Yesterday we went to visit "Dr Hammers". That's not his real name, but it was always be his name according to me.
Some history. Dawn has been suffering from a bad back for a long time, aggravated by a half marathon over 6 months ago. Not only a nightmare for her, not being able to do anything physical or sleep, also a nightmare for me, for the latter reason.
She tried physio and various strange and expensive Italian doctors. Italian doctors are a little strange, and there is always a surprise as to whether you will be seen and what sort of treatment you get. We should be thankful - someone I know who recently moved to another city in Italy from England, who has a profoundly disabled son, was refused treatment at a hospital due to a problem with documentation. Thankfully, our company has looked after us well and all our docs are in a line (quack quack), or should that be tutti nostre anatre sono nella linea? WHo knows! Anyway, sometimes doctors are dismissive and sometimes incredibly over zealous. Sometimes they are cheap or free and other times they are extremely expensive. In summary Dawn had been going to an Italian physio with limited success and attending our dear chiropracter Dr Beneski in Boston, USA whenever she went on a business trip for some temporary relief (we could not trust a chiropracter in Italy).
One evening I had arranged a soiree in the Irish Pub (where else?) and Dawn had gotten chatting to some random Dutch guy - Dr Hammers. His name is Dr Hammers but is something very Dutch, Raimund van der Orangechboom or some such :), also probably a very distant relative of mine. Anyway, Dr Hammers is a Dr of some strange wacky chiro/physio thing, where he does realignment using what I can only describe as hammers. Yes - he takes rubber mallets and hammers your spine, neck, sacrum, pelvis, knee into the right alignment. And sells you some super strength vitamins and volcanic ashes to negate acids at the same time. Scary - yes! Effective - double yes!! Dawn had instant almost total cure, and it really helped me with my knee when I thought I would not be able to go on my much planned cycle tour of Sicily.
In fact, one problem that he says he has, is that as well as not being liked by the rest of the medical community, because he cures most people very quickly it's not a very good business as opposed to other chiropracters and physios who work on repeat business.
Anyway, he's great, quirkily Italian (for a Dutch man) and pretty cheap. And he lives in a great place (Murlo, just south of Siena and site of many an Etruscan thing or two http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murlo). In fact the drive is splendid - the hills roll and this time of year, it is once again tear-jerkingly green, the sort of green that builds and builds and overwhelms you, although I do wonder sometimes if that is a little vestigial synaesthesia (naturally, I will say no more, thank you Monty Python). Wish I'd have had my camera with me yesterday as soon the sun will come (it's over 30C here at the mo) and the land will become brown and crispy.
Ciao for now.
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