A Word from a Pharmacist’s Wife

It was New Years Eve, ten minutes before midnight.  My husband and I were making the final preparations to ring in the New Year.  And then, the door bell rang.

 

 

Unlike most families who celebrated at home or were out with friends, we spent New Year's Eve in a pharmacy. Nice, huh? I'm a pharmacist's wife, and on that particular night, it was my husband's turn to be scheduled for "guardia"  or, in other words, opened in case an emergency occurred and someone needed a prescription filled immediately. In every zone of Barcelona and all towns big enough to have a doctor on-call, there is also a pharmacy opened for "guardia," 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (and yes, that includes holidays).   Sometimes, it's the same pharmacy, which stays open 24 hours.  Other times, the neighborhood pharmacies rotate the responsibility.  Nonetheless--even in my small town of 15,000 residents--there is always at least one opened for business when you need it.   How can you figure out which pharmacy has "guardia"?  The tell-tale sign is that the cross, which marks every pharmacy, will be lit up to show it's open for business.  And if your  pharmacy isn't open when you need it, take a look at the door because the closest pharmacy for guardia will always be listed.  Finally, don't despair if a pharmacy's gate is closed because there will be an after-hours service window.  Just ring the bell and someone will attend to you.    Do people wake my husband up a lot?  Sometimes.  Nevertheless, he is never bothered because it's his duty as the pharmacist on "guardia" to fill a prescription if an emergency occurs.  But if you wake him up at 5am to buy a toothbrush, for example, he probably would be probably be more than a tad perturbed.  --Christine K.