Yesterday was another Remicade® day. Except it was no ordinary day – there was a grève général (general strike) in France with millions of workers in the public sector and some private companies stopping work to demand that ordinary people are protected from the economic crisis, not just bankers.
Around the country perhaps three million people marched, including 40,000 people in Caen (with a population half that of Brighton & Hove) and there were still people starting the march in Paris at 6.30pm, six hours after those at the front of the march had moved off.
It was quite a day, but would my infusion be taking place and, if so, how would I get to the university hospital for 8.30 in the morning?
I’d heard nothing from the hospital and there was nothing on their website about cancelling appointments, so I decided to go and see. I checked the web site for the local public transport and there were some trams and buses first thing in the morning, then nothing during the lunchtime and only a very skeleton service in the late afternoon.
I expected the trams to be packed, so I left home at 7am. When I got to the tram stop there was no-one there, but a tram was due in a couple of minutes. There were less than a dozen people on the tram (usually they are packed at this time) and I was at the hospital well before 7.30am.
After reading my book for a while, I went up to the gastroenterology unit and was shown to a side ward – no single room for me this time.
It turned out that the unions had negotiated a reduction in staffing to have a minimal impact on care, but allowing staff to join the strike. The shift times were also changed so all the afternoon staff could attend the lunchtime march and rally in the town centre and then come into work for their shifts.
What that meant for me was a more sociable day than usual, having some good chats to my room-mate who seem to find me and my appalling French most amusing. It also meant that lunch was a cold meal – but it was very tasty, as usual.
Otherwise my treatment was as perfect as ever. In fact, my Remicade® started earlier than usual and I was on my way home (on an empty bus) by 4pm.
I have to say, I was disappointed to have missed the huge march through Caen – the pictures in the newspaper today and the footage on local TV last night were glorious. However, it will always be amusing to remember I spent a general strike day as a patient in hospital.
Friday, 30 January 2009
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
La Maison des MICI
I was in Paris last week, dropping my mum at the Eurostar terminal, and had a couple of hours to kill. So I decided to visit the headquarters of the French Colitis and Crohn’s organisation.
The Association François Aupetit (named after its founder) has its “Maison des MICI” (literally: House of IBD) on the banks of the picturesque canal St Martin near the centre of Paris.
The building houses the association’s offices as well as a welcoming reception area and a meeting room and smaller seminar rooms upstairs.
The Maison des MICI was set up in September 2007 as a place where people with IBD could ‘drop-in’ and talk to volunteers one-to-one (it is near 4 major hospitals which have IBD centres) and to put on regular events, such as talks, workshops, massage sessions and young people’s social evenings.
I was really impressed by what was on offer for people with IBD in Paris and the surrounding departments. It is a unique facility, but one that other countries’ IBD organisations should seriously look at.
The association is currently carrying out a survey of what people with IBD in France have most problems with and are presenting the results to government ministers and policy makers at a public convention at the end of March.
Local meeting have brought up similar issues – problems getting diagnosed, issues around building a long-term working relationship with doctors, plus IBD getting in the way of work, studying and everyday life.
Unfortunately, apart from one of consultation meetings in Rouen, the local area group in Normandy is not very active at the moment – the old co-ordinator has moved to Paris – but I am hoping to meet some local people with IBD before I return to the UK in the summer.
The Association François Aupetit (named after its founder) has its “Maison des MICI” (literally: House of IBD) on the banks of the picturesque canal St Martin near the centre of Paris.
The building houses the association’s offices as well as a welcoming reception area and a meeting room and smaller seminar rooms upstairs.
The Maison des MICI was set up in September 2007 as a place where people with IBD could ‘drop-in’ and talk to volunteers one-to-one (it is near 4 major hospitals which have IBD centres) and to put on regular events, such as talks, workshops, massage sessions and young people’s social evenings.
I was really impressed by what was on offer for people with IBD in Paris and the surrounding departments. It is a unique facility, but one that other countries’ IBD organisations should seriously look at.
The association is currently carrying out a survey of what people with IBD in France have most problems with and are presenting the results to government ministers and policy makers at a public convention at the end of March.
Local meeting have brought up similar issues – problems getting diagnosed, issues around building a long-term working relationship with doctors, plus IBD getting in the way of work, studying and everyday life.
Unfortunately, apart from one of consultation meetings in Rouen, the local area group in Normandy is not very active at the moment – the old co-ordinator has moved to Paris – but I am hoping to meet some local people with IBD before I return to the UK in the summer.
