Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Today I Am A Man

grain de beauté

Today's the day for Fete de la Musique in France. A few years back I wrote about about how Eric and I rented an electrogenerator and spent the day and night traveling around the area, setting up and playing for the few. A memorable experience but a one-time only thing.

I noticed this year what was supposed to be a day of musical anarchy has gotten even more and more organized - June 21 falls on a Tuesday, so posters and flyers advertise Fete de la Musique events for the 18th and the 25th because those are Saturdays and people are more likely to go out. C'mon, go nuts for a change, open the shutters and leave your house on a Tuesday night! Maybe in Paris but not in the countryside. So what's the point of this thing again?

We could have fired up the old electrogen today, but I'm recovering from Mohs surgery and that's a good excuse, right? I'd been fretting about this skin cancer thing - BCC, the non-deadly kind. Just a tiny little pore on the side of my nose that the dermatologist with the lousy bedside manner biopsied and sent me for surgery. I've had a hell of a time finding the most effective kind in France. Asking various doctors about what is absolutely standard these days (this is for surgery on the face, where conserving as much tissue as possible is what you'd hope for) I was told - nope, not in France. I asked if it was because the complexions are heartier, less pale, so less incidence of skin cancer? Not at all. It's socialized medicine. Mohs is too costly.

Going to the doctor in France is a mix of brusqueness and care that it is hard to imagine in the US, where health care is huge business. If they're going to sock you with a bill they better provide some service. It all works very differently here. The first time we saw a doctor for a checkup, I couldn't believe it when I called for an appointment - "Can you come in...tomorrow morning?" Expecting a delay of several weeks, I figured this doctor must not have any patients, but that's just standard. She took so much time with each patient, I wondered if perhaps she was charging by the hour. Then it came time to pay and we gave her our euros and she pulled a little pouch out from her desk and made change. I double-checked that there was hand soap at the sink, thinking of her handling money all day. When she retired, I called asking if she had any recommendations, anyone who was handling her patients now, taking over the practice? No. Nope, sorry, can't help you there.

Everything's covered, or almost covered, by the system. But when you get a gynecological exam or mammogram, you the patient are not covered - literally: no robe, no sheet, just drop your clothes right there in a corridor. But if you need a taxi, or a nurse to visit you at home - just call! It's taken care of.

I ended up finding a hospital in Bordeaux that does Mohs surgery so we drove there yesterday morning. I'd called beforehand, just trying to verify that I had an appointment, and did I need to know anything - this is surgery we're talking about. Nothing but irritation from the nurses.

But when I was under the knife (and it was a knife and it was awful and I'll never go through anything like that again without being unconscious. That option was not available to me nor were tranquilizers which would have been welcome. I can understand much better now the idea of cardiac arrest on the operating table. I prayed, I vowed to be a force for good, I imagined myself a soldier on a Civil War battlefield and thought "this has to be better than that." I apologized to the nurse for being anxious. "Vous avez raison" she said - you've got reason to be - I'm not sure if that made me feel better or worse) anyway, the nurse was holding my hand and being so sweet. The doctor took the whole day with me in between sending to the lab. He told me several times I'd done the right thing because the cancer was very deep. He stitched me up and left me so swathed in bandages I can only think of that poster of the Phantom of the Opera. They gave me a private room to lay down in in between cutting and sewing and for Eric to wait in. I told him after it was one of the worst days of my life but at least he was there to share it with.

So no Fete de la Musique today. I hope it's alright to write about this. I hope the stitches will be okay and the scar will fade or if it doesn't that I'll look dangerous in a chic way. Or chic in a dangerous way. The nurse is coming over tomorrow. In some rite of passage I never wanted (who does?), today I am a man.

13 comments:

nocoates said...

Ouch! I had Mohs surgery in Madison several years ago. I think they used a local anaesthetic, thank goodness. If you're like me, you'll have a small white spot on your nose and well-meaning people will occasionally tell you that you forgot to rub in your moisturizer completely. I hope you recover quickly! You now have license to wear hats and feel okay that you're not outside when it's sunny out.

Amy said...

Thanks Norma - I did get the local anaesthetic at least - oh my god I don't even want to think about what it would've been like without that. I've got a whole mess of stitches so maybe more a line effect, we'll see - I hear the scar fades after a year or so. Hats - I've always liked hats! But I already miss the sun.

Mark In Mayenne said...

Glad it went well for you

Amy said...

Thanks Mark, that's the important thing to remember while walking around looking like I've been in a bad bar fight.

Jim S said...

Just say "You should have seen the other guy", or maybe something about a duel...

Amy said...

Smart man, Jim - my dad said the same thing!

Richard said...

You're absolutely damn right to write about this. It's a lesson to all of us of a certain age.Here's wishing you a speedy recovery.
http://apacheterritory.blogspot.com/

Amy said...

Thank you Richard. It does get complicated, getting older. Onward and upward(but with UV protection, always).

journeybear said...

I hope you heal soon, and well. I understand completely about the anesthesia - just put me under, please and thank you! I had to have a tooth extracted a few months ago, and my dentist sent me to an oral surgeon to be on the safe side. This guy had zero bedside manner, acted like he had a plane to catch (OK, he did). He asked if I wanted novocaine - well, yeah, duh! - and informed me it was $90 extra. What??? I didn't have that much more on my card, he wouldn't take a check - although my dentist has, for years - so I had to run home and get cash. OY! So, is capitalistic medical care better than socialized? Horror stories about both abound, I'm sure.

So, speedy recovery, easy move, and onward and upward, and all the best, always!

Amy said...

Oww,Journeybear, that's just plain mean - I heard a similar story regarding I think a colonoscopy - "we can do this the easy way, for $900 (anesthesia) or the hard way (nothing), so what's it gonna be, I haven't got all day."

I feel bad grousing about anything to do with socialized medicine because of things like that. (of course people in France pay in other ways.) But I seriously considered going to the US and paying for the procedure because it's so common there and almost unheard of here, which adds a whole other level of anxiety. I wish I'd just asked for some valium or something.
A little better every day, almost spry enough to start packing boxes.

David said...

I have no doubt that should you be blessed with a chic little scar it will only add to your already abundant beauty and mystique.

kpf said...

Oh my God, I would have sent you some valium (somehow)! You'll still be beautiful!

Amy said...

They would have stopped those in French customs Kate! If only I'd asked in advance, they give pharmaceuticals out like candy around here. But thank you.

You are kind, David.