The Trip that Almost Didn’t Happen

I arrived home from a fantastic trip to Italy, and went to my doctor to discuss the pain I was experiencing in my rib area. After x-rays he reported to me…”You have two cracked ribs!” Now, the rest of the story… A few years ago I was scheduled to go to Italy with family and a friend. While we were in the hotel the night before our international flight, slipped and fell and was in excruciating pain. The question was to go to the ER or not. Going to the ER would cause us to terminate our flight and rui everyone’s trip.

I considered my ability to make the trip. I decided that if I could pull my own luggage, I could do it! Between the four of us, we had packed very little pain relief meds…I took some of everything we had each day! While there, our Italian friend and host took us to a drug store where I was able to purchase medicated pads that I kept on the pain area throughout the trip.

Our host toured us to areas that were not usually on a tour schedule along the northern east coast of Italy, but did include Venice, of course. When we were on our own to make plans, we toured beautiful Tuscany— one of my favorite areas. At Pisa it is always a must to do the silly photo of holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa— I could not resist! We took the train back to Rome to do the usual tour of the city.

Our Airbnb was located near the train station that would take us to special stops on our tour—the Vatican and other highlights. A paid tour guide took us to places such as down the Roman Road, the Crypts and Catacombs (the Jewish burial tombs), and of course the remains of the Roman Colosseum.

Too soon, it was time to return home. It was a fantastic trip…and I made it thru in spite of my two cracked ribs!