That time I went to hospital

Ok, so it's not as dramatic as it sounds, but it's worth mentioning that the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) is a useful thing to have.*

Personally, I haven't had a valid one since I was a teenager (it's currently lying in a drawer at home, redundant). An EHIC is something that, if you are anything like me, you only ever had for school trips. Although this is technically a trip to a school (and the teacher-student tables have turned), I didn't worry about it. In reality, we are all covered by travel insurance, which will include my little tango with the health system here in Spain, but it still would have saved some hassle.

So, to the health-related story. Spoiler-warning: I am fine.

As my fellow Galician-based teachers will know (with probably more detail than desired), I have been eaten alive by insects while here in Spain. This being the norm for me, it only became disconcerting when some of the bites began to swell, solidify and even blister in disturbing ways. Thankfully, I was seen to (in what would turn into a regular occurrence) by the lovely full-time school doctor based at the local school to our accommodation. As my reactions to the bites appeared to worsen, the doctor helped me to go the local hospital to get some painful (and huge) insect bite blisters treated and to be prescribed with some medicine.

As there was unfortunately a slight miscommunication, I apparently would have been taken to a different hospital if I had mentioned clearly that I had travel insurance. In combination with the fact that I do not hold a current EHIC card, without presenting the card within 10 days (crossing my fingers for various postal systems), I will have to pay for treatment myself. I have been told that it may be up to 100 Euros, but that once I return to the UK, I should be able to easily claim back the money through the travel insurance.

Had I simply had an EHIC with me, it would have been a case of presenting the card, receiving free treatment and carrying on my merry way. Nevermind.

Now enjoy a video of Josh, Viv, Ashley, Maya, Yinoula and I enjoying some biblical weather with our food at Santiago de Compostela:

Extra lessons learnt:

1. It bears repeating: EHIC cards are boring but are actually worth applying for, especially considering they are FREE.

2. Between Ashley and I, we can "speak Doctor" in Spanish, interpreting and understanding despite neither of us having been formally taught Spanish.

3. Being itchy and in pain can make you feel a bit more irritable and even sad, which doesn't help with teaching, but kebabs on the beach and bank holiday weekends can help balance things.


*who knows how it will work in future with Brexit, but it's free, and we might as well use it before we lose it.