LIVE from the Camino Friend needs help

[Deanpf]

Hi
A person I've been walking with has a serious issue with his feet. He needs a clinic he thinks. He is taking a cab to Astoria in the morning. Does anyone know of a clinic there or around there?
Thanks for any advice.

 

[mspath]

Hi
A person I've been walking with has a serious issue with his feet. He needs a clinic he thinks. He is taking a cab to Astoria in the morning. Does anyone know of a clinic there or around there?
Thanks for any advice.

Wherever you are staying tonight ask your host/hospitalero for help in finding medical assistance. Ask in a nearby pharmacy also. Help may be closer than Astorga.

Good luck to both of you!

 

[SabsP]

Hi Dean , I believe you mean Astorga?

Ask help today if possible at the albergue or hostal you are staying in. Maybe they can already help.


In Astorga :

http://www.centrosdesalud.net/centro-12349.

http://www.astorga.com/telefonos de astorga.htm

Good luck

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Peg got help at the Centro de Salud in Astorga. We arranged a wheelchair loan for a few days with the Red Cross. We gave them a donation. Beforehand I typed up what Peg's issue was and used Google to translate it and saved it as text and then fixed up the spots where my Spanish was better than Google's. It came in handy at the desk, with the nurse and then with the doctor as little English was spoken. There is a tourist office not far from the cathedral and they were helpful with everything through a 3 or 4 day stay in town recovering. Try to pay the bill before leaving town, it will be much easier than doing it from home (they likely still don't accept credit cards.)

 

[Shanblistered]

• One of the hostels in astorga, I believe the municipal, have volunteer medical student overseen by a MD, who provide service within the albergue. It is the one near a cathedral. Wishing your friend the best!

 

[GreatDane]

I used the Centro de Salud in Astorga when I developed patellar tendonitis (thank goodness it flared after my partial Camino was done) and had wonderful care. English speaking doctor and check in administrators and nurses.

 

[movinmaggie]

As Rick suggested, do attempt to pay your bill there. For me, there was no place to pay cash, but my Spanish is limited, so I knew they would be sending me a bill. It arrived a month after I had returned home to Canada, but with translation of paperwork, not sufficient bank info on their part (to satisfy my local bank) and much faxing and emailing back and forth, the process took a month and a half to get settled. I chose this option rather than fill out 26 pages of an insurance form from my travel ins company, as I knew I could write it off on my tax return.

 

[naplesdon]

I guess it all depends on the amount you are being asked to pay but I have found in France and Spain it is so much easier to pay cash for the bill and deal with it later. The medical expenses in those countries are minuscule compared to the costs in north America. So why leave the service provider with the feeling that you were just passing through requiring medical care and then "good luck" if they ever get paid.