Chris is on the Trolley

We had pitched up for a day or two at La Grande Sologne in Nouan-le-Fuzelier. The next morning was Chris's 71st birthday. Leaving the sanitary block she fell and broke her right wrist. I asked reception to send for SAMU in a few minutes . Staff and campers were nice and supportively helpful to Chris, though it was a relief when the SAMU team arrived with a doctor and an inspector in a separate van. I managed to hear the doctor contacting the hospital saying 'severe complex fracture'. She had speedy emergency assessment and treatment on site. She was then taken to Romorantin-Lanthenay about 25 kilometres away where she was admitted to emergency treatment and listed for an operation that afternoon.

This is the infamous waiting on a trolley in a corridor after initial assessment and wound cleansing. Obviously Chris is on pain killers. Actually she was waiting for the service room to be ready for her prepping, then when the surgeons were available the operation would proceed. Frankly it didn't seem to take too long to me but I guess the patient might have a different idea.

While this serious medical work was going I found a campsite about 2.5 kilometres from the hospital. I couldn't find a taxi to take me back to the hospital, whose location I didn't really know without satnav.  Fortunately for me there was a wonderful Dutch couple on the campsite who did have a car and a map and offered to drive me there to see Chris. We arrived and my new friend, Ben, drove back. I was confident a taxi could be found to take me home that evening.

I saw Chris as soon as she came out of recovery. She had elected for local anaesthetic so recovered fairly quickly. Obviously she would stay as an in-patient at least over-night. On the other hand I couldn't find a taxi to take me the 2 kilometres, or at least to do so for less than 40 euro. After the nurses making many phone calls the senior nurse said, 'I'll take you back at the end of my shift'. So I was at the campsite in about 5 minutes. What lovely people!

The next day Ben drove me to the hospital at 15.00 to collect Chris. She had a prescription we had to collect from a pharmacy that afternoon and then Ben drove us back to the campsite.

We had some decisions to take on what to do next: should we leave from Calais and take a chance on finding clinics prepared to renew the dressing every three days or so and the after 10 days remove the stitches?
We decided eventually to stay. Chris had here dressing changed on Tuesday, saw the surgeon who approved 'external treatment' - what we call out-patients. I met the new team of nurses, an appointment for Chris on Friday was set-up and the administrators opened an out-patient account, because of course Chris has to pay for the next part of her treatment.