Crap.
I asked how she is taking the news. He says she is praying. I told him that's exactly what people do. I told him my grandfather had a quadruple bypass (I'm almost positive it was a quad) when he was in his late 70s and he came through it fine. It's important that she is able to heal afterward. He agreed and said she doesn't rest in the hospital and he wants her to be home as soon as she can afterward. I told him that nobody really can rest in the hospital. Hopefully we can get her back home quickly so she can actually recuperate. But, I told him, it's very important that she gets up and walks every single day after the surgery. If they take grafts from her legs she has to get up and walk, or her legs will never be the same. They will remain swollen. My grandfather's shoe size changed and he had healed up fairly normally. But she doesn't need to worry right now about buying new shoes. In a city that depends on walkability, she needs to mend properly. We rang off, with me promising to call her in a few hours and he promising to keep me apprised of everything.
Good grief. I still cannot believe that she was in the hospital almost a month ago and it took this long to get tests performed to determine she needs heart surgery. Is this a perk of socialized medicine everyone gets to experience?
After breakfast we loaded onto the coach with Ettore and headed out of Rome. Arrivederci!
Here I am again in Orvieto and I'm not really able to concentrate and be entirely present. Two weeks ago it was the news that my uncle had passed away and now this. At least the clients can't tell that I'm upset this time around. While I'm definitely worried about the surgery and recovery, I'm more angry and frustrated at a dysfunctional system.
We headed off to Torgiano and arrived at the vineyard & villa of Le Tre Vaselli in late afternoon. The bus ride was uneventful and everyone is getting along fine. The weather report says it's going to begin raining tonight or tomorrow. Big storms for the rest of the week in Tuscany and Liguria. Ugh.
I called Frank to discuss contingencies about rain in The Cinque Terre on Monday. Since most of the day is spent outside, if it's raining what would he suggest? My first thought would of course be to not walk between the towns that we do, but just take the train stop in each town for a little while. Try and reserve a place for lunch and keep everyone together, rather than have everyone floating off in multiple directions in inclement weather. He completely agreed and said that's the way to go. And “brava” to me for coming to that conclusion rapidly on my own. I also told him about Mamma's upcoming surgery, since he's met her and has known Marco for years having done business at the hotel.
“Shit. That's terrible, but she obviously needs it. What can I do to help? I told him to just keep her in his thoughts but he stunned me when he said he would clear my schedule from the next group tour so I could be there with her. He would take my tour and I could take his first private tour, which starts on the 10th of November. I told him the offer was too generous and I didn't want to do that to him.
“Kris, these people are family to you and they need you more than we do right now.” He said it would also do my mind good to actually be there since I had to be experiencing some kind of grief concerning my family back home. Well that's true too, although it has more to do with my mother's grieving.
“Just let me let you sit this next one out. We'll figure it out, okay? Trust me, you need to do this. Think about it and I will work it all out.”
This man is a diamond. Later that night when I was talking with my mother on the phone she remarked how happy she is that I work with someone who is looking out for my personal well-being. I couldn't agree more.
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