She was living in a small village when she dislocated her knee. They took her to a hospital in Verona to what was supposed to be an "emergency" room. She said it looked like something out of a movie, an older building with lots of arches, doors opening onto a promenade with more arches. An attendant put her in a large open area with lots of beds where she waited and waited and waited. At one point she saw a cat stroll into the rooom, look around and leave. LOL She could hear the staff chatting about personal matters, seemingly oblivious to her pain. Unaware that she spoke Italian, they mockingly referred to her at one point as a soft, coddled American. When she addressed them in Italian they made a brief pretense of concern for her well being.
Finally, they worked on her knee, put a brace on it, gave her a few pills and sent her on her way.
Fluid built up, she had to make a return visit. Pretty much the same scenario as before... the waiting, the indifference. Finally, her knee was drained.
Back to her apt, the pain worsened, an infection had developed, probably a result of the unsanitary conditions at the hospital. At this point the church intervened, first taking her to a hospital in Milan, then decided it was best to send her home. Her church chartered a plane and brought her home to a hospital here in town. She lost a good bit of the flexibility in that knee, about 20%, but she finally received the proper treatment.
That is an example of the excellant treatment you receive with socialized medicine.
I wonder what ever happened to Grandpa?