There are ups and downs–literally– to living in a medieval hilltop city in Italy.
The good news is that the location of our house there is fairly self-sufficient. We can walk pretty much everywhere– to the market, the pharmacy, the gelato shop, several great cafes, multiple dress shops, a florist, a hardware store, many restaurants, a wine bar, outdoor markets, beautiful park… Admittedly, it makes for great exercise, as we usually walk a minimum of between 2-4 miles a day when we’re there.
The bad news is that the very nature of “hilltop city” means that there’s an abundance of steep stairs and we are constantly climbing up and down elevation to get pretty much anywhere. But when I found myself getting severely winded with the struggle, I knew something was wrong besides mere “old age.”
Living a double life– part of the time in Tennessee and part of the time in Italy– when you’re in your 70s undoubtedly has challenges, but honestly, we’re learning that as much as we can, we won’t let them hold us back. You might remember me writing about our 90-something friend Alice who loved to travel, despite the fact that she had a heart condition. “I can die sitting in my chair in the living room watching television, or I can die falling out of a tree watching lions on an African safari. So I’m going to Africa,” she said. And now, I found myself in very similar place. The terrible fatigue, the persistent bronchitis-like pressure in my chest and difficulty breathing when I walked turned out to be a ruptured mitral valve in my heart causing the left atrium to be severely dilated. Oh man…
We were in Tennessee when we got the diagnosis, just on the cusp of heading back to Italy… so what were we to do?
Incredibly, as it turns out, over the years my heart muscle had apparently gotten stronger as it compensated for a hefty mitral valve prolapse I’ve lived with all my life, so when the valve actually burst, my heart remained strong. Consequently, the cardiologist advised us to go ahead with our trip and have open heart surgery when we returned. (I think there’s a valuable spiritual lesson tucked in here somewhere: those challenging life trials that we tend to feel such frustration or regret or fear over are actually working for our good as Romans 8:28 says… they’re making us stronger. I’m pretty convinced of it.)
Additionally, we found that all the walking we were doing was benefiting the heart, a muscle. Walking as much as we were was actually helping to keep the heart strong. When the heart muscle is sedentary, it slows down and weakens, just like all muscles.
So we went ahead with our trip, but not surprisingly, this changed the nature of this particular time in Umbria. We slowed down, rested more, read, prayed, listened to music…It was neither better nor worse than our usual busy times there, but it was beautifully different. Normally, we’ve hosted a pretty steady flow of visitors in our home, which created a constant buzz of activity as we traveled from hilltop city to hilltop city, trying to squeeze in for our guests as much of this absolutely gorgeous part of Italy as we could.
However, this time we had to cut our time short and, sadly, cancel some visitors’ trips. Consequently, this time in our Umbrian home we stayed local, and we rediscovered the peace and restfulness of our lovely town. We spent much more time focusing on our local Italian friends and our circle of expats from America, Britain, Holland, and Brazil that we are developing great friendships with.
Mornings were relaxed, not having to rush off anywhere. After waking, Dan and I always read scripture and a commentary together, then we pray. After that, we’d head to our favorite cafe for a cappuccino and a cornetto, and every single time, we’d run into friends to chat with. Often, others would sit down and join us for relaxed conversation over coffee. Ahhh…. There’s absolutely nothing like it!
After, we’d take our time wandering back home, making stops along the way to chat with friends. Through it all, we kept walking. When elevation made me short of breath, I slowed down… but kept on going.
The whole town quiets down every afternoon for the riposo, and this was always followed, after Dan finished his work, by meeting friends or our group of expats for dinner somewhere, if we hadn’t made our own dinner for a quiet evening at home.
We’ve learned how to deal with sickness or health issues while we’re in Italy. If it’s a life or death issue, the ER is the place to go. However, unlike pharmacies in America, the pharmacists in Italy are trained and qualified to diagnose and prescribe medications for the majority of common illnesses or injuries. The pharmacy (“farmacia”) is therefore usually the first course of action.
Dan once had a pain issue with an ingrown toenail. Our dear friend Julia (Dio la benedica! God bless her!) helped us find a local doctor and served as our interpreter during his appointment. We were very happy with the care and treatment he received, and it cost us the grand total of only 50 euros for two visits and treatments.
Considering the unplanned change in the nature of this particular trip, both Dan and I found this time incredibly restful and valuable. It was so good to focus so intently on our local friends! After all, we came to Italy so that we could experience the authentic Italian culture, vero?
We’re back in Tennessee now, preparing for surgery and recovery, looking forward to returning to Italy, Lord willing, when I’ll be in much better condition after a valve repair, ready to go another… oh I don’t know, maybe 50,000 miles. Or, at least, another 50,000 stair steps.
In life, we are always living under various threats, internally or externally. But if we let the threats stop us from enjoying the gifts God has given us, that’s not living. In a previous era when “the threat” was the atomic bomb, C.S. Lewis wrote, ““If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”
Once, it was the threat of an atomic bomb. Another time it was the coronavirus. Now, it might be cancer, or sciatica, or arthritis, or a ruptured heart valve. Unexpected health issues will invade our lives…and when they do, I’ll do whatever I have to do to take care of it– but if it’s in my power, I won’t let my problems break my spirit, invade my mind, or stop me from living, here or in Italy, until the Lord ushers me to heaven itself… undoubtedly on a gorgeous big staircase.
“Even though our outward man is wasting away, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day,” 2 Cor.4:16