We started planning this trip about three years ago - before my partner's university course had even started. As anyone with a long-term health condition knows, being prepared is the key to any trip or adventure.
Planning to spend a year abroad has involved finding the best place to go to, huge amounts of research into health care, 'exporting' state benefits, bank accounts, telephones and broadband etc. Being a bit too old for university campus accommodation, we have also needed to find somewhere to live.
It is easy to underestimate how complex all these things are to organise or even understand. We rightly gave ourselves plenty of time to find our way through all the conflicting advice and information. Of course, some things might not work out the way we expect, but we'll probably understand why and will be able to put them right.
There is also the small matter of language! I studied French for three years at school, about 25 years ago. So I spent a couple of years rediscovering the basics, practiced speaking on holiday and then I enrolled on an 'intermediate' level course for the past year. I now have something to build on in the next twelve months.
The existence of Colitis and Crohn's associations in France and the UK has been reassuring and helpful. Both members of the European Federation of Crohn's & Ulcerative Colitis Associations (EFCCA), NACC and AFA have been useful resources in helping my UK medical team make contact with the gastroenterology service in Caen.
Perhaps the biggest challenge has been to understand how my sickness benefits in the UK will be paid to me when I'm in France and how I might (or might not) get health cover when I away. This will be a subject for the future, because we've not quite finished the process yet...
Friday, 16 May 2008
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Why a year in France?
A good question. With around nine weeks before we set sail for Normandy, I am asking myself whether a year in France is a good idea...
A quick review of my health suggests not. My Crohn's disease has been a big problem over the past ten years - it has wrecked much of my life and I am unable to work or have much of a social life. In that time I have been in and out of hospital and had a large amount of my bowel removed. I take powerful medication to treat my Crohn's and for the pain it causes me. I also have to be very careful what I eat.
Another good reason not to go is that I have a good health care team looking after me at the moment. They know me and - most of the time - understand my Crohn's disease. After plenty of practice, me and my partner know exactly what to do and who to phone in the case of an emergency.
So what on earth am I doing going to live in a foreign country, where I don't speak the language or understand the health care system?
The reason is that my partner has a year studying in France - Caen in Normandy - and I have a wonderful opportunity to go along for the ride.
And what an opportunity! To live in a country famous for its food and drink, its culture and history. I can learn a new language and see how my body reacts to a different pace of life and a different cuisine.
It is likely I will be ill at least a few times during the year and we will manage. It may be somewhat challenging to access health care to begin with, but a different perspective on my Crohn's from French gastroenterologists will be interesting and perhaps very useful. Who knows?
What I do know, is that I will write about my experience of taking my Crohn's disease to France (I am presuming it is coming with me...) and share with you the practicalities, challenges and re-adjustments needed to get to France and live there.
On y va!
A quick review of my health suggests not. My Crohn's disease has been a big problem over the past ten years - it has wrecked much of my life and I am unable to work or have much of a social life. In that time I have been in and out of hospital and had a large amount of my bowel removed. I take powerful medication to treat my Crohn's and for the pain it causes me. I also have to be very careful what I eat.
Another good reason not to go is that I have a good health care team looking after me at the moment. They know me and - most of the time - understand my Crohn's disease. After plenty of practice, me and my partner know exactly what to do and who to phone in the case of an emergency.
So what on earth am I doing going to live in a foreign country, where I don't speak the language or understand the health care system?
The reason is that my partner has a year studying in France - Caen in Normandy - and I have a wonderful opportunity to go along for the ride.
And what an opportunity! To live in a country famous for its food and drink, its culture and history. I can learn a new language and see how my body reacts to a different pace of life and a different cuisine.
It is likely I will be ill at least a few times during the year and we will manage. It may be somewhat challenging to access health care to begin with, but a different perspective on my Crohn's from French gastroenterologists will be interesting and perhaps very useful. Who knows?
What I do know, is that I will write about my experience of taking my Crohn's disease to France (I am presuming it is coming with me...) and share with you the practicalities, challenges and re-adjustments needed to get to France and live there.
On y va!
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