Dr. Pane

One of the issues we gypsies must deal with is the handling of health issues as we roll along. Our Medicare does pretty well since urgent and emergency care can be handled from anyplace in the world. But dental issues: now that is a different kettle of fish.
Jo ran into a mouth problem in Connecticut and she visited daughter Lynn's dentist who diagnosed she needed a major root canal. In addition, he said, she had an abscess and that would require 10 days of antibiotics before any endodontist would drill into her teeth. Ten days took us out of Connecticut, however, so we then phoned daughter Stephanie in Vermont to see if she could find an endodontist (a person who specializes in root canals). She talked with her dentist and received a recommendation. Jo called and lucked out by getting a cancellation the day after we arrived in town.
But the best laid plans didn't work out. The endodontist suffered a heart attack just as Jo settled into the drilling chair. Not good. That took him off to the hospital where, happily, he survived. But Jo now had to find a new specialist since he would be out of commission for a number of weeks. Who should she find but Dr. Pane, truly, who was able to take her in because of a cancellation on an hour's notice.
He got down to work on the root canal and managed to carve out one of three roots on the first visit. Now she awaits a call about another cancellation so she can have the job finished. We can't get the new crown installed because of the time lag. But Dr. Pane says he'll plug up his work with a temporary filling and when we return to Florida in September we can have that final work done.
In the meantime, Jo and I are enjoying life in Vermont. This is a beautiful state: endless horizons of green mountains, laid back people, and a general dislike among the natives for the faster pace of the urban states.
Stephanie and Alex have taken us sailing on Lake Champlain a couple of times - always a great thing. We stay here for another month then we plan to roll through the White Mountains of New Hampshire and on into our beloved Maine.