French medical care

It's official: Dave has the flu. Luckily we had Samuel vaccinated a few months ago - which we can only assume protected him from the worst of the bug. Samuel is still very congested and not eating as much as he should, but otherwise is back to being happy and playful. Dave spent 3 days out of commission and staying away from Samuel and me... for which I am thankful since so far I am not showing any signs of illness!

One of the good things about our current apartment is that we share the building with several doctor's offices, so if we need a GP (or even to have our teeth drilled while having a baby) we're in good shape. The GP is even known by P&G people as the P&G offices used to be almost across the street from where we now live, so our great help at the office (Isabelle) has put us in touch with him. He speaks some French and makes house calls, so yesterday morning I popped down, met his wife, and arranged for him to stop by at midday. In true French fashion, after confirming that Dave had the flu, he gave us a prescription for four different medications. I remember being told once that to feel like they are doing their jobs correctly, French doctors will always prescribe a minimum of 3 medications!

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Since French pharmacies are also heavily protected by the law, there seem to be more pharmacies in France even than boulangeries - there are at least 4 within a few hundred metres of our apartment, so it is very easy to get medicine whenever you need it!

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On Saturday we also went 'en famille' to see the opthamologist, to get Dave a new glasses prescription. Since the doctor didn't speak English, Samuel and I sat in the room with them and translated. Samuel is being exposed to a wide variety of French vocabulary.

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Tonight we take Samuel to the pediatrician for his 9-month visit - good timing, as it will reassure us to get his opinion on Samuel's health at the moment. A lot of medical activity in the last few days though!