Out Sick

This should have been posted over a week ago, but heck I was too sick to bother. It is so usual with me, it is almost boring to discuss, but here it is anyway. I have the worlds worst sinuses. The doctors in California did not want to bother with me, since my HMO would refuse anything they wanted to try anyway.

The doctor here sent me to an ENT who sent me to have an MRI done. That has been over a year ago. The verdict was as expected. Hey, you got lousy sinuses and they are going to be chronically infected, so get used to it.

It all starts out the same way. One day I wake up to feel like there is tapioca dripping down the sides of my throat. Sometimes, this brings on a sore throat, but not always. It does produce coughing because having that tapioca consistency pouring down your throat does not make for great breathing.

This go around was not much different except, I was not able to shake like I usually do. Generally, 2-3 days of hunkering in bed sleeping it off would do the trick. At other times, it gets into my lungs, causes an infection and moves on to full stage pneumonia. This was what happened this time.

So I have been on drugs, had an X-Ray and return to the doctor on Monday. Hopefully, all will be well.

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• 10 ways to soothe a sore throat
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You Want to Transfer Money? Don't Bank On It Part 1

As I shared yesterday, we signed the paperwork for the new apartment last night. I had wanted to make the bank transfers online while we were still in the realtor's office; once the password was typed in of course I welcomed a gaggle of witnesses looking over my shoulder. But no... first our realtor chimed in and said wait until tomorrow, but our lawyer seconded the motion. I knew this was a mistake, yet you follow advice when doubly offered. 

This morning, we were up early, booting up the computer and logging into our XYZ Bank account. We had made the seller a new payee yesterday, so it was all systems go. Type in the log in information, select the account, the payee, the day of transfer, and then the amount. Click on "Are you sure you want to make this transfer?" I hate getting these automated services when they question my judgement. It is like my mother's voice calling from the grave whining "Are you sure that is wise? Remember the last time..." With a stiff finger showing stoic intent, we hit the CONTINUE button with a sense of relief and disregard to mom's admonition. All is well with the world, the sun is shining, the full deposit has been made, we can let out our held breathes...

So much for false security. Red letters flashed across the screen "This amount exceeds your daily limit of 2 million HUF a day." Now what? We remember and revert to the Hungarian saying, "If you cannot get through the large gate, there is always a little gate next to it that you can usually get through." Well, it's worth a try, but we are both big guys and this is a big amount. That is one heck of a lot of squeezing through small gates.

We sign out of Ron's account number and sign back in with mine. We are able to confuse the system enough to allow us to send another 2 million, but that is where the bank has put its virtual foot down. No more! Okay, now what? I had to go to the doctor, so Ron went to the bank to try to fix this. Rather than their helping him there, they sent him home with a phone number to call. To their benefit, he didn't have all the information needed for their copious forms that needed to be completed and it would have taken longer to fill out the forms, get them into their computer and finally to be processed than it would have been to return to the US, get the cash and carry it over by hand.

When he returned home, I had returned from the ENT doctor. Finally, someone has diagnosed my sinus problems. There are three areas of sinuses that are chronically infected. The end result is surgery, but the doctor said to wait on this. After Ron and I exchanged our day's survival bits, he called Citibank to arrange for the rest of the money to be transferred to the seller, per the instructions they sent him home with. After thirty minutes on the phone, they had accumulated all of the data needed to check our dental records, know the last ten people we had relations with from the prior 4 decades, and oh, yea the reason for our call, to transfer our money. 

Just when we thought we were through, there was a catch. Someone else from the bank will be calling back to confirm our identity or that of Ron Schmitz and confirm the transfer. Okay, fine, but we had lunch plans with Árpád my former student and with Dan and Ellen, a Fulbrighter and his wife. Ron was going to leave us early for a tour at the museum he was to lead. He gave me his ATM card, this pin number and all of the codes the bank gave him for the confirmation call, and his phone. 

Giving that extra spice to being an ex-pat, last night we didn't have any water in the kitchen. There was water in both bathrooms, but none where the dirty dinner dishes were sitting. At lunch, we asked Árpád to call the building manger, an outside company. Turns out a pipe had been replaced, but the residents were warned yesterday. The joys of ex-pat living. No one came to our door. "Forget them, they are Americans; they will probably not notice."
 
All in all, I was prepared for the Citibank call allowing Ron to go do his tour of duty without interruptions... or so we thought... to be continued.

Related articles

• Nose Sprays: A Bit of Relief for Sinus Problems (everydayhealth.com)
• How Smoking Harms Your Sinuses (everydayhealth.com)
• The Scoop on Neti Pots (everydayhealth.com)
• CITIBANK-Arrests people from the street and force them inside the bank: This after 25 people are arrested for closing their bank accounts: Where is the Main stream Media Reporting? (euzicasa.wordpress.com)

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Open, Close, Stand Still, Sit Down

The orders have not stopped. I have been bombarded with them the last couple of months. If it were orders for some product I have been hawking I would be in heaven, but it hasn't. The orders have been coming from doctors, dentists, and other medical personnel.

About a month ago I went to see our neighborhood doctor about my sinuses. For decades I have had problems with a runny nose. All during my childhood, doctors blamed it on my deviated septum. Just one of the ways I deviate; however, this one can be blamed on a kid named Kit. We were in 4th grade together and he was a bully. One day he punched me in the nose when I was defending my best friend Clark. From that time I have had chronic bronchitis and pneumonia more times than I have fingers. Ever surgeon offered to correct it, but every insurance company called it cosmetic surgery; therefore, it was not covered.

In the US, I had seen specialist after specialist because it always became hyperactive the minute almond trees went into bloom. The allergist ran a skin panel, but not for almonds since that was beyond the routine testing, which the insurance covered.

My little, young Hungarian doctor insisted she refer me to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor, scrounging around her list of contacts until she found one who spoke English. However, while I was there, she made me commit to a routine testing; it had been 2 years. The next morning I had to offer my blood and urine after fasting from midnight. She said the results would be back within days, but I waited for over 2 weeks before returning. We were going to Munich, why spoil a good vacation with bad news about my health?

In the meanwhile, I went to the ENT who in turn wanted me to have a CT scan of my head. He personally scheduled it, but it wasn't to be until days before we left for Munich. He told me to call him when I had the results. Run there, run there. All the tests were done, but now the CT scan results would not be ready until we returned from Munich. Perfect timing. 

When we returned, I picked up the scan results and went to see the local doctor first. My glucose seems to go up at night, but is fine during the day. She said I was fine, but should watch my sugar intake. 

The ENT doctor told me to call him when I had the results so he could tell me when he would be at the clinic. He has not yet returned my calls. Hmmm...I wonder if he can hear the phone ringing.

What turns my American friends green is that none of this has cost me a single forint.

Related articles

• Deviated septum surgery 'really cosmetic' (mya.co.uk)
• What Causes Sinus Problems? (webmd.com)
• Munich beyond Oktoberfest (cnn.com)
• Is holding a sneeze in dangerous? (zocdoc.com)

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