Here commenceth the saga of Greyrocks' disrupted summer of 2019!
Phase 1: "Urgence"
Ruth lay on the ground outside the chalet in shock and couldn't tolerate any attempts to get her up. Eventually we decided help would have to be summoned and three strong maintenance workers turned up. After a conference Ruth allowed the big one to hoist her onto a chair -and as he did so there was shooting pain in the leg. Bob put away the birthday breakfast and we pondered what to do! Camping Reception said the only option was the hospital in Dax, Where? It is the second largest town of Les Landes and Greyrocks is now familiar with many of its features! Fortunately Yvette is an easy vehicle for the mobility-challenged so with an overnight bag Ruth was bundled in and we drove the 50 km or so!
The hospital is huge and modern, and the staff very helpful. We got through the EHIC administrative hurdles and began the wait for medical attention. The screen listed numbers waiting, serious cases under treatment and likely waiting time, which stood at three and a half hours. (A figure that would be the dream of the average English A and E department!) Behind the much-used door we eventually discovered a spacious and remarkably calm area with proper rooms! The leg and shoulder were X-rayed and Ruth was told she would be admitted overnight and see the relevant surgeon in the morning. A temporary cast was fitted and the Achilles tendon named as the problem. We were conscious of the rural drive back and the barrier closure back at Contis, so Bob left Ruth on a wheelchair in a corridor and went back to pick up on breakfast! After a very, very long time Ruth was prepared and taken to another waiting area - but for beds! Not quite appreciating that it was just that she spent half an hour thinking this was her destiny for the night. It resembled an illustration from the Crimean War:- jam-packed, noisy and all personal possessions disappeared somewhere! But then there was relief as she was wheeled upstairs to the Orthopaedic ward!
Phase 2: "L'Anglaise Agée: Que faire?"
Ruth spent this and the next three nights in a double room, receiving almost entirely brilliant care, and having some strange encounters.
It was getting late, and soon after she was settled in and documented the second occupant arrived. Marie-Claire had a hip injury after being pulled over by a huge dog she was walking. Her husband visited regularly and treated Ruth to his appalling views on Brexit et al, and also to his tales of being a punk in London, and demonstration of his wide range of foul English language. On one occasion we discussed The Stranglers and this led him to play a selection from his portable device! The next occupant was another woman in her fifties with injuries from a fall whilst washing the car! Her and her husband's accents were too strong for much communication, but when daughters visited we had a chat and one had recently left UK after years teaching English - including in Tunbridge Wells!
Bob was visiting regularly, but also now engaged in preparing for what was clearly going to be a long haul! He had one night in Dax but otherwise was going back and forth to Contis, and arranged to move us to a different chalet which was
PMR adapted.
The idea that there might be an imminent operation receded, and it became more of an issue of where Ruth should go for further treatment. In theory we could "head for the border" and use our Spanish health cover, but we have no links on the mainland, and flying back to Fuerteventura was agreed to be out of the question, so across the days various tests were done and a return hospital date set for a serious operation on the shoulder. The problem was the complexity of the break to the top of the humerus, which necessitated fitting a prosthesis. This procedure is - we were told - a famous speciality of one of the surgeons! A doubt about whether the EHIC would cover this as part of the "emergency" was sorted - we hope - by a tedious call to Newcastle in the presence of the Social Services person, who was arranging nursling visits, and had some idea about charging policies. Bob also forged links with the English-speaking administrator - Valerie - downstairs, and we began to get a grip on how things would pan out, and the mountain of paperwork started to accumulate!
Ruth was impressed with the care and catering whilst there! The worst aspect - which mirrored the Chania hospital in 2015 - was the mental heath of fellow patients in what we assume to be the geriatric bit of the orthopaedic ward! In the middle of one night there were two very aged folk screaming continually in neighbouring rooms! On the lighter side Ruth had a bizarre conversation with staff in the ultrasound department, who wanted her opinion on the relative merits of Kate and Meghan Windsor, and on the name Archie! Wrong person to ask, but it's that or Brexit when you meet a Brit!
Phase 3: "Carry on Camping!"
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The interior was more suitable for this week! |
Ruth was discharged on a Saturday, with a proper and very solid plaster cast, paperwork for nursing visits, prescriptions and an appointment for shoulder surgery in a couple of weeks' time. When we tried to pay we were told to settle at the next appointment, which was reassuring, and Bob had leased a wheelchair (with leg extension) which seemed OK for getting in and out of Yvette. We went for lunch at the Campanile and practised discussions about disabled access, then went back to the campsite to settle into the chalet we could have or a week. By now it was not the deserted oasis Ruth had experienced! The chalet itself and its parking spot were very well equipped and convenient, but all surrounding units were occupied, with a popular weekend for the French, and German school holidays having started. Half of the week was sunny - if windy - but half was foul. We used the on-site restaurant several times, but it is over-lavish for its likely clientele and dishes on its short menu frequently not available. On a particularly wet day we met there the only Brits we spoke to in the entire Landes stay!
