To begin, hosting brunch the same day one needs to catch a train to begin what is essentially a 14 hour journey may not be the best idea. Especially when one hasn’t had a day off prior, other than Sunday which began with brunch in the morning and ended with dinner a county south of home.
But, I digress.
As I was saying, life has been rather busy making preparations for my trip to Italy less than comprehensive. Yes, I had a detailed packing list, but I had forgotten to add one critical item and I neglected to take a minute prior to leaving home to confirm that my packing was complete.
As soon as I was comfortable on the train, I realized immediately that I had forgotten to pack my thyroid medication. Truth be told, I’ve failed to remember my synthroid on one other occasion. That time, I was in Ireland and a friend’s mom called the pharmacist in their little town (with a very long name), Newtownmountkennedy, and set me up with what I needed in 10 minutes.
This time, though, I was concerned that I’d just have to go cold turkey on my daily dosage. I did some quick reading and figured I’d be ok for the 10 days I’d be missing. Maybe a little logy, but nothing too critical. Calling my endocrinologist and arranging for a rx to be phoned into a pharmacy, particularly when the first 5 nights of my trip involved stays in 3 different cities, seemed needlessly complicated.
Suck it up, buttercup.
But, this morning when I found myself with some extra time at Termini waiting for the train to take me to Firenze, I noticed a pharmacy. I took my phone out and opened up my online patient portal and pulled up my prescription. I showed the pharmacist what I needed and 2 minutes later I was walking out the door with a box of 50 tablets of my medication.
At a cost of €4.37 or $5.19.
Had I filled my prescription for a 90 day supply, I would have paid, with insurance, $5. I am so grateful that I have health insurance, even with the increase in my premium that I’m facing upon retirement, but I have to say that we’re doing something wrong in the U.S. when it comes to pricing.
I’m not going to allow my brain to travel in the direction of home and the problems that reside there. I’m in Italy and will focus my attention on appreciation for the opportunity to be here, under a blue sky, riding a fast train to Firenze.
PS – the other item I forgot was an adapter for my electronics. Fortunately, there were some options available at my friend’s apartment in Rome. I’m all set in every way.
DelSo 