Part Nineteen
Excerpts from the book: ‘ALIZOT EMIRI – The Man, a Noble Library and Gazette’
A FEW WORDS AS AN INTRODUCTION
Memorie.al / Whenever we, Alizot’s children, told “Zote’s” (Alizot’s) stories in joyful social settings, we were often asked: “Have you written them down? No? What a pity, they will be lost… Who should do it?” And we felt increasingly guilty. If it had to be done, we were the ones to do it. But could we write them?! “Not everyone who knows how to read and write can write books,” Zote used to say whenever he came across poor-quality books. While discussing this “obligation” – this Book – among ourselves, we naturally felt our inability to complete it. It wasn’t a job for us! By Zote’s “yardstick,” we were incapable of writing this book.
AT HOSPITAL NO. 2, TIRANA
In 1969, Zote fell ill with a prostate condition, and “Great Doctor Vasili” sent him for surgery to Tirana, to a specialized clinic under Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Paparisto, his colleague and friend.
As soon as he saw Vasil Laboviti’s letter, Dr. Paparisto took special care of Zote and was very confidential with him. Every day, Paparisto would meet him in the ward and chat with great pleasure, enjoying the humor of Vasil Laboviti’s friend, for whom he held special respect since the time he had worked as a young doctor under him in Tirana.
With the Nurse
On Zote’s first day of admission, a nurse entered the room and called out:
-“Bed four!”
-“Me!” replied Zote, who was standing.
The nurse reached out with some tablets and gave them to him to take.
-“Who is this medicine for?”
-“For bed four,” she replied and turned to leave.
-“The bed doesn’t take medicine,” Zote told her. “I’m asking you, which patient? What is his name?”
-“Your name is registered in the doctor’s office,” she explained.
With the pills in his hand, he went there for clarification. They checked the chart, and it turned out the tablets Zote was holding belonged to a patient who had occupied the same bed but had been discharged that day.
-“Phew!” Zote exclaimed. “How did I miss him? Since he was already here, he could have been operated on in my place!!”
In the Operating Room
Before the surgery began, Zote, impressed by the sight of the room, the masked personnel, and all those devices and instruments – which anyone would think are about to be used on their body – turned to Dr. Paparisto:
-“Doctor, please, I have two requests: I’ve heard that where the thread is thin, it breaks.”
-“That is true,” the doctor replied. “Why, what’s your concern?”
-“Oh, nothing, it just crossed my mind. But now that you’re going to open me up, if you see any ‘thin thread’ anywhere, please, tie it into a knot, for heaven’s sake, as I am an only son.”
-“Don’t you worry at all, Alizot. If I see it’s thin, I’ll tie it; I’ll knot it twice.”
-“And I’m also very worried about that blood,” Zote continued.
-“What’s your worry about the blood, Alizot?”
-“Well, are you going to give me blood?”
-“Yes, if necessary, we will. Why do you ask?”
-“Pick it out for me, so it isn’t ‘Gypsy blood,’ because we come from a race of brave men and we wouldn’t want to spoil it for nothing.”
-“Are you from a ‘house of the rifle’ (a family of warriors), Alizot?”
-“It’s a wonder you haven’t realized, doctor! Even the one old rifle we had at home, we took the barrel off and made it into a pipe to blow the fire in the hearth.”
Leaving the Hospital
The ward doctor informed him a day in advance that he had to leave the hospital the next day. The paperwork was completed. It was a done deal. He became very worried. He still felt quite weak to leave immediately after such an operation, especially considering the long journey from Tirana to Gjirokastra. The road was very long and exhausting for someone newly operated on. What to do? I’ll talk to Paparisto, he thought. The doctor was in surgeries. He waited until he came out and went to his office.
-“Listen, doctor,” he said, “could these employees who handle discharges have confused me with something else?”
-“Why, what’s the matter?” Paparisto asked.
-“I was told to get ready to leave tomorrow.”
-“They did well; you are fine now and can continue at home. What could they have confused you with, Alizot?”
-“I think they’ve confused me with export tomatoes,” Alizot replied. “Those, yes – they pick them green here in Albania and they turn red on the way until they reach their destination in Europe a week later. I don’t blame the staff here. Apparently, they heard I have a long way to go to Gjirokastra and thought that by the time I get there, I’ll be healed. It must have slipped their minds that there are ‘scraps’ along the road. Not everything arrives healthy. So, if you please, look into my case once more yourself, and if you can, don’t kick me out of the hospital ‘green’; let me ‘redden’ a bit more here. Please!”
The doctor immediately called the employee and said:
-“This patient leaves only when I tell you!”
AT THE HOSPITAL IN GJIROKASTRA
The Gjirokastra hospital was one of the best in Albania. A very fine construction for the time, with ample space, high ceilings, and central heating. It shone with cleanliness; order and discipline prevailed, and above all, the dedication and professionalism of the doctors. It was built on a tradition created by talented doctors, the greats of Albanian medicine: Dr. Aleksandër Kalivopulli (pathologist), Dr. Vasil Laboviti or “Great Vasili” (surgeon), and Dr. Vasil Jorgji or “Little Vasili” (pediatrician).
In 197.., Zote fell ill. He had problems with eye pressure. His vision became difficult. When he looked ahead, one figure became three…!
He told the ophthalmologist, Dr. Adem Harxhi: “I’m seeing three Fetes (his wife’s name) – take two away and leave me with the one I had.”
