I’ve never been in a hospital as a patient before, which I now know I am so lucky to have avoided all my life ’til now. Overall, I’d say that my stay was a pleasant one. Almost all the nurses and aides were incredibly nice (except for one who acted more like a prison guard—you know who you are!)
I’ll tell you, those hospital tv dramas have it right when they show the doctors and nurses discussing their personal lives while a patient is getting prepped for surgery. I was wheeled off the chopper on a gurney and after a very brief briefing on my condition, the doctors and nurses on duty decided to chat about their holiday plans. Which is fine, but a little surreal when you’re in the worst pain imaginable and just want someone to take care of you.
My ER doctor was nice and cute—more a McDreamy than a McSteamy! After I came to (post-boot removal), he kindly told me I’d be going into surgery in a couple of hours. This goes to show how much I know about medicine, broken bones and the like. In a bit of a shock, I said to him, “Tu vas me couper?” which translates to “You’re going to cut me?” in very informal and impolite French —I tutoyer-ed a doctor I didn’t even know! He seemed taken aback himself and explained that I needed pins and things put in my leg. Here I thought that they’d set it and put a cast on it, no cutting involved…
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- Broken tibia
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- Bionic Leg
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- Screwed!
So they wheel me into surgery after I was washed down with Betadine (gross), my elimination needs taken care of with a basin (REALLY gross), my nails clipped and my piercings taken out (bye, bye nipple ring). In the bloque as they called the operation area, the nurses spent some time showing each other their new tattoos, one actually pulling down her pants to show the one she had on her lower back. I was like, “Is this professional?” But then I was knocked out again for the surgery. All I have to say is, thank God for general anesthesia!
And thank God for socialized healthcare. I do not have health insurance as a self-employed person who’s in between two countries. I know, I know, it’s a bad, bad thing. Dman and I also hadn’t taken care of all the paperwork necessary once we got married, due to our hectic schedules. Amazingly, the entire stay came out to around 1000 euros a night (including all the surgery), which isn’t cheap but compared to what it would have cost had this happened in the States, is a real bargain.
The French insurance system isn’t out to screw their citizens either (did you all see Sicko?) Despite the paperwork not being done yet, they are planning to start my coverage retroactively and are taking care of all the costs, including the nurse who has to come to my house twice a week to take my blood for the next month. On top of it, the credit card that Dman used to buy our lift tickets is covering any extra costs, including the helicopter that took me off the mountain.
Seriously, thank goodness this happened in France. I think in the U.S., it probably would have been, “Here’s a cloth to bite down on, we’re going to set the leg and put you in a splint,” because I don’t have insurance and there’s no way I could afford surgery.
If Obama does only one thing during his term in office, I hope it’s to give healthcare to everyone in America because everyone deserves to get treatment and be in good health without having to worry whether they’re going to be in debt for it for the rest of their lives.
So for now, Vive La France!
3 Comments
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Poor you! Take good care and hope you feel well enough to be able to enjoy the new year.
I’ve been an occasional ‘lurker’ on your website, which I came upon a few months ago through another site — and have been enjoying your postings. I guess I’ve identified and empathised with several of your observations, given that I’m in an inter-cultural/ethnic marriage myself.
I also couldn’t agree more about the need for socialised healthcare & France being one of the leading examples of this. I work for an international humanitarian organisation & have worked in several countries that are far worse off economically than the US, but which still provide affordable healthcare. Hard to fathom how a country like the US can call itself a developed country and yet deny its residents this basic human right.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Thanks for your sweet message. Where are you based now? I’m sure you’ve got an interesting blog in you! It *is* unfortunate that healthcare isn’t a basic human right in what is ostensibly the richest country in the world.
I remember arguing with a doctor prior to the Bush/Kerry election and he essentially told me, “I didn’t spend all this time and money going to med school so that I wind up with some middle class salary under socialized medicine.” Whoa. I’d like to believe that everything doesn’t have to be about money (especially the calling to be a doctor), but capitalism kind of states that it does, doesn’t it?
Of course, with the economy where it is and everyone looking at some seriously tough times ahead, maybe it will cause people to clamor for real change and gain equal (healthy!) rights for all.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008 at 10:53 pm
My husband and I have been based in NY for the past couple of years. Not sure about blogging
although I’ll email you the link to our homepage, which you might enjoy – it’s mainly pics from our inter-cultural, nontheist wedding!
The intense dichotomies engineered between socialised medicine and an overall capitalist society appear contrived to me. Success stories abound by way of Scandinavian countries and even Canada (‘Sicko’ was indeed effective in its portrayal of this). The fear-mongering that exists amongst certain sections that label anything ’socialised’ as ‘red’ is just insane – but then again, there seems to be a ‘tradition’ of this in the US — as opposed to a tradition in several other countries that treat health as a human right. The discourse, as you’d know, is much more de-politicised, with liberals, progressives and conservatives more or less agreeing on the basic principles (but differing on details, for sure).
For any change to come about, a radical behavioural shift seems necessary that begins from homes and through educational institutions and which teaches young people that having access to care when in need should not be treated as a luxury, but is instead a right – after all, this is what is supposed to make us ‘humane’, is it not?…..sure, we could have some superstar doctors (like the one you quote) live luxurious lifestyles funded through their private practices – but that shouldn’t mutually exclude the care of those that have limited means — and the world does have enough examples that show both can coexist within the same society.
One does hope, as you mention, that the current economic crisis triggers some serious introspection along these (and other) crucial lines.