argument lasted ages and was very heated in the end they were ordered out of the treatment rooms and had to wait until the day shift started to be served. I found out that this was common that Gypsies often come at night with a free taxi service and free treatment and drugs just because they are treated differently to Bulgarians. they take advantage of this and when given the free drugs sell them on for 100% profit. We (or should I say Bulgarians) have to pay for taxis, medical treatment and prescriptions!) This incident however didn't detract me too much with the pain I was in and the shaking continued.

Second Hospital for X-Ray

5:00 in the morning and it was a transfer to another hospital, (with a taxi we paid for!) for an x-ray. This hospital was where Galia's Nephew works who I cycle with on occasion. We turned up and an x-ray was made within 10 minutes. Then it was another hospital for an examination from another specialist with addition tests to be made. Another taxi taken and now the third hospital in the space of 12 hours.

Third Call Yambol's Polyclinic

Whilst waiting to be seen, there were six other parties there all with the same appointment time of 16:30 to see one Doctor. How was that? I was examined and told that there was no stroke but probably just an infection and further blood tests would be taken early tomorrow morning. I was given a prescription two series of injections, (hate those!) one set of tablets, and a powder compound to be mixed with water and drunk. All this cost money including the visits and Doctors seen with tomorrow the promise of more costs. No avoiding this unless you are a Gypsy apparently. Doesn't matter that I'm British and paid National Insurance throughout my working life not that I expect any special treatment as a Brit. 

Current Medication!

Another night but this time I slept well after a bout of two injections one on each cheek and other prescribed medicine. I  was told no food or drink in the morning prior to the planned hospital tests and duly adhered to instructions turning up with a rumbling stomach. 

Fees paid for blood and urine specimen test although only blood was taken even though we paid for both. the queuing system here is absolute chaos and only though who have no scruples about running up to the treatment room get seen first. A classic case seen here where an overweight man crawled up the corridor as if it was his last walk on earth, then once the surgery door open he was an Olympic Athlete sprinted to the door and getting in before those who had been waiting for their turn. I find it strange that no one complains. I have been told to just keep quite in these situations as many Bulgarians are prejudice on finding out I'm English in confrontational situations. This advice has kept me out of trouble for years even though it is difficult not to express an opinion seeing what goes on..

The blood test was good, all normal, a relief and it was now time to continue with the given drugs and become a passive person for a week. No fitness, no piano, no work on repairs or rebuilding my bike and no driving. Difficult!

The Cost!

I'm feeling a lot better now, but am reminded again about how old I am and how I should behave. The total cost of this episode amounted to over 100 BG Lev. You just can't afford to be ill here without private health insurance which is something I cam considering right now. But will it get overlooked and on the backburner when I am fit again? Probably......That's what the vast majority of people do here in Bulgaria anyway, take it as it comes, they just don't have disposable income for a, What if?', scenario on health.

So now when I people watch and see individuals my age and compare health, I know that at any point in time health can change without warning, that doesn't stop you trying to look after yourself though to reduced the risk factor which I will continue to do. Beside I feel that investment in fitness is cheaper than investment in health insurance which I can 'Ill afford,' on my small pension here.

Tampons - An Inventive Bulgarian Alternative

I know smoking is bad for you but here in Bulgaria it is considered normal to smoke and unusual not to. This will change as the EU grips Bulgaria by the throat and forces the people there not to smoke by raising the cost of cigarettes tenfold.

The cost of cigarettes has double in the last couple of years and is due to increase by another 43% in the New Year, so Bulgarians being Bulgarians find a practical way of dealing with this. The answer they have now is to roll their own cigarettes, which works out at around half the cost of factory made smokes. My partner uses filters in her rolled versions and this is where the tip comes in.

This weekend she ran out of filters so being a practical women she looks for something that could replace it as we were in the village with no shops that sold roll up cigarette accessories. It was that time of the month when potential baby producing women bleeds and she had some tampons in here handbag that dealt with it. Sunday morning I woke up and found one of these tampons cut into pieces. She had used her tampon as cigarette filters!

Well this is how it is in Bulgaria, such a practical people as ever with no scruples about dealing with a problem in whatever way works that lay in front of them. I must add that the tampon in question was unused! (In case you were wondering.)

It worked so well that my partner has decided to use tampons instead of conventional filters as it actually works out cheaper and works just as well. My advice of course is to give up smoking all together which would be a bigger saving, but this is Bulgaria and the smoking goes on.

Image via Wikipedia

Moni The Bulgarian Kitten Needs a Home

UPDATE:
EXCELLENT NEWS JUST IN.......
- MONI HAS NOW BEEN FOUND A NEW HOME! -

There is a call for a new home for a kitten that has nowhere to go right now and is being carer by Keith who took them on after taking in a stray pregnant cat. I know there are thousands of kittens in Bulgaria that have no homes but this one hopefully will be lucky.

You can see a photo below of the mother and 3 kittens, Moni is the top ginger cat in the picture and the only one who hasn’t been found a home yet.

Moni is nearly 4 weeks old and in very good health, he apparently is the first to turn up at feeding time and rather mischievous. He will be ready for his new home at the 4-week-old mark and should be fully trained at that time. Keith has kindly offered to pay for a castration if required by his new carer and also for flu injection.

Obviously this is only practical to potential carers in Bulgaria. Please let me know if you can help and I will pass your details to the kind, generous and caring Keith.

