Knock on wood, during my fourteen years on this island I have never been sick enough to go to hospital. My ex-husband on the other had to make a visit not long after moving here. He had been out working in the garden all day, middle of July, without drinking more than one bottle of Coca-Cola and without wearing a hat. Guess what happened? In the afternoon he went to bed for a rest and didn’t get up until three days later. Headache and dizziness overwhelmed him in a way he could not describe. He could not drink or eat. In this state this very special man tells me to go to the doctor and find out what is wrong with him, while he is still at home in bed! Stubborn as I am I did not accept this. He had to kindly come with me to the hospital if he had any intention to get well. So after much whining and arguing we were on our way. We ended up meeting Dr. Ercan at a private clinic in Girne who immediately took care of my husband.
He was treated in the best possible way. After a few hours the night had fallen and I decided to I leave the clinic and go home and sleep. As I went to tell Dr Ercan goodbye, he turned in his chair and looked at me with surprised eyes. “Will you leave your poor man alone? In a private clinic? ” “Yes! You’re a doctor and he is getting good care “I told him, looking back at him with eyes as surprised. But no, this was not ok . I would have to sleep next to my husband, get up at night to give him water, etc. As that point I was still in my Swedish way of thinking and had a hard time understanding this demand. When you go to hospital the doctor takes care of you and the relatives go back home after a while. End of story.
But no, not here … Well, eventuallt the doctor let me to go home to sleep if I promised to come back early in the morning to make my boyfriend breakfast. “Sure, of course,” I replied. Later that evening, Dr. Ercan phoned me and announced proudly that he had found a little yellow pill that reduced my husband’s headache. The following day my husband could leave the clinic, and thanks to these little yellow pills and lots of water, he recovered very quickly. From that moment, he always wore a hat and drank lots of water when being outside a lot. Even during wintertime…
