Help! Hospital/Doctor Sarria

[SeanDwyer]

Hi guys.

I need help.

I started the camino in León with my twin brother 6 days ago. We walked, roughly 30km per day, but yesterday on the way from Villafranca De Bierzo to O'Cebriero the speed at which I walked was unknowingly much quicker as I got so engrossed in conversation with a camino friend.

Unfortunatley on the final stage of my daily journey, ascenting from La Faba I experienced a very sharp stabbing pain in my right shin. It continued and got worse and worse. The final 2.5 stretch really took a toll on me and the pain remains.

I am currently in an albergue in Sarria, after getting a bus two days ahead so my brother can catch up. I figured I could use the time to rest/ice/elevate the pain, which i assumed was from shin splints.

However I now believe I have a tibia stress fracture, on the basis of some research and fellow pilgrim advice, and I don't know what to do.

I definitley need medical help but I'm not sure if it is better to have a doctor visit or travel to a hospital. My brother arrives tomorrow and I would like to have a good idea as to my best option.

:/ I can't believe my Camino has ended so soon. I am so disappointed.

 

[basquelady]

Hi guys.

I need help.

I started the camino in León with my twin brother 6 days ago. We walked, roughly 30km per day, but yesterday on the way from Villafranca De Bierzo to O'Cebriero the speed at which I walked was unknowingly much quicker as I got so engrossed in conversation with a camino friend.

Unfortunatley on the final stage of my daily journey, ascenting from La Faba I experienced a very sharp stabbing pain in my right shin. It continued and got worse and worse. The final 2.5 stretch really took a toll on me and the pain remains.

I am currently in an albergue in Sarria, after getting a bus two days ahead so my brother can catch up. I figured I could use the time to rest/ice/elevate the pain, which i assumed was from shin splints.

However I now believe I have a tibia stress fracture, on the basis of some research and fellow pilgrim advice, and I don't know what to do.

I definitley need medical help but I'm not sure if it is better to have a doctor visit or travel to a hospital. My brother arrives tomorrow and I would like to have a good idea as to my best option.

:/ I can't believe my Camino has ended so soon. I am so disappointed.

Get a taxi to the "Centro de Salud" in Sarria. That would be a sensible starting point and may give reassurance re whether you really have a fracture. Suspect it will be bad shin splints.

 

[SeanDwyer]

Get a taxi to the "Centro de Salud" in Sarria. That would be a sensible starting point and may give reassurance re whether you really have a fracture. Suspect it will be bad shin splints.

Thanks basque lady.

I visited them and they said no more walking. Camino finished.

I couldn't grasp exactly what they were saying, as my Spanish is very poor, but any chance of continuing is unlikely.

Bus to santiago, and home. :/

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Bus to santiago

Bus to Lugo, then to Santiago. There is at least one train each day from Sarria to Santiago. It is very scenic.


dep 16.24 arr 18.38 2 h. 14 min. MD-AVANT Turista Flexible 19.90E

 

[Anniesantiago]

So sorry about your injury, Sian, but remember, the Camino will there in years to come.
I agree, at this point, it would be nice to bus to Santiago and at least see it.

 

[linkster]

Bummer. You have a choice ... don't get discouraged ... make the most of the time that you have. You may consider using some ibuprofen (600mg) available at the farmacia for about 5 euros. Also consider RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). Pillows under your leg at night. Put your mind in a better place. Meet your hermano when he walks into the Praza do Obradoiro and celebrate with him. Be happy for him, listen to him, and celebrate his accomplishment. Be patient, he will want to know how you are, and support you.

FYI, The hospital in Santiago has translators. I was escorted around the hospital with an escort free of charge in June. She was great, and helped me navigate the hospital and the language barrier.

Buen Camino

 

[nycwalking]

Santiago will be thrilled you made it this far. Give him a hug anyway.
Take care.

 

[Peter Barker]

Terrible news for you but I believe these things happy for a reason. Chin up and try again in the future.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I was escorted around the hospital with an escort free of charge in June. She was great, and helped me navigate the hospital and the language barrier.

Escorted with a free escort? I don't undertand.

 

[linkster]

I broke my wrist outside of Portomarín. Went to the hospital in Lugo and had it set. I only knew a little Spanish, and my vocabulary did not include any anatomy or medical words. They did not speak any English. The cast was too tight, and did not accommodate the swelling. I went to the hospital in Santiago five days later to have it checked out. They did their best, but I had to have an open reduction with a plate when I returned home. I had three great weeks in Spain with the my family, ibuprofen, and vino tinto.

When I checked in at the desk in the hospital in Santiago, they called a translator (on staff) to escort me around the hospital. She helped me check in, escorted me through the various departments (emergency, x-ray, billing, etc.). She helped translate with each of the doctors and nurses, and made sure I understood exactly what was going on. She was friendly, helpful, and supportive. I even got a stamp on my credential from the hospital. I wish I had my cast stamped instead of my credential along the way. It would have been a unique souvenir.

I did incur a hospital bill, but it was cheap relative to US standards. I may have been able to avoid it by just giving my insurance information. However, when asked how I wanted to pay … I offered up my credit card. I may have been too liberal in the use of the word free, but I was referring to the translator. There was no specific charge for the translator only the normal x-rays, etc.

FYI, in Lugo they only took my insurance information and passport. I have still not received a bill for the services incurred on May 25. I am not sure if it was gratis because I was a pilgrim, the lack of billing infrastructure, or it is in the mail.

 

[KinkyOne]

Thanks basque lady.

I visited them and they said no more walking. Camino finished.

I couldn't grasp exactly what they were saying, as my Spanish is very poor, but any chance of continuing is unlikely.

Bus to santiago, and home. :/

Hi, Sean,

Very sad news and I can understand how disappointed you are right now as similar happened to me on my first Camino in 2009. But I did listened to the doctors and returned many times over in next years.
Last year a friend of mine had similar diagnosis but after two days rest and three shorter stages she was back in the fast&long stages rhythm suggested by her walking partner. She was in pain all the way to Fisterra and is still limping more than a year later.
Listen to advices given above and try make things to come while still in Spain memorable and positive.

Ultreia!

 

[camino07]

Just a tip: I had really bad shin splints on my early Caminos but ever since using shin compression skins every day when walking ,no more shin splints.

 

[Ribeirasacra]

Just to confirm he health care situation in Sarria.
The nearest hospitals are in either Lugo or Monforte de Lemos.
I agree with post one and go to the Centro de Salud. However I cannot confirm if this is open 24 hours a day Some are not. If they are not 24 hours a day then expect it to be shut around 13:00/14:00 hrs. Not open over the weekend either.
Your accommodation can call for an ambulance which will take you to hospital. If you are then you will have to make your way from the hospital to where ever you want to go to next. This treatment will not be cheap and you can be expected to be sent a bill some time in the future. Insurance should cover the costs.

 

[Madiqwerty]

Hey Sean,
Did you reach Santiago already? If you are still in Sarria, I would recommend you to take the bus to Lugo and visit the Universitary Hospital from there as well. They can make you some investigations and give you a second opinion. Maybe you can afterall rest a week or so and then slowly continue your journey.
I had an accident this April, while cycling down the same mountain and I got in the first place into the emergency room in Sarria. The doctor was not that optimistic either and sent me to Lugo with an ambulance for further investigations. Everything turned out to be ok in Lugo. They kept me there under observation over night, gave me a serious dose of pain killers and next day I was good to go again. I finished my trail 2 days after, feeling and looking miserable, boosting myself with ibuprofen and mostly pushing my bike up on each hill I encountered. But hey, I did manage to finish the road.