After my
sudden eviction, I went back to the place that I
just left telling my former landlord exactly what
happened. He offered me a glass of wine and laughed
so hard that I began laughing too without knowing
why we are laughing. After he let me in on the
blunder that unknowingly I had just committed with
the landlady, I felt extremely bad but at the same
time I could not help but laugh at the whole
incident. From that moment on, I never extrapolated
Romanian words into Italian without checking them
first in the dictionary. I learned my lesson in a
really hard way. Eventually, with the help of the
landlord, I made an attempt to apologize to the
landlady, but she did not want to have anything to
do with me. I left it at that.
After recovering
from all this, I decided that instead of paying
for rent in Rome, I would go away and take a small
"vacation" by visiting some other parts of Italy.
My eyes were focused on Bologna, Florence, Pisa,
Venice, and perhaps Milan. Since at that time
hitchhiking was relatively common, I ventured into
the unknown. I had a wonderful time, saw all those
places and felt in love with Italy and its people.
Returning home
(back to my old landlord), I got a postcard from
the American Embassy in Rome that I needed to
contact them for arranging to take a Chest X-Ray
and a Blood Test as part of the compulsory medical
records that were required.
Taking the Blood Test was a major problem for me
as I always fainted. I was horrified by the
prospect of having blood taken out of me. From my
father (a cardiologist), I had a notarized
statement stating that whenever blood needed to be
taken from me, I needed to be in a place equipped
with emergency facilities because my heart could
stop beating altogether. I went to the American
Embassy and asked if I could be granted a waiver
from taking the blood test on the grounds of the
horrible adverse reaction that I could develop. I
was told that they never had such a request before
and that they would submit my request to the State
Department in Washington, DC for the final
disposition. I was told the answer may take as
long as two (2) months.
Having this
available "window", I decided to make a short trip
south of Rome to Naples (Napoli) and its
surroundings. I stayed in a Youth Hotel there and
somehow in a few days I contracted Hepatitis-B. I
was extremely ill like never before in my life. I
stayed one month at the University Hospital in
Rome.
A few weeks
later, the American Embassy informed me of the
answer received from the State Department: no
exceptions were allowed, no waiver to the blood
test was permitted. However, I was told that the
blood test need not be taken at the American
Embassy but could be taken at any hospital in Rome
equipped with the necessary emergency facilities.
So because I was familiar with the University
Hospital, I went there for my blood test.
On the first
floor of the hospital there was a Lab room where
only blood was taken. At that time my Italian was
fluent, and I went to explain to the woman that
took the blood of my situation with the adverse
reaction that I could develop. Upon learning of
this the woman refused to have anything to do with
me:
"Are
you crazy! I have two small children at home ...
I do not need this! Go to someone else to take
your blood!"
From that room
of the hospital, I was referred to go to another
room, and then still another, and still yet to
another and another until, after some three hours,
I reached the third floor of the cardiac intensive
care unit. The chief cardiologist after learning
how I ended up there, with a broad smile, said:
"This
business of fainting is all in your head as
there is nothing wrong with you. I have my
method to take care of all this. You will feel
no pain and you will not faint. I want you just
to relax as I assure you that nothing bad is
going to happen to you."
Not long after
receiving those assurances, a beautiful young lady
entered into the room and begin having a
conversation with me. Minutes later, a nurse came
to take my blood. Everything took only seconds, my
blood was taken into a vial and the nurse left the
premises. In the meantime, I was still being
engaged in the conversation with the young lady.
Eventually the young lady also left. The doctor
then raised from his chair and, with a smile,
stated:
"You see, there is nothing to it. Everything is
in your head. This is your blood (showing me the
vial with my blood in it)."
After I left the
doctor's Office, in or prior to reaching the
elevator, I collapsed on the floor. After that I
do not remember what happened except that when I
woke up I was hooked to a machine of some sort and
breathing through an oxygen mask with an oxygen
tank lying next to me. Before releasing me from
the hospital, I stayed several more hours under
observation. I was happy when finally this was all
over and I could leave the hospital. All my
hurdles appeared to be behind me.
And indeed, in
early October 1969, I got the long awaited
notification from HIAS that my immigration to the
United States was approved. Also I was informed at
that time that the Jewish Organization of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was my official sponsor
to the US. The date of my arrival in the United
States would be October 28, 1969. I was
tremendously excited and happy by the news. A new
chapter in my life was about to begin.
