ATHENS – Disputing earlier media reports that indicated his honeymoon turned into a nightmare when he fell seriously ill, Greek-Canadian Nikolaos Sarlakis, 33, said that it was skilled Greek doctors and surgeons who saved his life.
Sarlakis, who was transferred from the island of Santorini to Athens, spoke to The National Herald’s Aris Papadopoulos’ briefly at the Athens Naval Hospital, saying he and his wife, Stephanie, wanted to correct the record of reports in the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) story and blogs he said incorrectly dramatized what happened to him.
Doctors coming from his room in Athens said the patient was doing well and would be discharged in less than a week, far quicker than earlier reports indicated as he was recovering after an intestine ruptured from diverticulitis, which causes pouches to form on the walls of the colon.
When asked if there complications from his hospital stay in Santorini, the Athens doctors said there were not. “Thanks to the very good job the doctor did there, Mr. Sarlakis is alive. Here we are just taking care of him.”
Sarlakis’ father, Demetrios, a priest in Canada, came to be with him as well after his wife said she wanted family to be by his side after his ordeal that turned their honeymoon into a nightmare of worry and a financial burden.
They didn’t want to comment much but said the doctors on Santorini, Lambros Sakkas, Demetris Banos, and another doctor whose surname they didn’t remember, the surgeon Andreas, were flawless in their treatment and “They took care of me and ran every kind of test,” Sarlakis said.
“Yes, I had to have a second operation because of complications but what was written left and right is not true,” Sarlakis said. “The hospitalization, the interest and daily care was at a very good level and we thank them,” he added.
He and his wife said the believe the CBC story was based on incorrect information given the broadcast agency.
Asked why he was transferred to Athens, his wife said she asked for it. “I was alone there, I slept very little, I was a foreigner. I wanted my husband’s family near me. So they sent us to Athens.”
Asked about finances, she said her own people in Canada assisted her and she had never asked and never wanted money to be raised through the newspaper even though there was a problem.
The only thing they wanted from the paper was to report the very good hospitalization they received in Santorini and Athens, saying it would be unfair otherwise.
They were married in Canada in January but delayed their honeymoon until May when they came to Greece and went to Santorini, a dream spot for many newlyweds from around the world and this year rated the world’s most popular island.
“Snapped this picture at about 7 am this morning while on my way back to the hospital. Haven’t got to see much of Santorini yet, but maybe when he is released we can take a few more photos. This is definitely a honeymoon we will never forget that’s forsure,” Stephanie Sarlakis wrote on her Facebook page on May 23.
The CBC report added she said “I’ve been calling it my honeymoon nightmare. This is a trip that we’ve been looking forward to and planning for a year. It was our dream honeymoon.
“It’s been awful. Never in a million years would I ever have imagined going through something like this. And being alone in it.”
The first week was full of family, laughter and celebration on the island of Salomina, just off the coast of Athens. Her husband was in great health, she said.
“He was excited to show me his home and show me his country and for me to meet all of his family,” she said.
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