In the Ophthalmology Ward
He was admitted to the Gjirokastra hospital. During rounds, the ward doctor called him. He didn’t know her; she was a newcomer.
She asked about his complaints and examined him. Alizot described his vision in detail, accompanied by dizziness, repeatedly saying with concern:
-“I’ve lost my sight; my sight is gone, what a disaster has befallen me…!”
At the end of the exam, the doctor reassured him:
-“Don’t worry, Uncle, your sight will come back gradually!”
-“My dear lady, can you tell me where my sight has gone?” Alizot addressed the doctor, who was being very polite. “Because I won’t wait for it to come to me; I’ll send someone to fetch it wherever it is. I won’t trouble you at all; I have a line of children who wouldn’t mind doing such things. You have enough to deal with as it is with us sick people.”
The doctor, who didn’t know Alizot, laughed and sent him back to his room. When she met Dr. Harxhi, she said laughing:
-“We have a patient with mental issues in the ward, but he’s not dangerous and quite respectful; he made me laugh during the exam.” She told him how the patient wanted to send his children to find his lost sight and bring it back as soon as possible.
-“Which patient? What’s his name? Which room?” asked the doctor hurriedly, immediately suspecting it might be his friend?
-“Alizot Emiri!” the doctor replied after checking the chart.
-“Oh boy,” cried Dr. Harxhi, who was close friends with Zote. “Don’t tell anyone about this, or you’ll accidentally become part of history in Gjirokastra!” He then explained to the doctor who the “patient with mental issues” really was. They called Zote to the staff room, introduced him to the new doctor, and had a conversation that was as serious as it was entertaining.
The “Coal Shift”
In his hospital room, Zote happened to be with three young men from Përmet who had minor eye injuries from a work accident. He immediately entered their world. He told them his eldest son, Ibrahimi, was an engineer in Përmet. They knew “the Engie,” as they called him! Zote was delighted. He entertained them with stories. They laughed all day.
The patients in this hospital were treated in quite comfortable conditions compared to the harsh winters in their cold homes. Central heating was very rare back then. One day before the boys were to be discharged, Zote decided to play a prank on them. He entered the room looking very upset.
-“What’s wrong, Uncle Alizot? You look so sad, can we help you?” the boys asked.
-“No, I’m just angry at myself. I should have thought of it sooner.”
-“But what? What did they tell you?” the boys couldn’t wait.
-“I’ll explain it slowly so you don’t get upset like I did,” Alizot began. “Haven’t we said many times how good we have it here? That the heating heals you more than the medicine?”
-“No doubt about it!” the boys replied.
-“Well, for this heating to work like a clock, patients like us – who aren’t seriously ill but just have a bit of trouble with eyes or ears – must contribute. As they say: ‘the donkey doesn’t limp from its ears.’ I didn’t know this rule; it’s my first time here. When they told me, I was caught off guard and got upset.”
-“But what did they tell you?!”
-“Tomorrow, our room has the coal shift!” Zote finally told them.
One of the boys laughed: “What’s this coal shift, Alizot? Back where we’re from, we use ‘coal’ as slang for falling in love. For example, they say ‘so-and-so has been caught by the coal’ with someone. Who has caught us…?”
-“No, you rascal,” Zote said. “Since your mind is already there, we’ll try it tomorrow before dawn. We’ll go to the hospital boiler room and supply it with coal. It’s hard physical labor; we’ll be a sight to behold, covered in ash and soot.”
-“And you’re this upset just for that, Uncle Alizot?”
-“Yes! Do you think that’s a small thing? Where do I have the strength for hard labor? I haven’t even recovered yet…”
-“Have you lost your mind? Do you think we’d let you work with a shovel? We’re not dead yet! We’ll do that job gladly; that’s our line of work anyway. We’ll make sure that hospital boiler room is handled in a way that’ll be remembered!”
-“Bless you, boys!” Zote said, and then they asked where to go, where the boiler was, etc.
Before dawn, the boys got up quietly so as not to wake Zote (who was pretending to snore), took blankets to keep warm, and crept out. They went to the main entrance, which was locked. The noise woke the guard, who was dozing in a chair. He saw three people in hospital pajamas with blankets over their heads. He was startled!
-“Where do you think you’re going in the middle of the night?!”
-“We have the coal shift!” the boys said firmly.
-“Look at that,” the guard laughed, recognizing the slang for “romantic trysts,” despite being sleepy. “And where did you arrange the meeting?”
-“At the boiler,” the boys replied without blinking.
-“I know what you want, and I’ll show you ‘coal’! You want me to call the police so you can go ‘make love’ in the cells? You ‘Gypsies’… in hospital clothes, with blankets too, all ready for ‘coal’?”
The boys were stunned. One of them calmly explained they were going to work so the hospital heating wouldn’t stop.
-“Who told you that you have the coal shift today?” the guard asked, now wide awake.
-“Uncle Alizot.”
-“Which Alizot?”
-“Alizot Emiri, we’re in the same room. He was going to come too, but we didn’t let him.”
-“When did Alizot get admitted? I had no idea,” said the guard, who lived in the same neighborhood. “Boys, you’ve certainly enjoyed yourselves with Zote in that room, but he’s gone and played another one of his pranks on you. Go back to your room; someone else is paid to handle the boilers. The hospital hasn’t fallen into Alizot’s hands to be saved by the ‘Gypsies of Përmet’!” / Memorie.al
To be continued in the next issue