Otherwise - and including on one very hot day - we took the car down the road to the little settlement at Contis Plage for long lunches. Bob had been there during the solo period and liked the vibe:- young, relaxed and surfer-orientated. It suited us well, and between time there, visits by the nurse and other day-to-day stuff taking much longer than normal, time passed.
Phase 3: "God's Waiting Room" - but a blessing!
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| Greyrocks' current "chez nous" |
With no idea of for how long we would be needing to visit the hospital it made sense to get accommodation in Dax itself. We have discovered this is not a problem in itself:- it is a major spa town with seventeen hot springs and - apparently - some nice mud! It also has historic features and a scenic riverside. so tourism - particularly by older French couples is well-established. We found an "apartment" at one of the spa complexes, but on checking in discovered it would be impossibly small with the wheelchair, and both shower and balcony inaccessible. Panic ensued - but the staff were magnificent. We looked at another - not much better, and then went through one of the place's connecting walkways to see a larger unit in their "sister" block. It was ideal - and they also honoured the price for the first two weeks. The longer we have stayed the better-suited it seems! The
clientèle are either here for a
cure or long stays, They are all French, generally charming (even those with dogs), quiet and - in stark contrast with that in Contis - pretty old and slow (although only Ruth is in a wheelchair). By the time the operation date came round we had used the hairdresser, the main restaurant with its rotating French menu, the Tunisian restaurant, and the
traiteur making pizzas and good take-away meals on a rotation. We went out a few times for shopping, and Bob had regular walks and bike rides, although two days over the weekend were very wet! The "potted" leg was giving no pain - just nuisance - so we looked forward to more mobility as part of the hospital stay.
Phase 4: Operation Bionic Woman in "(I) canee cool" conditions
Ruth checked in the afternoon before the operation, and Bob optimistically returned the wheelchair. This time she had a single room, which was spacious. but not ideal as the "
canicule" was getting into full swing! The heatwave was particularly intense in France and a few days later records would be broken in the South East. As the map shows "our" bit has been spared - but it was still regularly above 33 degrees, which isn't fun when stuck in a hospital bed with sling, drips and plaster cast, and no air-conditioning!
There isn't much to say about operation day. Thanks to a wonderful anaesthetic nurse Ruth drifted off and came round some hours later to see Bob patiently waiting. There was no shoulder pain overnight - but there was a "pain in the neck" as the same octogenarian patient was still around - in fact just opposite - and called out a series of women's names day and night. All doors were open to let in cool air from fans in the corridor. Not a restful recovery! The next day there was a panic about low blood pressure (yes, low!), and the following early hours went badly with a blip in the nursing standards, and Ruth in "a bit of a state". The worst news came when the surgeon confirmed he would see her a month later, and a slightly modified plaster cast would stay on until then! So we left the hospital that day still using a wheelchair, another pile of papers and the need for a nurse's visit every other day to change the dressing and later remove the stitches. The final procedure was to settle the bill, which took a silly amount of time, owing to a defective card machine. We move on!
Phase 5: Recovery and Looking Ahead - ongoing!
Faced with the news on the plaster and the appointment we got organised for four weeks more with the wheelchair, negotiated for Bob to do the daily anti-coagulant jabs, organised dressing change visits by the nurse on alternate days, asked reception staff to find a physiotherapist and verified that we could sty on in the accommodation. "Phew" on that one as it is perfect for the unusual circumstances in which Greyrocks finds itself! As we hunkered down we reviewed some of the domestic arrangements and pondered short excursions to fit in around appointments. Bob was getting a sense of the surroundings, and the heatwave is still now in full force, so a pleasant promenade is along the banks of the Adour where access is good through the renovated
Splendid Hotel and a series of casual bars looks across the river and footbridge. Just beyond - but difficult with the chair - a picnic and sunbathing area has been created for the summer with a programme of activities. Last weekend we took a look - from a safe point - at the closing phase of a weekend of
motorbikes and blues acts. A huge turnout, interesting gear, and a fair amount of noise! (In fact the town seems to be a bit of a magnet for niche motoring:- sitting with a drink we have seen minor convoys of both vintage sports cars and brightly painted 2CVs)
Our regular reader will be familiar with an obsession with finding duck in some of our usual haunts. No problem here! Les Landes as part of
Gascony is riddled with duck . Our Sunday meal last week was a real treat - and in ideal weather. Ruth has enthused on
Trip Advisor!
Weekdays are now structured round sessions with a very young physiotherapist who loves to speak English as well as patiently correcting Ruth's French. She has also been to Corralejo and studied in Spain. . The shoulder is becoming more flexible with her help, and she is also ploughing with us through the pile of financial paperwork, Slowly, slowly!
Oh - and to our French friends :- greetings for the 14th! Two and a half hours of TV coverage from the Champs-Élysées etc takes your mind off a recovering shoulder op!
