Santamer (Zero Day)

I guess I should be careful when I say, I can’t wait to see what Camino experience will bring me tomorrow! Well, today it definitely was an interesting Camino experience, but not necessarily a great Camino experience!

It started after returning to my room from dinner last night when I started coughing uncontrollably, and coughing up a lot of phlegm. I started feeling bad and didn’t sleep well because of the coughing. In the morning I felt very weak and achy, and my chest felt very congested, and decided I probably wasn’t in condition to walk today, especially 18-20 miles.

I asked the desk clerk if I could stay another day and he suggested I go to the hospital and see a doctor. I have to admit I am not fond of going to the doctor, but I have to remind myself that I got sick on two of my three other Caminos, and I was once in intensive care in critical condition for five days with pneumonia. After the pneumonia scare I promised to myself that I would not hesitate going to a doctor when I felt bad, so I decided to go to the hospital emergency room.

I was sitting at the front desk waiting for the clerk to call a cab when Liz and Grit, the two New Zealanders that I met at the first albergue, walked in! They had taken a bus to Santarem several days ago because Liz was sick with an upper respiratory problem and came here to see a doctor at the hospital. This reaffirmed my decision that I was doing the right thing by going to the doctor. I don’t know if I got the same thing from her, or I gave it to her, or maybe we got it from all the hundreds of people we’ve been in contact with?

I took a cab, which was €4 ($4.40), since I wasn’t sure I had the energy to walk the one mile to the Hospital Distrital de Santarem. I got there about 9:30 and was not released until almost four hours later. I registered, sat in the waiting room, then checked by a nurse who tagged me with a green armband (non-emergency), and back to the waiting room. The doctor finally saw me about 45 minutes later and had me go for a chest X-ray to see if I had pneumonia. After the X-ray, they placed me on oxygen for about another 45 minutes, and that actually made me feel a lot better (maybe I’ll trek with an oxygen bottle from now on?). After the X-ray I saw the doctor again, and the prognosis was no pneumonia, and maybe a bacterial infection that caused a lot of the phlegm and congestion in my lungs. No wonder I felt so out of rhythm yesterday and had no energy!

I am not someone happy taking medication, but under these circumstances I don’t want to end up worse, so I filled the prescription for the antibiotics and phlegm decongestion. I skipped the cough syrup and pain reliever. The doctor visit at the hospital was €16 ($17.75), well worth the precaution. My prescriptions were another €12 ($13.30).

I asked the doctor if it was ok to walk again, and he said, “sure, no problem.” But when I said how about 20 to 40 km (12-25 miles)?, he rolled his eyes and threw back his head and didn’t really say.

Instead of taking a cab back I decided to walk the very steep uphill back to the hostel. It was hot and about 91 degrees (33c) and I have to admit I felt fatigued. I stopped at a nice little sidewalk cafe/stand near the plaza and had a wonderful lunch of octopus salad, fresh squeezed orange/strawberry juice, a pastry, and cafe con leche’. I felt so European and really love that Portugal has that same wonderful middle of the plaza, and on the street, atmosphere that you find in so many European countries. Sorry, but these wonderful little stands and cafes put Starbucks to shame.

Since I was walking back I just wander through some of the side streets and admired the old architecture and buildings that are everywhere in the area. I really did not know what I was looking at, and it didn’t matter to me, because just imagining the hundreds of years of history in this beautiful city was mind boggling for me.

I can’t say I feel great, and I am not sure how I will feel in the morning? And, even though the doctor said I could walk, I am going to listen to my body. Having too many zero days may cause me to run out of time and not reach Santiago. And as I said before, it’s not the destination, but the journey, and I want to make sure that I am able to continue trekking the rest of my life, so I will have to be smart about challenging myself the next few days.

Best wishes to all,

Ted

Please excuse the typos, spelling, grammar, etc., as I am typing this on my phone, and I am probably pretty tired.

If you would like to see the Alzheimer’s Association website and see our team page please go to:

act.alz.org/goto/tedstrek

At the Hospital Distrital de Santarem on oxygen

My green hospital admission wrist band.

Oh yeah, here’s my purple Alzhiemer’s Association wrist band posed for all to see!

Stopping for lunch near the municipal building

One of many beautiful fountain and parks in Santarem

Walking back to my hostel

Church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade

Church of Our Lady of the Conception of the Jesuit College

Stopped to pet a new little friend.

We lost our sweet black kitty, Bart (13 years old), a few days ago while I was here, and this little guy looks just like him😢. He even has un-retractable claws like Bart.