hospitals, wine, and internet

There's a lot going on in my life these days. As Emily wrote, I went to the hospital on Sunday night and found out that I had broken one of the bones in my left foot. The doctor put a temporary cast on, and I had to use crutches to get around. And, as Emily said, I learned a lot about the South African health care system. Although they would not take my insurance, it wasn't any where near the amount you would have to pay without coverage in the States. Also, the hospital was clean, efficient, and modern. I hadn't expected much less than that, but I was also quite nervous on the way to the hospital. My blood pressure was unusually high when the nurse checked me in and she asked if I was feeling nervous or anxious about anything.

The next day I was off to Stellenbosch where we planned a wine tour. This trip was a little tougher than I thought it would be. I found that walking more than half a block was exhausting! This is the first time in my life that I've had crutches and they are definitely hard on your body. But everyone tried to help me out by giving me piggy back rides, and our bus on the wine tour tried to drop us off as close to the tastings as possible. The wine was great, but I didn't drink as much as others because I am still getting used to crutches. I hope to go back to Stellenbosch when my foot is healed so that I can take another wine tour and explore the beautiful mountains.

We got back yesterday, and today I met with an orthopedic surgeon who looked at my foot. Apparently, I have a Jones Fracture (named for Sir Reinold Jones who broke the same bone dancing) which is really common. It should heal in six weeks. That seems like forever to me, but as my roommate pointed out, my foot will be healed by Spring Break. For now I'm wearing a "moon boot" which pretty much describes what it looks like. My foot really isn't in any pain, but the rest of my body hurts from using the crutches.

Its been tough to have this happen without my family and friends from home, but everyone here has been great! There are few things i can do for myself right now and my house mates have all been great about helping me up and down the stairs, making my food, and giving my piggy back rides!

Finally, we just had the internet installed in our house. Its perfect timing for me because its hard for me to walk to the internet cafe and I hope it means I'll be able to be in better contact with all of you!