When travelling, one never imagines they will hurt themselves or need to see a doctor, so this was an enlightening trip for me.
One summer I travelled with some of my students for fifteen days in the British Isles. I was the chaperone on a group tour. Little did I know I would learn an important lesson about healthcare in another country. The students were thrilled when our tour joined another group, and they made new friends. This tour took all day, with the most exciting stop at Gretna Green, which is now one of the most popular places for weddings. Gretna Green is a small parish on the border between England and Scotland. Historically, (following the 1754 Marriage Act which prevented couples under age 21 marrying without parental consent), couples would run away from home to get married at Gretna Green. My students went from being newly introduced to the other travelers, to pretending to marry at Gretna Green.
Afterwards, they noticed a nearby forest, that intrigued their imaginations and they insisted on setting down a dark path. The trees were low hanging, they hung just high enough to allow animals and short humans down the path. It became darker and darker with every step, I instructed them to stay close together and soon we turned back. I was the tallest, and the leaves on the trees brushed over me like the brushes on a carwash. As we left the wooded area, nobody noticed the tiny creatures who jumped onto my clothes, and we all headed to our hotel rooms for the night. In the middle of the night, I nearly shot out of bed—there were tiny bugs crawling all over my back! The innkeeper moved me into a new room and laughed when he saw them, saying I shouldn’t have gone into the woods without protection against ticks. (ticks are parasitic arachnids that live in underbrush).
In the morning, we headed out and by noon I began to feel feverish and woozy and noticed a few swollen purple bumps on my back where the bugs had been. Unfortunately, the heat made everything worse--the pain, the nausea and fever in my body, and I finally gave in and asked where I could find and emergency room. How would I pay for it?
Exhausted, I finally arrived at the Royal Infirmary of Edenborough, and the kind doctor told me I had infected tick bites, and I would need medicine. I was relieved that it wasn’t more serious, but so nervous about the bill, and where to find a pharmacy for the medicine. I was very surprised when they handed me the medicine and informed me that there was no bill. Gratitude and relief washed over me: all of it was paid for by Scotland’s socialized medicine. I learned a lesson I would never forget. Healthcare in Scotland is much different than in the US. Also, never go into the forests in Scotland without protection from ticks.
https://www.mountaineering.scot/safety-and-skills/health-and-hygiene/ticks#:~:text=They%20can%20be%20found%20all,year%2C%20but%20particularly%20in%20summer.
