Back during the first semester of my first year at UVA, I took a seminar-style class called American Political Tradition. There was a lot of rather heated discussion of the day's issues in that class, and I remember the time healthcare reform came up. Our teacher told us that she was uninsured throughout her twenties, which is taking a pretty big gamble considering how hideously expensive healthcare is in the United States, but luckily nothing happened and she felt free to purchase insurance when she was older. The class's most strident conservative smugly argued that this was why people should not be "forced" to buy health insurance; they can get along fine without it. I was one of the more outspoken leftists in the class, and I jumped to healthcare reform's defense. "But what if you had gotten into a car accident or broken a leg?" I asked our teacher. "You could have been financially ruined. Young people think they're invincible, and it's true that they rarely have serious healthcare issues, but it's better to be safe than sorry!" And it goes without saying that in the United States, not being insured can make you very sorry indeed.
It turns out that I am a dirty hypocrite, because when I got to France, I didn't bother to go get French insurance. "I'm not going to get sick," I told myself. "It's only five months. What's the worst that can happen? I'll just have to take care of myself and be vigilant when crossing the street, and it'll be fine." Well, the expression "famous last words" came about for a reason. This past weekend and for a few days before that, I had been feeling considerable sinus pressure, to the point where it was difficult to sleep at night because my chest felt so constricted and my head was throbbing. I tried to ignore it, but last night it got to the point where I Skyped with my mom and told her how bad it had gotten. She told me to go to the doctor, and I knew she meant business. She's a registered nurse, and she said that my symptoms seemed consistent with a sinus infection, which if left untreated could turn into pneumonia. That scared me. I started taking ibuprofen, which helped, and promptly at 8 I hopped on the Metro to go to Universite de Lille 2's student health center.
Ostensibly the health center opened at 8:30, but they didn't actually unlock the front door until nearly 8:40, and then I had to explain myself to the lady at the front desk in my terrible French. There was no doctor in that day, so the nurse on duty took my temperature (normal), listened to my symptoms, and recommended me to another practice up the street. Off I went. Luckily the doctor up there spoke English, which meant I didn't have to sound like a complete idiot (I don't like not being able to express myself, which is what usually happens when I try to have a meaningful conversation in French). She listened to my heart and my breathing, took my blood pressure, and looked in my ears, and then told me that I didn't have a sinus infection (I would have a fever if I did), but that she would write me a prescription so that if it developed into one, I would have antibiotics to turn to. In the meantime, I should keep taking ibuprofen. Then she asked me for 23 euro in cash, which I didn't have, so I had to run out to an ATM and give it to her secretary. This would not have happened if I had bothered to turn in a few forms and get insurance. Yeah, I are dumb, guys.
I went back to my place, ate a quick breakfast, took more ibuprofen, and went to sleep. I ended up sleeping the rest of the morning and most of the early afternoon. It was nice to actually be able to sleep, and sleep well, though I woke up groggy and disoriented as I always do if I nap in the middle of the day.
The rest of the day felt completely separate from the morning. I walked to the Citadelle to meet Eva, where we ambled along one of the winding paths and just talked. She's a great person to hang out with - I'm glad we're friends. We then headed into the city center and had hot chocolate at a cafe. She had a French class that evening, so we said good-bye and I took the Metro back to my place; I would have walked, but it was getting dark, and I always feel slightly anxious about walking by myself in a city after dark. It was a good afternoon, though, and it took my mind off my sinuses. Thank God for friends!
