Colpo della Strega

A week ago Amy stood up and, in the process, injured her back. Don't worry. Her condition is improving rapidly and it is NOT a repeat of the spine problems she dealt with as she was leaving Derryfield a decade ago. However, it highlights both the similarities and differences in medical care between Italy and the US. She initially self-treated with anti-inflamatories, heat and rest. However, on Wednesday she mentioned her condition to the head of the school as we were standing around in the process of cancelling classes for the day and he took her under his wing to visit the physical therapist he has been working with to help with his back after he fell out of an olive tree. This doctor has done extensive work with Italian olympic teams over the past 20+ years and recently worked with their Davis Cup team. His office is conveniently located a few blocks away outside the city walls. Amy had no appointment, walked in and was seen within minutes. She was sent back to her primary care physician who gave her the requested referral for an x-ray then went to the private hospital nearby where it was taken. All within a few hours on the same afternoon. Keep in mind, this wasn't an emergency room visit, just routine care without any advance appointments. On Thursday afternoon I walked to the hospital, got her films and then we went back to the physical therapist who agreed he would work on her after she got an official referral from her primary care physician. His office was a block away and we had the referral within a few minutes. The next step is the first treatment and massage with the physical therapist on Monday. Total out of pocket expenses to date? 35 euros for the private x-ray. Even that would have been free if Amy had gone to the public hospital and waited longer. Everything else was paid for by the public medical establishment. Even there, we can actually apply for reimbursement for that from our private insurace company, but the paperwork hassle is such that we will let it ride unless the bills pile up later.

So why the title? Unlike in the US where any technician doing a test is as tight lipped as a clam and will seldom say an unnecessary word let alone offer an opinion, the technician who took Amy's x-ray offered the unsolicited diagnosis that it was a soft tissue issue which he referred to as "colpo della strega". This translates literally as "hit of the witch". I guess that is as good an explanation as any as to what happened to Amy!