Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 27-Mar-2020 11:39 <=-

That message was just getting way too long.... <G>

So, continuing into a new message.......

<Aunt slipped and broke hip>

So she'll be in some sort of rehabilitation for a few weeks/months
until she can resume her own care on her own...?

My Mother had called my Aunt earlier this week and found she was going
to be transferred to a Kurhaus (rehabilitation building) by the end of
the week. So basically a type of assisted living site.

A "cure house", I see... ;)

That would be the easy word! :)

Was given the telephone number by the staff. [...]
Call my Mother to explain what's going on. She tries later (different
shift?!) but same problem. She calls a couple of neighbours to my
Aunt to see what they can find out and eventually do get a valid
number: the last digit was wrong, though was the last digit of the
room my Aunt was transferred to. I'll try calling later this morning.

Crazy... can see how the mistake could happen, but still....

Right: almost would like to ask them so if you were in my shoes how
would you feel?

If it weren't calling an overseas hospital, I'd be tempted to call
and let them know that they'd been giving out the wrong number...
that might have generated an apology.... At this point, though, it's
water over the dam, and besides, they may well be overwhelmed by the
coronavirus by now themselves....

Yes, I don't know to what degree the Coronavirus is affecting things
on that side.

From what I hear, various countries over there are quite overwhelmed,
like France and Italy... and just about all of them are affected in some
way, I've heard specific news reports about Spain and England....

I did check the phone number with my Mother and I had a digit doubled
-- she essentially swears up and down it was my fault though I know I
had triple-checked the number - whatever, resolved now.

That could explain the odd length of the number, I suppose... ;)

As far as calling the hospital back to give them a price of my mind,
might be even more frustrating as that side speaks German and I speak English. Some basic German, but that's about it.

I wsasn't thinking so much complaining about it as nicely letting them
know... in case it was someone over there that had somehow written down
the wrong number..... I'd think they'd appreciate being told.... :)

On the Vienna side most speak some English - from a little to fairly fluent, and the degree of fluency is sometimes determined by how nice
you are: angry and pushy English gets the equivalent of 'me no speak English' whereas the "I'm sorry I don't speak more than a few words but can you help me please?" generally gets an "I'll try to help" on that side, or "I can't help but let me give you my colleague who speaks a little better". (They tend to use the term 'colleague' over there frequently -- British influence?

Probably they've learned their English from the UK, so it would make
sense.... ;) I've been told that if one tries to speak in French in
France, generally one is given the same sort of help, switching to
English in some sort of sympathy.... ;)

In the meantime while my Mother was calling to get the number I was
trying to do Google searchs for a potential lead. My Mother had
obtained the name of the facility but that didn't come up with
anything. (I might try a reverse search now that I have a valid
telephone number to see if I overlooked something.)

They might not want to be too easily found, just for safety concerns...

I never did get around to the reverse look up option. ...Right now
thinking I'd like to find out how their telephone numbers are
structured. There seems to be some 'coding' in the way given: spaces
in the print version, grouping in the vocal; LIS they don't use the
same convention as we do here U.S. (3-3-4: area code, exchange, line).

I've noted similar with the UK numbers... some of them seem to be the
same number of numbers as ours, but sometimes spaced differently...
others have fewer or more numbers... plus, one has to add the country
access code to the front of the number instead of the leading 0...

I'm sort of wondering how the telephone computers know where to direct
the call! If the telephone number in Austria begins with a "1" is for
a landline number in Vienna but "699" for a mobile phone. And it's not
a 6 and then 99-something. (I tracked down a list - 'quirky' to my
U.S.- based thinking,)

Clearly the computers are programmed to handle it.... :)

My Aunt's home phone number matched the U.S, pattern and we didn't
need the other patterns until a few years ago. My Mother was arguing there was an extra digit to my cousin's mobile number; fortunately she didn't realize it when he gave it because of the spacing. Shortly
after that I stumbled on the phone number 'key' listing and things
started making a little more sense.

And top think that once upon a time phone numbers here in the states
were just 4 numbers.... ;) Or "two shorts and a long", referring to the rings.... ;)

Makes sense.... usually I'm with others who are busy taking the
pictures... and with their digital cameras or phones, so the
results are just about instantaneous....

Right, my Mother has had that also; people say they'll print a few
pictures to give to her and they never do.

One picture that was taken at one of our family campings, my sister
sent it to me as a text to my phone... It's still on my phone, a
picture of me and my four sisters that were there that year...

The problem is my Mother barely uses her cell phone -- I hope she
remembers to charge it every so often! <writing reminder>

Maybe she'd remember if she had something to look at on it... <G> I
keep mine charged since I use it as a backup phone for when I'm out
and about... and some family members have a habit of texting me from
time to time instead of calling on the landline....

She tends to use the "I'm old therefore I don't know how" or "it's
been so long I've forgotten" excuses. Of course there are times when I don't do something because I'm not sure.

Some magic spells one does have to use regularly to be able to retain
them at all easily.... ;)

...As for the she might use it if something to look at, agree. I don't know if her phone can take pictures -- it is halfway current as passed
the 'test' late last year when I had her check. (I had to get a new
phone because of the VoLTE requirment.)

My cell phone has no camera, so I can't take pictures with it... but it
can receive pictures as a text, and store pictures either with the texts
or in a separate section that has pictures including the choices for
background screens for the main screen...

Plus I find 'little conveniences' for using the phone: calendar for appointments for example.

Mine has that available, but I've not used it... Once in a while, I'll
look up a date on the calendar function itself, just to see where it
falls in the week... but as for using it as an appointment calendar,
nah... I'm used to my paper one... ;)

segment on a polar bear cub at the Vienna Zoo. Take a picture of
the screen, transfer to a letter to my Aunt. [...]

And I don't know if my Aunt has seen those pictures: I think the
letter was to arrive about the time she fell, so might be in her
mailbox.

Hopefully she'll at least see it eventually...

Eventually!

Did you get any updates from her....?

I didn't even think to ask last time I called -- wrote note to remind
me. Easter is coming up -- got a card yesterday so need to send that
off shortly. Will send to her apartment and hope someone is picking
up and bringing her mail; hospitals are forbidding visitors but would think could get a box of mail.... drop off during a 'meandering':

Or at least anything that looks like it might cheer her up some... ;)

public transportation costs but pass is good for the entire day. Know
the 'kurhaus' where my Aunt is currently is in the adjoining District, which are sort of like wards here in the U.S......

So a different section of town, anyway....

Of course what I would do and what someone else would do........

True, we might have different customs here, from how/what they do
there... but you never know... :)

ttyl neb

... If you don't care where you are, then you can't get lost.

--- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F
* Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452)