Testing the French Health System

Well where do I start? From the beginning I suppose! Monday felt really rough and started getting chest pains. Tuesday we rush off to Mr le Medecin and Tuesday afternoon I'm in the Cardiologie Soin Intensive at Perigueux Hospital. Midnight Tuesday I'm moved out of there into the Pneumologie (sp) unit cos the Cardio unit is full (bit ominous that). Wednesday is spent having tests and fielding telephone calls from various parts of SW France. Thursday was spent being worried silly. Blood pressure starts rising. No one about to answer any questions and then am told that the Doctors are en greve and if I want to speak to anyone it will have to be an intern. However, if I am patient (no pun intended) I can wait until Friday when the Doctors will be back. Friday I was given the ok to leave, but the downside is that I am off the booze for the foreseeable future, possibly forever. I am on Elephant tablets, monthly blood tests and blood pressure tests and am waiting for a rendez vous with the liver specialist in Perigueux. I haven't slept properly since Monday night as they put me in a room with a 90 year old lady who is dying and she needed constant care so being woken up every 3 hours did me the world of good (not!). Oh and I can thoroughly recommend Perigueux Hospital. The Pneumologie unit is not one of the nicest units in a hospital and the nurses were absolutely brilliant! As I had loads of time on my hands, I have been busy with graph paper and crayons. Will try and upload photos of proposed new designs (which will; probably end up as sofa throws) in the not too distant future. Wish I could have taken the sewing machine in with me. Blue Jean Windows would have been finished by now! In the meantime, it is going to be less of the blog, Yahoo! groups and the computer and more of the garden, exercise and making sure that my Alex will still have a Mum in 10 year's time.