Friday, 16 January 2009
In hibernation
The winter is really gripping France at the moment with sub-zero temperatures everywhere, even in Corsica. Most of northern France is covered in snow and storms are being predicted.
Yet the weather in Caen remains unique. I think I’ve written how we’ve seen rain, sun and wind most days since we’ve been here, but even now the weather is different – no snow, temperatures about six degrees above Paris and plenty of sunshine.
It’s still cold, and we really notice it as the heating in our building is playing-up. The boiler is underneath our ground-floor flat and the warmth from that is usually enough to keep us warm.
When we wake up and the radiators are cold and the boiler is quiet we phone the heating company’s emergency line and an engineer is out within a couple of hours. After sounds of metal being thumped and French swear words the heating is back on – at least for a few hours.
Winter is not a great time for me. With all the immuno-suppressive drugs that I take, I pick up colds and viruses very easily. Usually a ‘flu jab keeps anything nasty away and – so far – my French ‘flu jab has done the job.
But I am suffering with cold after cold, feeling exhausted and miserable. I’ve lost my appetite for learning French and the other projects I have to keep me occupied. So I tuck myself up with a good book (in English) or play computer games. wait for the weather to change and emerge from my hibernation.
Yet the weather in Caen remains unique. I think I’ve written how we’ve seen rain, sun and wind most days since we’ve been here, but even now the weather is different – no snow, temperatures about six degrees above Paris and plenty of sunshine.
It’s still cold, and we really notice it as the heating in our building is playing-up. The boiler is underneath our ground-floor flat and the warmth from that is usually enough to keep us warm.
When we wake up and the radiators are cold and the boiler is quiet we phone the heating company’s emergency line and an engineer is out within a couple of hours. After sounds of metal being thumped and French swear words the heating is back on – at least for a few hours.
Winter is not a great time for me. With all the immuno-suppressive drugs that I take, I pick up colds and viruses very easily. Usually a ‘flu jab keeps anything nasty away and – so far – my French ‘flu jab has done the job.
But I am suffering with cold after cold, feeling exhausted and miserable. I’ve lost my appetite for learning French and the other projects I have to keep me occupied. So I tuck myself up with a good book (in English) or play computer games. wait for the weather to change and emerge from my hibernation.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
January visits
My mother is visiting us at the moment, staying at the hotel at the end of our road and spending most of the day with us.
Mostly, we are carrying on as usual, with my partner studying at home and at university (she has exams coming up soon). We’ve been to the January sales, had a couple of nice lunches and been to the Friday and Sunday markets. However, we have done a few touristy things as well.
Bayeux is a very different place in January that when we visited last September. Instead of being packed with tourists, we had the town to ourselves. The staff in the Tourist Information we delighted to have tourists to talk to!
My mum really enjoyed having a look round some of the old medieval parts of town and loved the cathedral, even if it was no warmer inside than outside in the icy wind.
The highlight was our visit to the Bayeux Tapestry – something my mother has always wanted to visit. In the summer there were nearly a hundred people looking at the 230 foot-long tapestry. In January it was just me and my mum.
It was a real privilege to have an entire UNESCO world heritage site for our own private viewing.
We really enjoy having visitors. It is, of course, a reminder of our life in the UK, but it is a nice way to share our new life in France and is an opportunity for us to reflect on what we do and what we’ve learned.
My mum will get to meet some real French people when she and my partner go to a French ladies’ English cooking afternoon. I know my mum is a bit nervous as she doesn’t speak any French, but it will be an experience that other English tourists would not normally have.
Mostly, we are carrying on as usual, with my partner studying at home and at university (she has exams coming up soon). We’ve been to the January sales, had a couple of nice lunches and been to the Friday and Sunday markets. However, we have done a few touristy things as well.
Bayeux is a very different place in January that when we visited last September. Instead of being packed with tourists, we had the town to ourselves. The staff in the Tourist Information we delighted to have tourists to talk to!
My mum really enjoyed having a look round some of the old medieval parts of town and loved the cathedral, even if it was no warmer inside than outside in the icy wind.
The highlight was our visit to the Bayeux Tapestry – something my mother has always wanted to visit. In the summer there were nearly a hundred people looking at the 230 foot-long tapestry. In January it was just me and my mum.
It was a real privilege to have an entire UNESCO world heritage site for our own private viewing.