Amazing Cures From The Skalitsa Healing Stones Again

Another couple of special events happened last weekend as I took more guests to the healing stones of Skalitsa. I had one guest staying in my farmhouse and another, a friend from England who had come over just to relax based in a Yambol hotel for a couple of weeks. I decided to show them the powers of the Skalitsa healing stones the first time as I was going the farmhouse to check up and water the crops.

The guest in the farmhouse tagged along as she was very curious and had heard lots of reports both on the Internet when researching about Bulgaria and from local people in the village who she was mixing with staying there. Unfortunately she wasn’t doused with any pain and her trip there was purely for the fantastic views and wide-open space it gave of the surrounding Thracian countryside with the Balkan mountain range in the distance.

My friend had constant back pain and was quite dubious about anything changing that with a visit. He was certainly a big doubter regarding any cure that might come about and was even more sceptical after my accounts of previous cures that had transcended not just to me and previous guests I had taken there and cured, but to many Bulgarians that frequent the place with astounding results. Not only that, but he had just read my book, which had a chapter about the healing stones. He was of the opinion that my book was more fictional based than factual with my account.

I was quite glad I was going as well as I also was quite stiff and sore from all the manual work bending over tending to crops over the last few months. My last trip there cured my back pain after recovering from a slipping disc on recommendation from a Yambol doctor who always is open to alternative medicine. I knew my pains would subside with a spell on a Skalitsa healing stone as it had done so many times before.

We all lay for a while taking in the beautiful surround in the process and the talk led to telling the stories of aliens had been seen in Skalitsa in recent years and UFOs commonly seen in the area. Whether that may have had a bearing on the healing that affects was perhaps another angle on what causes the healing that happens here. In case you don’t know, this particular spot in Skalitsa has a phenomenon of being only one of two places in the world where two magnetic fields are crossed. The other one is in Mexico somewhere. It has been scientifically studied by scientists from Sofia and was confirmed as having positive affects for high blood pressure, headaches, rheumatism, arthritic joints and many other ailments and pains. It is not just hear say.

We spent around 30 minutes in the hot sun on the hot healing stones and as I expected as I sat into the Lada seat to drive back, all my aches had disappeared, I usually give a little moan as I bend to get seated to drive, that just didn’t happen. My friend was shocked, not from my cure of the aches and pains, but from his own experience now of his pains that were no longer there. He just couldn’t believe this had happened although the scepticism was still there from him as he said that the pain would probably return the next day.

The guest who had not ailments to cure said that she felt so much calmer by the experience and that she felt it gave ‘good vibes’ and a calming affect on her. She was a firm believer in alternative medicine in the first instance before the two old blokes had recovered from their pains.

The whole trip was a complete success – Again!

The conversion was now turned to talking business with the experience under the belts. The possibility of organising trips to the healing stones for tourists was the first one. Another other idea was to sell small samples of the healing stones online via eBay. Mmmm! All this talk about turning this village into a tourist spot and ridding it of its peace, quiet and natural unspoilt and untouched landscape was beginning to upset me a bit.

Now I put my hands up and own up to the fact that I do have some stones that I keep in our house in Skalitsa and Yambol from the spot. That’s one thing, but to make it into a big commercial enterprise is quite something else.

However there is the case where people should know about the Skalitsa healing stones and the cures it makes time and time again. It would benefit lots of people using this form of alternative medicine. If it does become more popular perhaps more might rent my farmhouse, which is only a ten-minute walk away.

What If You're Sick In Bulgaria?

What happens if you are sick or ill here? There is no getting away from it, you have to pay money for treatment and medicine, no one is exempt. How much you pay depend on where you are from and who you know. There is no uniform in terms of medical treatment in Bulgaria.

I have written before about having family in the medical profession here, it really is a major advantage if you are fortunate enough to have some brains in the family. The vast majority of people here haven't of course and the fear of being ill is quite apparent. The crying for someone being ill, especially in the villages is for the lack of money to pay for treatment more than the patient.

There is another twist, being an expatriate. Doctors, hospitals, dentists and opticians will know straight away that you are an expatriate and there is a completely revised rate for treatment and medicine. This is besides the fact that there is a reciprocal agreement in the EU that all EU citizens have to be charged as Nationals of that country are charged. I have this written on an official document stating that law is in operation. This is Bulgaria, this does not go on here and you can't blame them. The pay to the medical profession for their services and funds put into to the medical profession are diabolical. If there is a chance of robbing the rich to give to the poor then this is a prime example of it. What's more if they can get away with it it will happen.

The problem with this is that some expatriates are poorer than the Bulgarians and that makes it totally unfair. What's more, there is medical insurance that is available that you can take out as an expatriate to cover medical expenses and it advised, especially to those that were ill and had to pay out extortionate medical bills. This again is okay is you can afford medical insurance, if you can't, then you have to take the risk of not being ill. If you are poor everything is against you in this world, Bulgaria is no exception.

The question is, what do you do if you are ill? Well if it is life threatening emergency treatment is free for all, beyond that you have to pay. So for the poor, after the emergency is over they will go back home and tended by amateur doctors, namely their families and try and gather enough funds for basic medication to keep them going. The problem is compounded if the patient was working and relying of that income, which now has dried up with the incapacity. There is no escape from more poverty in these instances. You can now understand why Bulgarian weep if illness strikes.