Terje Raa (Denmark)
The afternoon flight HV2625, from Copenhagen to Malaga, is different on Mondays. A lively group of disabled people join the check-in queue, which is otherwise dominated by disciplined Danes returning to their second home; an apartment or a house on the Costa del Sol in Spain.
The 33 group members - few have met before - are supposed to be self-reliant and able to travel alone, one of the criteria of being granted a 3 week hospital stay at the Clinica Montebello in Benalmádena Pueblo. Owned by the Copenhagen Region, Montebello is part of the Danish public sector, offering retraining for citizens with impaired motor skills - due to surgery, stroke, multiple sclerosis, rheumatism or perhaps Parkinson’s - in a climate and surroundings usually associated with holidays.
At the same time, down at the Clinica nurses are busy preparing the dining hall seating, taking into account possible suggestions from the Screening Committee in Denmark. Newcomers are seated together, as are those who were new a week or two ago. Besides the criteria of age, health and mobility, the nurses use their well-honed intuition when placing people together for the next three weeks.
Next morning, at 0820 sharp, the seating is put to the test, including table No. 10 near the entrance. Two ladies and two gents approach. “Been here before?” Two of them turn out to be experienced visitors. One is Marianne, who needs only one word to describe her roommate’s incredible lack of order, “Chaos!” The single rooms of the other three could be explained by it being low season - it’s Christmas. Double rooms are the usual accommodation, which keeps many potential guests away.
This setup seems to start a process of each person justifying their visit. “You look too well to be here!” is how some fellow people greet Anette. In fact, her muscles are desperate for retraining after pneumonia and a subsequent virus resulting in a four week coma with a collapsed lung. She is one of the few expecting full recovery. “What brought you here then?” she asks Terje. “Parkinson’s disease! I need exercises to keep me going.”
More obvious is the condition of Kjeld and Marianne. Kjeld, an amputee, is normally in a wheelchair and has a spinal column tortured by crumbling vertebrae. The Mediterranean climate is a relief to his rheumatism and arthritis, even in December. His eyes and mouth smile so easily. Optimism and humour are also found in the eyes of Marianne, who anticipates being able to throw away her crutch and walk normally in a year‘s time, regardless of what the doctors say about her apoplexy and the severe paralysis down her left side after a stroke.
Military precision characterizes Montebello - rise at 0700, quiet at 2300, a bed-time routine which is difficult to keep in the middle of a hectic tourist zone. Daytime means physical training - the more the better - organised as a 3 week programme of fitness and gym exercises, tailored to each group‘s abilities. Additional courses cover Swiss balls, Pilates, pelvic, neck and shoulder exercises, dynamic stretches, and Nordic Walking using poles, with pool training being an additional summer activity. But once the instructors have returned home for Christmas, self-training or joining the Christmas Party Committee is all there is left to do.
On a normal day, dedicated employees do their best within limited budgets. The number of notes on the board and in the key boxes containing errors and overlapping times indicates that course planning is mainly manual. A computerised planning tool might save both time and money by combining all the information on available classes, participants, locations and teachers; taking into account that training on your own requires an introduction and that idle hours between lessons should be kept at a minimum. Clearer and prompter messages might result, “Five days with no lessons at all!”
Claus and Jytte at neighbouring table No. 15, both outgoing and very sociable, gradually join forces with those at No. 10. Claus is here with two artificial hips and ten years of polyangiitis, a nerve infection. Jytte is another hip patient, troubled with fibromyalgia and rheumatism. They speak eagerly about bringing Mogens, Claus’ roommate and the owner of a painful new hip, over to their table.
Seven people between the ages of 52 and 72 - frustrated over cancelled classes - now head out beyond the local rallying point, Walker Bar, just opposite Montebello. Other paradises are waiting, and Mogens knows them well - Benalmádena Costa below with its port and marina; Fuengirola down the coast; and in the other direction Torremolinos and Malaga, the provincial capital. But it’s the name of a mountain village that keeps popping up - Mijas - famed for its white beauty and for a soft and soothing material - leather.
First out is Claus, in search of two jackets, one black the other cognac-coloured. Aided by Mogens’ expertise, he steers into the second shop at the bus stop, Antonio’s place. “He’s a bandit!” says his neighbour. If so he’s a bandit with charm and a sense of drama. The first drama is from Claus though, who bargains by getting more and more agitated. An impressed Antonio gives in and respectfully rewards Claus with a favourable price.
In the next few days, many a small expedition heads for Mijas, running into each other at Antonio’s. His voice becomes softer than leather when approaching the ladies, “What kind of jacket would you like?” Anette goes for a blue one; Marianne picks one orange, one red, and one black with contrasts in white. Terje gets himself a multi-coloured thing due to the ladies, “That jacket is simply you!”
Claus is back; his sleeves were too long. Antonio carefully suggests a price for the extra work, whereupon Claus turns on his thunderous voice, just enough to get a free repair. The unlucky Jytte must write to Antonio from home, hoping he remembers the jacket she picked out without buying - “I cannot live without it!”
Tables 10 and 15 are different after Christmas. Departure day is near, and motivation for training gone. Terje recalls a statement by a leading Montebello instructor, “Perfect for Parkinson’s, except during Christmas!” The others have similar experiences; no-one gets faster or stronger this time. They are influenced by Christmas more than they expected - and by a contagious shopping fever.
For three weeks now, the residents have been walking around - with the most varied gaits, including Nordic Walking - without being gaped at or diagnosed as abnormal. That’s because Montebello is so integrated in Benalmádena Pueblo, which is possibly one reason why people are truly accepting here. Locals and patients alike congregate at the so-called Walker Bar, where the bartender forms Danish words and opens beers with the same ease; he is a good representative of the cosiness found on Denmark’s “beautiful mountain” - deep down in Spain.
Terje Raa
12 March 2009
Also by Terje Raa
Copenhagen Shakes (13 June 2007)
Counts and Countesses of Copenhagen (15 May 2008)
From misunderstanding to understanding: Danish humour gets the message across (04 January 2008)
Budapest Buffet (20 October 2008)
