August 2006 I left Cortona, Tuscany after 4 month summer stay there. I returned the USA with all intentions of returning to Cortona to live. My life through threw me a major curve ball so hard, it knocked me down for years.
My Italian lover (Paolo) waited for my return of Jan 2007 but instead it was delayed for 10 months. Instead what we found was a medical emergency crisis on my hands. Sept 2006 brought in bad new on my failing mitral valve with 70% regurgitation and a chamber stretching to reach a 250% capacity increase of holding all this blood pulling an illegal U turn in my heart.
My confidence in my current medical team was flailing and so specialist where located national wide. The consensus of the National specialist was I had a ticking time bomb in my chest with 30 days to 90 days for the bomb to explode.
Nov 8, 2006 was the open heart surgery repair and a year of hell that followed. By the time my anniversary of the surgery was arriving, I said I want the hell out of here!
So in the months prior to Nov 2007, a computer internet search was started to find the right town for Nia and I.
Here was my list of criteria:
A hospital close by
A doable route for my family to get me in needed should another medical emergency arrive
A quick pick Nia up for my Roman boyfriend, should I stroke again. Then he could deliver her to my family in Frosinone.
An old historical village with a castle, i.e.
A limited amount of tourist, at least English speaking, where I would be forced to learn Italian
A SGI Buddhist group
A city that was alive in the cold winter months
A city that could accept a big boobed aging American Barbie doll (me)
A train station, a bus system, a grocery store, a pharmacy close by
A love of arts, activities, events but not too much
A safe place to raise my then 6 year old daughter
A place with fewer cars, less stimulus, less stress
A place where I could hide quietly amongst the locals on an international level
A place where I could figure out my craziness that was happening to me
An authentic Italian functioning village
A place not saturated with too many bad people… like the Godfather…
Out came the maps, train stations were identified, centers of cultural arts were located, historical beauty was noted, seasonal activities for a thriving winter community, a family oriented place… and a soft landing where I would most likely find Buddhists.
The choice was then finalized, Spoleto it was. The tickets were bought, the day of departure was chosen, (get the hell out of the USA by Nov 1, 2007.)
I informed my Roman boyfriend Paolo and he shrugged at my choice and said, Francesca, you will become bored there, it’s so little. I said my mind is made up. I arrived in the Rome airport Oct 31, 2007 and Paolo drove me right up to the Hotel Aurora and my apartment search began.
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