A real pain in the side

I fell off my bike. I would very much like to sulk, which is maybe one of the reasons for this column. Let me indulge myself a little and tell you a little story. On hitting the tarmac, one thought that went through my mind was that I might have broken my rib. My wife was somewhat surprised at seeing me reappear with my hair matted with blood. “You’re in shock,” she said. Then my breathing became laboured so we drove to the local private hospital. When my son broke his collarbone they patched him up within half an hour but it wasn’t quite the same for me. I thought it a little odd that on relieving us of PLN 250 they asked me to queue to see a nurse. But no one seemed that fussed anyway to call in new patients. When I did stagger to my feet to knock on the door I was rather unceremoniously sent away. But after another interminably long wait I eventually was summoned. “I think I’ve broken a rib,” I said. The only medical decision I witnessed t