THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW

This is Doctor Roberto Lorenzoni who is my cardiologist. He is very tall, thin, precise and fantastic. I am devoted to him. He is very accessible. I can telephone his cell phone number and while he may not answer, he will call back as soon as he is out of the operating theatre, doing his ward rounds or seeing patients. He also replies to e-mails. He works very hard, from seven in the morning until past seven in the evening on many days. He attends "congresses" all over the world, including the USA. He is married, has two grown daughters and lives within the walled city of Lucca. He speaks excellent English, far better than my Italian.

I thought he might object to having his picture taken but he only seemed amused. He asked that I didn't put it on a "wanted" poster. This is quite close, isn't it?

Communication between doctor and patient is difficult even when both are native speakers of the same tongue. If you ever wanted to know what it is like to be sitting opposite a doctor who does not speak your language, nor you, his, then I can tell you, it can be terrifying for both doctor and patient.