We really enjoy having visitors. It is, of course, a reminder of our life in the UK, but it is a nice way to share our new life in France and is an opportunity for us to reflect on what we do and what we’ve learned.
My mum will get to meet some real French people when she and my partner go to a French ladies’ English cooking afternoon. I know my mum is a bit nervous as she doesn’t speak any French, but it will be an experience that other English tourists would not normally have.
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Our French Christmas
We’re in the middle of our French Christmas and New Year and, despite being laid up by colds, are enjoying the experience.
Our colds started at the end of the university term and just as we were about to go to Paris for the weekend before Christmas. We did get there, stayed in a nice 3-star hotel and the two days we managed to venture out were spectacular.
We walked up the Champs-Élysées with its illuminations and Christmas market. There were thousands of people there and it was all very festive.
Earlier we had visited Le Bon Marché – the oldest department store in Paris – and watched people buy very stylish Christmas presents and some amazing delicacies in the food hall.
Food is always in important in France, but during this holiday time it does become spectacular. Today the queues were long at local patisseries as people bought their festive specialities like Bûche de Noël, chocolates, macaroons and Galettes de Roi, plus brioches for the foie gras, of course.
We’ve really enjoyed the food, which has been served small and often, rather than the huge ‘pig-out’ on Christmas day that is traditional in the UK.
Christmas day is very much a family day in France, with time to see friends during the following week. Sadly we had to turn down a number of invitations this week in order to nurse our colds and to keep our germs to ourselves.
Spending time at home, we’ve noticed that French Christmas TV is much less of a big deal than it is in the UK, although, as always, there are some excellent dramas and TV films to watch.
The big Christmas day film was Robin Hood Prince of Thieves – which is an excellent film to choose, but there would be outrage in the UK if BBC1 or ITV decided to show such an old film.
So, now we have finished 2008 – the year we came to France – and at midnight enter 2009 – the year we return to the UK.
We still have many more months here, but it is a definite landmark in our year – and perhaps time to make some New Years resolutions, which is a tradition here too.
Our colds started at the end of the university term and just as we were about to go to Paris for the weekend before Christmas. We did get there, stayed in a nice 3-star hotel and the two days we managed to venture out were spectacular.
We walked up the Champs-Élysées with its illuminations and Christmas market. There were thousands of people there and it was all very festive.
Earlier we had visited Le Bon Marché – the oldest department store in Paris – and watched people buy very stylish Christmas presents and some amazing delicacies in the food hall.
Food is always in important in France, but during this holiday time it does become spectacular. Today the queues were long at local patisseries as people bought their festive specialities like Bûche de Noël, chocolates, macaroons and Galettes de Roi, plus brioches for the foie gras, of course.
We’ve really enjoyed the food, which has been served small and often, rather than the huge ‘pig-out’ on Christmas day that is traditional in the UK.
Christmas day is very much a family day in France, with time to see friends during the following week. Sadly we had to turn down a number of invitations this week in order to nurse our colds and to keep our germs to ourselves.
Spending time at home, we’ve noticed that French Christmas TV is much less of a big deal than it is in the UK, although, as always, there are some excellent dramas and TV films to watch.
The big Christmas day film was Robin Hood Prince of Thieves – which is an excellent film to choose, but there would be outrage in the UK if BBC1 or ITV decided to show such an old film.
So, now we have finished 2008 – the year we came to France – and at midnight enter 2009 – the year we return to the UK.
We still have many more months here, but it is a definite landmark in our year – and perhaps time to make some New Years resolutions, which is a tradition here too.
Sunday, 28 December 2008
The health benefits of Calvados
Many of the conversations I had with people before I left Brighton were about how wonderful French food was - and I have to say that I am not disappointed.
Food is a very important subject for those of us with IBD. We all react differently to our experiences of severe bowel symptoms - some of us can become scared of what we eat.
It is true that I run a mile at the sight of sweet corn, but I do generally love
my food and really enjoy cooking, so France is a great place to be.
The first thing about France is the abundance of high-quality food. In the UK, it seems to me that there is a choice between cheap and tasteless or tasty but expensive food.
Here, I can buy fresh produce - fruit, vegetables, bread, fish, seafood and meat - in daily markets, local small shops or in supermarkets.
The variety and quality on offer here means I have a lot more choice of things that are good for my gut, easy on the pocket and taste sensational.
Although my health has been patchy (my Crohn’s wasn’t exactly going to stay back in the UK was it?) I do think the diet here has been kinder on me.
