Tending to Medical Issues – July 25

Although the park is quiet the dump station at the bottom of the hill is busy busy. It’s Monday morning and this is the RV traffic leaving Stan Fest. There’s no dump station in Canso, but this is a free and convenient one along the way leaving Canso. 

Wells’ foot is still an open wound. Every ten days we take a picture of the wound, (and no we are not going to post the photo here) and send it off to Wells’ surgeon. Yesterday was a foot photo day and we sent it off to the surgeon. She responded that it should be debrided so seek medical services and get it taken care off. Only 2 miles from the Park is a small local hospital where we head. Protocol here is rigid. Marsha is not allowed in and only one person at a time is allow through the door. My KN95 mask was not accepted. I needed to put on a mask they supplied. Turns out the way to get assistance is to enter the Emergency Department. After taking a seat for only a few minutes I’m called up to fill out paperwork. Since I am out of country I am given a fee schedule which indicates to be seen in the Emergency Department the charge is $897 and add on whatever service fees they charge for each procedure. I asked if there are other options or places I could go and the woman asks me to wait for a moment as she steps out. Back in a couple of minutes she suggests I drive around to the back of the hospital to another entrance. There the doctor on call for the emergency room could see me in her office. We drive around back and I go in. After filling out paperwork the doctor sees me. She is not a wound care specialist so wants to look at the wound and suggests she will write a referral to the regional hospital in Antigonish where the wound center resides. She takes a look and decides to try to debride it. Once she finishes still refers me to the wound center. They will call in a day or two to set an appointment. In the meantime we are out of the hospital and back to the campground within 2 hours. The charge, $56. We take another photo of the foot and send it off to the surgeon back in New York. She replies that all looks good now. Once the wound center calls we explain the visit is not necessary now, but thank you for reaching out to us.

With only part of the day remaining we decide on exploring the coastal area between the mainland and Cape Breton as we drive north along the coast towards the Canso Causeway. The area is beautiful and quiet without the hustle of tourists. Once we reach the Causeway area it becomes anything but quiet. The number of cars, trucks, and rvs is large. Everyone is headed to Cape Breton or beyond to Newfoundland. We still have a week to explore mainland Nova Scotia before venturing to Cape Breton.

Back at the campground we meet our neighbors, Jenny and John, two retired social workers from Halifax. After a delightful conversation we say goodnight and head back to the trailer.