All is well in Lyon but we had another travel wrinkle. A couple of days ago, Larry had a complication from a surgery he had two months ago. We became concerned that he had an infection so when we contacted a physician, they suggested that we go to an emergency room for a test to determine the best course of action. We left during a thunderstorm and took an Uber to a hospital not far away.
They were very efficient at getting all of the information…name, address, symptoms, blood pressure, etc. There were a few people in the waiting room ahead of us, ambulances came and went…it was an interesting observing activity in a French hospital emergency area.
Larry’s name was called and he went back with a nurse but I was not allowed to go with him. He texted me updates…they did blood tests, urine samples, and more. After about 3 hours, I got a text saying that they wanted to admit him to the hospital for the night to give him an IV antibiotic and a follow-up treatment, We hadn’t imagined that he would be there so long and we hadn’t prepared for that – both of our phones were low on battery.
We decided that I would Uber back to the apartment while I had enough battery left on my phone to get a ride. Larry was able to come to the waiting area to get his jacket and to say goodbye. It felt strange going back to the apartment without Larry – I had a bite to eat and went to sleep. About 1:30 a.m. I woke to a tapping sound – at first I dismissed it and tried to go back to sleep but it persisted. Suddenly, it dawned on me that it might be Larry. I jumped out of bed and ran to the door…it WAS Larry. They released him from the hospital – in the middle of the night – but it was a huge relief.
Now, he has many stories to tell of his night in a French hospital. His got written copies of his test results which indicate that he had an infection. A kind pharmacist helped interpret the results and explained the instructions for the antibiotics he needed to take. It is fortunate that Larry speaks French and that he was able to communicate effectively with the staff at the hospital. We are grateful to the kind staff members who helped him – he is feeling much better.
The hospital didn’t collect any fees and said that they would mail a bill to our home address.
We have been able to get out and about. Today we took the funicular up the hill to the Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière.
The interior is beautiful as well.
We have one more day be for we fly home via Amsterdam on Friday. We’ve had good weather for most of our time here. We are grateful that all of our travel kerfuffles have been resolved!