I’d forgotten how tasty fresh seasonal vegetables can be. Soups are perfect for my gut and I’ve included a simple recipe below for you to try after you’ve been to the local farmers’ market.
The other benefit of living in France is how we eat. Lunch is not a sandwich gulped down at your desk - it is a two-hour institution.
Taking time over a meal, having several small courses, plenty to drink (an apéritif then water or wine) is perfect for the IBD bowel.
And so too, I’m beginning to think, is finishing the evening meal with a small digestif - Calvados (apple brandy) in this part of France.
I’m happy to keep trying it - for purely medicinal purposes of course!
Recipe: pumpkin soup
Ingredients - serves 4
1kg unpeeled pumpkin or squash
25g unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1 litre vegetable stock
100ml crème fraîche
salt & freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Cut the pumpkin into wedges and scoop away all the fibres and seeds. Cut away the peel and cut the remaining flesh into small-ish chunks.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and cook over a gentle heat for about five minutes. Add the pumpkin flesh, garlic and cinnamon. Cook gently for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock, cover and simmer gently for 25 minutes.
4. Take off the heat and liquidise until smooth. Stir in the crème fraîche and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Serve with fresh bread and, if you like, a handful of grated Gruyère cheese gently stirred into the soup.
Food is a very important subject for those of us with IBD. We all react differently to our experiences of severe bowel symptoms - some of us can become scared of what we eat.
It is true that I run a mile at the sight of sweet corn, but I do generally love
my food and really enjoy cooking, so France is a great place to be.
The first thing about France is the abundance of high-quality food. In the UK, it seems to me that there is a choice between cheap and tasteless or tasty but expensive food.
Here, I can buy fresh produce - fruit, vegetables, bread, fish, seafood and meat - in daily markets, local small shops or in supermarkets.
The variety and quality on offer here means I have a lot more choice of things that are good for my gut, easy on the pocket and taste sensational.
Although my health has been patchy (my Crohn’s wasn’t exactly going to stay back in the UK was it?) I do think the diet here has been kinder on me.
I’d forgotten how tasty fresh seasonal vegetables can be. Soups are perfect for my gut and I’ve included a simple recipe below for you to try after you’ve been to the local farmers’ market.
The other benefit of living in France is how we eat. Lunch is not a sandwich gulped down at your desk - it is a two-hour institution.
Taking time over a meal, having several small courses, plenty to drink (an apéritif then water or wine) is perfect for the IBD bowel.
And so too, I’m beginning to think, is finishing the evening meal with a small digestif - Calvados (apple brandy) in this part of France.
I’m happy to keep trying it - for purely medicinal purposes of course!
Recipe: pumpkin soup
Ingredients - serves 4
1kg unpeeled pumpkin or squash
25g unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1 litre vegetable stock
100ml crème fraîche
salt & freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Cut the pumpkin into wedges and scoop away all the fibres and seeds. Cut away the peel and cut the remaining flesh into small-ish chunks.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan. Add the onion and cook over a gentle heat for about five minutes. Add the pumpkin flesh, garlic and cinnamon. Cook gently for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the stock, cover and simmer gently for 25 minutes.
4. Take off the heat and liquidise until smooth. Stir in the crème fraîche and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Serve with fresh bread and, if you like, a handful of grated Gruyère cheese gently stirred into the soup.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Coming off steroids
I am suffering a bit having finished my course of steroids at the weekend. I have big aches and pains – particularly in my joints – and I am ridiculously tired all the time. The good news is that my guts seem to be behaving themselves.
Fortunately, I managed to squeeze in a trip back to the
I have struggled a little bit getting back into listening to and speaking French – but I haven’t forgotten it. Speaking English for a week was a luxury and brought home to me how much work it is to live in a country were you don’t speak the language.
The first thing I had to do after returning to
What threw me last time was being asked my weight by the receptionist. Because so much of my comprehension is based on the context rather than understanding all the words, I was simply not ready for this question. No-one has every asked this before a blood test in the
I might as well have been asked the cube root of 27 or who was the second president of the
Anyway, these weren’t good experiences, so I decided to try another laboratoire this time. Everything went well and I understood what was going on. I was asked my weight, but I was asked very clearly by the phlebotomist (rather than the receptionist) and with a nod to a set of scales. And I was anticipating the question this time.
I got the results through the post this morning and everything looks okay (and better than last time). Even my haemoglobin levels are up – must be all the steak and red wine.
*3 and John Adams if you wondering
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