At age 15, Ira Riklis’ first (and last) skiing vacation to Europe ended with him badly breaking his leg on the last run of the trip. The accident landed him in a hospital in Megeve, France. It was quite an experience for a young American in excruciating pain who didn’t speak much French. The brusque attitude of the Gaelic nurses, and their disdain for Americans didn’t much help, either. The event was made bearable by the presence of his sister, who provided an ally and helped hold Ira’s foot in a relatively pain-free position while he waited to be taken to surgery.
Perhaps the most humorous moment (in a very “someday we’ll laugh about this” fashion) was when the nurses gave Ira Riklis a strange-looking, waxy pill. Neither Ira nor his sister knew quite what to do with it, and the nurse was no help at all, yelling something in French as she left the room. After some discussion between Ira and his sister, they decided he needed to swallow the pill. Fortunately, before this happened, the nurse returned, saw what he was about to do, pushed him on his side and inserted the “pill” in its intended location. Perhaps the lesson here is that, if you’re planning a trip to a foreign country, you might want to learn the word for “suppository” before you go!