Navigating Injury Abroad (Part 3)
Trying to understand exactly what's wrong and what comes next for recovery
Catch Part 1 of the story and Part 2 of the story, if you missed either.
Feel free to watch my video recap and/or read Part 3 of the story below. (Note that my video recap does not cover the info in the last two paragraphs of this post, as that info came through after I recorded.)
I went into creative problem solving mode. I needed a way to make a local phone call since the number the hospital provided wasn’t on WhatsApp. So after my workout at the gym on Monday (11 days after S’s injury and 2 days after her MRI), I asked the woman at the front desk if she could help me call the hospital to make an appointment. She let me use her phone and helped me navigate the automated menu in Albanian/Shqip until we got to “Press 3 for English.” Wahoo! It took two tries, but we got a live person who tried to patch me through to the right extension, only she said no one was answering and could I try back in 10 minutes?
I told her no, unfortunately. So she asked if someone from radiology could call me back on the number I was calling from. Also no. But wait, she said radiology? I already had that number and it was on WhatsApp. I confirmed the number with her. If I could’ve contacted radiology directly to begin with, why didn’t someone just say so?! Sigh. So many of life’s difficulties are in the handoffs and transitions.
I messaged radiology as I walked out of the gym and hoped someone would respond. I stopped by the grocery store for a few things and, as I was heading home, I got a reply! In fact, good news: They sent the MRI report. Bad news: It was in Albanian/Shqip. I happened to have been messaging with an Albanian friend who’s a translator, so I asked if she’d be willing to take a look at the report. I didn’t need detail, just a high-level understanding of what was wrong and whether any next steps were mentioned.
Unfortunately for both of us, the report was in medical-ese. So she sent it on to a doctor friend of hers in hopes they could help. I also responded to the radiology department to ask if S would need to come back to the hospital to see the doctor, as I was unclear about that. We definitely needed help understanding the results and next steps, so a consult seemed logical.
Several hours went by with no communication, so I used Google translate plus questions to AI to try to understand the medical mumbo jumbo in the report. What I pieced together seemed like there were no torn ligaments, but there was a smattering of damage that would require rehab. The question was how severe any of the damage was. I couldn’t tell. C took a similar approach; he took a photo of the MRI report asked AI to translate it and provide a summary of what was wrong. He got similar results, but AI is not a substitute for a doctor.
Knowing S would be out of school soon and looking for answers, I decided to try a different approach. I messaged a physical therapist that a friend has used and recommended. I explained the situation and asked if he’d be able to look at the MRI report and indicate whether physical therapy was the next best step. He was so kind! He said yes and to send the MRI results over. Woosh, off they went.
I also messaged the radiologist again to ask how we could understand the report and the best next steps. They responded that “they cannot offer it as a service in English” and we needed to get a notarized translation. Huh? We knew there was an orthopedic doctor who spoke English. We met him the day of the x-ray! I was starting to feel crazy. Radiology in the US doesn’t usually release MRI results without a physician consult, precisely because the results don’t make sense to a lay person.
I know we’re in a foreign (to us) country and it’s our job to figure out how to navigate, but reception had told us to make an appointment, so getting a consult didn’t seem like an idea from outer space. And yet, I couldn’t figure out how to make one. I asked radiology again how we could consult the orthopedic doctor to understand the severity of the injury and what treatment would be indicated. All I got was radio silence or, as the kids these days say: Left on read.
Fortunately, the physical therapist responded and said: The report indicates that S has generalized edema with inflammation and some damage in the knee ligaments, in particular the ACL. Shoot, that means it’s a different injury than last time. :( He suggested bringing her in for a consultation so he can evaluate her knee himself and then help make a rehab plan.
I asked if there was any indication in the report of damage which would require surgery or something other than time and physical therapy to heal. He didn’t think so, but said he’d suggest an orthopedic surgeon if a further consultation seems warranted. He said he works a lot with orthopedic trauma and was part of a medical football team in Italy and is also in his last year of study to become a full doctor. So, hopefully S will be in good hands and have a plan for healing soon.
Lessons learned so far:
Make friends and connections who can help you navigate. We aren’t meant to walk through this world alone. (And be the kind of friend who helps others when they need it.)
Be resourceful; use creative problem solving to move closer to what you need, even if it doesn’t get you all the way.
Be patient. Answers will come, but perhaps not in the time frame you’re hoping for. (Obviously, if you were in a life threatening situation, this would not apply!)