A Story of Inspiration and Support

I love this story!  It is so indicative of the support system we expats have developed that I had to share it.

There are two part and I'll start with the part that has nothing to do with today's story but was going to be here as a blog post anyway and has direct bearing on what's happening.

A friend of mine, Caroline, realized that one thing we really need here and didn't have was a more formal emergency support system amongst those of us who live in a new condo complex as well as a few other close friends.



Much happened to get this going but soon we had a potluck to talk about what we want to do, pass out emergency contact information sheets to fill out, and talk to the police about what's going on here (you saw much of what we covered in yesterday's post about that meeting).

I had to laugh at the photos I took.  It's not that we didn't laugh or even smile, it's just that when I happened to be up and taking pictures, everyone was intently listening to what the police officers were telling us and being respectful to them while they spoke.

That's Dan Delgado on the right.  He's the lovely man who writes the months newsletters to us expats letting us know what's happening that might be of interest to us that we may not have heard about either because it was with a small group, as this meeting was, or because it was something that was entirely in Spanish and he does such a great job of not only translating but also of helping with some of the cultural nuances we might not be aware of.

These are the two police officers who came to talk to us.  They were very helpful and seemed to be glad we wanted them to help us understand the system that's currently in place as well as to explain the new system that will be happening today.

Once more, focus and attention rather than boredom.  There was enough great information that no one was bored!

We didn't get a lot of talking done about getting our sheets filled out and getting them, along with an extra set of keys, to at least two people in the group but it was a good beginning and we each got our lists.

We had a fabulous pot luck after the meeting and went home full of great food and fabulous information.

On to the inspirational story:
Yesterday one of my friends and someone in our emergency support group had and "incident" that may have been a minor heart attack (as if any heart attack is minor but it didn't totally incapacitate her).  Since she's someone who is reticent about sharing anything that might look like she's complaining, she didn't tell anyone but the painter happened to be at her apartment and someone saw her when she walking home and something else happened that I don't recall offhand but it turned out someone who was part of our group found out she wasn't doing well and the word spread.

Today I'm keeping her puppies, Caroline is going to the emergency room with her (medical care if free when you go to the emergency room and it's assumed that's where everyone will go until they know what's wrong with them) and another friend is going along to act as an interpreter.  On of those friends is paying for the taxi both ways since the hospital that has an ECG machine is in Ibarra.  We knew which taxi drivers were most understanding about medical issues and who speak some English.  There are other friends ready to do whatever is needed to make sure she has what she needs for as long as she needs it.

Perhaps you have different experiences than I've had in the past but this is the first place I've lived where there are so many people available when another of us is in need.

It makes me so grateful to be living here.