My Immersive Experience with the French Medical System.

You guessed it! I, being the clumsy moron I am, sought medical attention in Paris this weekend. I'm not proud of myself but it gave me an inside look into how the French handle things.

I'll start with my actions that landed me in the hospital. Okay, so I had just met a new group of girls and we were hanging out for the first time. Our plan was to go to Invalides, which is the site of the Army Museum and also the grave of Napoleon. On our way, actually right outside, is where this ridiculous event occurred. We were walking down this street where there are a lot of embassies. We were testing our worldly knowledge by identifying each by the flags that were waving out front. I was walking with a girl and we were talking about something (not important what) when she spotted a new flag and couldn't identify the flag. She pointed it out to me and I knew it but couldn't remember its country. I was trying to figure it out while still talking to this girl and staring at the flag all while continuing our walk to the museum. As I was walking and talking and thinking, this girl yelled, "Watch out!" So naturally I swung around and just as my head was directed forward, I walked straight into a lamppost. Now this is clumsy side of me. Walking into something large and immoveable. The real definition of my unluckiness is the fact that simply walking into this pole at a normal walking speed, with a brand new group of girls, right outside of the place we were heading had me bleeding and lightheaded.

Okay so this was a full force collision and it was obviously painful. I expected a bruise or some sort of mark on my head but to my surprise, I was also bleeding profusely. Great. I immediately bent forward and watched my blood drip onto the sidewalk. That's gross; I'll keep it less graphic. Luckily, someone was prepared for the winter weather and had some tissues handy and after this whole ordeal, I managed not to get any blood on my clothes. An extremely lucky feat.

At this point, we were a bit unsure what to do. We decided to go into the Invalides to at least use the bathroom to clean it out. We were about ten meters from the gates so we went inside and walk all the way to the gift shop/bathrooms (the grounds and courtyard are rather extensive so this took longer than you'd anticipate). Apparently, you have to have a ticket to the museum in order to use the bathrooms here. Even though tickets are free for residents of France, we were told to walk across the building to obtain a ticket. I showed him my gross wound and he had me sit down and called the paramedics on staff.

Alright, so every interaction we had today was in French which makes everything even more comical. The paramedics arrived and saw me sitting and the (I guess) guy in charge comes up to me and asks if I'm an 8-year-old girl. I look around and respond, "I don't believe I am." Evidently, information was miscommunicated. Which is just so French, honestly. They were doing the normal medical checking, cleaning the cut and making sure I wouldn't die. In the end, we all decided the cut wasn't really that big, just a lot of blood. But since it was on my forehead, I would have to get stitches so it wouldn't scar. Great. We were given directions to the nearest Hospital (which actually wasn't that near) and sent on our way. We had the choice of an hour walk, a 30-minute train ride, or a 10-minute Uber ride. Since I had lost a lot of blood and was feeling a bit dizzy, we decided walking would be really stupid. It was approaching rush hour so we thought the loudness and business of the train wouldn't be good for my headache so we settled for the Uber.

At the hospital, we had a bit of a wait to be called on. I had to fill out a paper and give my health card. After about fifteen minutes I was called by the nurse to get my vitals. As we were there the doctor walked by the room and saw my face and told me she could fix it now. She took me to a neighboring room and gave me three stitches. I was out of the emergency room in less than thirty minutes.

Sorry I promised I would keep it less graphic but here we go anyway...

Okay so this was my experience now let me tell you about what I learned.

1. Free health care is worth paying more taxes.

I was in the ER, received three stitches and came back a week later for them to removed and it was free. I also had to fill a prescription for pain relievers and medication to prevent infection, and buy gauze and iodine. To ease my pain, I also bought anti-bac, soda and chocolate. In total, this cost me €13. And with my French medical card, I was reimbursed for the medication. I paid less than €5 for stitches and everything that I needed to keep myself healthy. As an American this is unreal, but for every other western country, this is a reality.

2. Free health care means different quality of care. In the US, we have doctors that are trained in bedside manor and a bit of personalized care. In France, doctors are paid to treat patients. They don't go out of their way to make you feel like you're in a five-star hotel they just treat you. They treat so many people throughout the day that they don't have time to personalize each experience. They treat you and move on. This may seem cold but if that's the price for affordable health care for all, I'm on board.

3. France gives their citizens more time off. Workers in France (generally) have way more vacation time than people in the US. This is true for everyone, including doctors. It's a lot harder to find care overnight because people aren't being worked into the ground. This is great for individuals and their families but it does mean that you might have to wait for business hours to see a doctor. Of course emergency care is always available but if you need antibiotics for a cold, you might have to implement some home remedies until the morning.

4. Emergency care is always available! So in the US we have 911. Which is used for every emergency. In France we have different numbers for the police, the paramedics, the fire department. And they're all rapid responders. I think it's less than three minutes or 90 seconds. I clearly don't know but it's super fast.

For anyone still wondering, it was the Columbian flag. A few weeks later, we returned to the scene of the crime and found that the Columbian embassy was undergoing construction! It was covered with scaffolding, which I of course attest to its destructive forces it had on me. I also got my revenge on the pole that ailed me so and am now at peace with everything that's happened. Check out my picture of this monster of a pole and see how it managed to give me three stitches in my forehead and bruises on my knee and ankle.

UPDATE: These girls, whom I met for the first time during this horrible ordeal, have been some of my best friends throughout this year! And I've also made a full medical recovery.