A Crash Course in Prague
A Trip to the Doctor’s
Today’s big excursion was to the Canadian Medical Center in Prague to have my back and neck examined... To see if there is anything that I can do to stop the pain.
Yes, there is a Canadian center in Prague. Who knew.
Most notably, its way out of the way... Like all the way across the river, and then some... And then some more. It’s two tram rides, separated by a trip on the subway followed by a walk.
While I was riding the second tram there I was approached by a boy, somewhere around age 16, who began talking to me in Czech. I must begin by saying that I have never been approached by someone of the Czech persuasion, let alone on the trams that are very quiet... I looked at him after he finished speaking and said, “I’m sorry” in English. He immediately began to chuckle, and in broken English conveyed, “I like your jacket, where did you get it?”
Flattering. Someone liked my jacket. He knew that it would be difficult to find in the Czech Republic, because he said, “In America, not Praha.” I responded, yes, in Czech. I asked him for a pen, making the universal hand scribble over a sheet of paper. He retrieved one from his backpack, and I wrote, “ARCTERYX” in large, typewriter like letters on a strip of paper that I had pulled from my medical folder. I said, “brand” as I handed him the strip of paper. He smiled and thanked me. I said, “your welcome” and smiled.
The kicker is that he’s going to go online and find out that the jacket is $400. Plus the shipping, import tariffs, the 19% value-added-tax. But I truly hope he finds the jacket, and buys it, and remembers that he received the information from some random American on the number 36 tram.
It’s funny how moments like this, random unlikely pathways come to cross. While I will never know his name, where he was heading, where he had come from, or why he liked my jacket, I will always remember the kid who was bold enough to ask a complete stranger where I got my jacket. He will never know my name, where I was going, or where I was coming from, but he will always remember walking up to a complete stranger, and realizing that I spoke almost no Czech.
How many times in our lives do moments like this happen? Will you remember the face of the person who asked you where you bought your shoes? or jacket? or what color your living room curtains are? or where you had your hair done? or what breed your dog is?
It was a strange coincidence of random events colliding in a manner that was neither predetermined or pure happenstance. It just Was.
Anyways, I got off the tram at the station my directions told me to, and looked around for the medical center. It must have looked ridiculous to see someone twirling around looking for some landmark, but that was me... I began to walk in the direction I felt the medical center may have been in. I walked halfway up the street, wishing that I had remember the address or written it down somewhere, before turning around and walking back down that street. I tried to call the NYU center, but there was nobody in the library to tell me which way to go. I tired to call my RA. No answer. I tried to call another RA. No answer. Frustrated that I was going to miss my appointment if I didn’t hurry up and find the location I pulled another sheet of paper out of my pocket.
I did write down the address, and phone number, of the medical center. I guess my subconscious knows me pretty well... because I definitely don’t remember writing it down...
I walked in to the local “Tabak”, or corner store as we know them in the US, walked up to the clerk and pointed to the address on my sheet of paper, and said, “Canadian Medical.” She responded in half Czech, half English, guiding me back up the street from which I had just walked up and back down, and then around the corner past the Skoda Auto store, to the medical center.
So I walked back up the street, and rounded the corner by Skoda Auto, and there it was.
Right on time.
The picture at the top is of the compound... Yes it seemed compound like as I walked through the gate into a courtyard with bronze sculptures of people. I went into the first building, figuring it was a good place to start. It was, in fact, the correct one. I registered with the nurse, and they brought me into the office 10 minutes or so later. The doctor was very kind, and spoke English well. She suggested Physiotherapy... which is another way of saying Physical Therapy. The doctor she wanted me to see didn’t have any openings next week, so she scheduled me for the following Monday, but was able to get me in with another therapist immediately.
He was about 6’ 3”, slender, and wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. He had to duck through the nonstandard doorways in the building. He introduced himself and said, “I may not look like it, but I am a doctor.” I smiled and responded, “of course.”
Seriously, name a country that they don’t have casual Friday.
He worked on my back for about 20 minutes, working to realign all the misalignment that I seem to put in there on a daily basis... The hope is that by strengthening my shoulders, and back I will take the stress off my neck, thus have less of a chance to re injuring the nerve that has been causing all of my problems.
And it’s funny that I have to go to another country to actually get the PT that I needed 6 years ago when I did this to my neck... They are taking more of a holistic approach to health... PT and meds for the pain, versus just the meds for the pain.
After my appointment I found my way home... This time three trams, and a subway. The whole trip took nearly 4 hours. Nothing moves quickly here. And everything takes longer than you think it should.
Just think when I come back, and things happen quicker, I’m either always going to be early, or ridiculously late...
Anyways, the rest of the day was watching Iornman purchased from iTunes. I love iTunes. I also talked to the folks, and had a cup of tea with Veronika.
That’s that. And as you can tell, I’m feeling better... A little. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more improvement.
Bach’s Mass in B minor at the Philharmonic tomorrow evening, should be awesome!