Bring your own champagne and your own kleenex–hospital culture in France.

Medicine is cultural.  I initially learned this lesson when I went to a pharmacy in France for calcium supplements my US doctor had told me to take and the pharmacist said that in France “we don’t believe that much calcium is good for you.”  Until then I thought medicine should have been universal, driven by science.  I know better now.

I am incredibly grateful for the French health care system, but no matter how many things I love about France,  some things will always strike me as foreign and uncomfortable. There is enough literature about the truly fabulous side of French health care, but that’s not necessarily the topic of this post.  Of course, these are my humble observations and opinions based on my experience, maybe your experience either in the US or in France is different–if so, feel free to chime in.

The French seem to have more trust in and more reverence for their doctors–I have a feeling that this stems partly from the fact that you don’t just pop into your local 24-hour supermarket to treat allergies, colds, chronic pain, indigestion, yeast infections, etc, etc etc. You typically go to the doctor and get a prescription here–and you trust your doctor with your health.  When I go to the doctor’s office in the US–or the emergency room–I tend to ask lots of questions and want to understand everything about my condition and any meds I’m taking or what is being prescribed.  Often, I go behind the doctor’s back and double-check the advice online!  I do this for a good reason: I’ve had doctors in the US give me some very bad advice (a laxative prescription for malaria . . . among many other examples, many not nearly as amusing.)

While I usually trust a doctor after I get an explanation that makes sense to me, I don’t just trust out of habit.  It felt as if the French doctors were not totally used to this attitude–although they eventually adjusted. Yep, in this case, I refused to assimilate to the local norms even though I quite possibly made myself a pain in the ass–I admit this without hesitation.  I have been the annoying American for the last several weeks. There’s a saying in French to describe what happens when you know you should behave one way, but you don’t: C’était plus fort que moi. It (my urge to behave the way I did) was stronger than me.  Indeed, I felt very type A when it came to DH’s care.

French doctors, much like the French in general, do not sugar-coat.  A French doctor will tell you, “This is not a good sign!” while fixing you firmly with their eyes as they peer over their glasses.  A doctor in the US (in my experience) would be far more likely to say, “This isn’t what we hoped for, but we’re going to try X,Y, and Z to see if that works.”  Obviously, the demeanor of the doctors does nothing to change the outcome of the patient–particularly when the patient is in a coma and the doctors are merely dealing with the family–so what is the effect of the ‘French touch’ on the family?  At times, I must say that I felt rather traumatized by the doctors here, although I will say that had things gone less well than they did for DH, holding onto false hope would have made accepting reality much harder.  Let’s just say that the French doctors prepared me for the worst–whether I liked it or not.

The French don’t have a medical malpractice/ lawsuit culture the way we do in the US . Oh sure, I recently read about a case that was won against a radiologist who misread a label, administered a lethal dose to a patient and then covered it up, but aside from that kind of major error, you just don’t get the same kinds of complaints in France as in the US.  I’m still not sure how I feel about the lack of the lawsuit culture in France.  On one hand, the cost of health care in France is demonstrably lower, probably in part because of fewer frivolous lawsuits and cheaper malpractice insurance.  On the other hand, you hear about a lot of medical errors that go unpunished.

Are there more medical errors in France than the US? Perhaps not, but the French have little recourse but to complain about them–and they do. Many of the families in the waiting room with us at the ICU had stories to tell about errors–and I saw a couple first hand, including a doctor that gave us a briefing on a patient other than my husband.  I told him I hoped he was wrong because it meant my DH had a whole new set of injuries to worry about!  DH is out of life-threatening danger now and the surgeons did an excellent job with his limbs, so perhaps I can assume that the health care was ‘good enough.’  Of course, when a loved one’s life is hanging in the balance, even minor errors seem hard to forgive.

Luxuries?  What are luxuries anyway? Although we ritually scrubbed in and wore sterile gowns when visiting my husband in the immaculate ICU, my in-laws and I noticed that the rest of the hospital seemed to not be cleaned often enough.  Debris of broken tiles, crumbs and sticky soft drink traces appeared throughout the floor of the lobby and waiting areas.  Bathrooms for guests had no paper towels or soap–which seems ironic in a country that has spent a great deal on a hand-washing and vaccination campaign against the flu this year.  When my husband was transferred to a regular hospital room, he discovered that he was supposed to have brought his own towel, washcloth and kleenex–in the meantime, the nurses let him use an old (clean) rag.  They were also low on blankets and cushions to prop up broken limbs.  So we brought everything necessary from home.

Although some items I consider to be basic are missing, the doctors that we furnish certain ‘luxuries’ for DH. Of course, he will be nourished with hospital food if we don’t bring things from home, but the doctors seemed to think it was very important that he eat what he normally would at home–including holiday fare.  One even recommended I bring a little champagne for New Year’s.

After only a week of eating solid food, DH is a bit skeptical about a midnight toast, but tomorrow, I’ll be sleeping in DH’s room on a cot provided by the hospital.  I’ll pour him a glass of bubbly: doctor’s orders.

Heating in hard times.

I intended never to use the heater this winter.  It was a challenge DH and I had made to ourselves, but I had to back off from that goal for a few compelling reasons. I’d like to try again next year, however.  Regardless, since there’s an energy crisis brewing in France where 8 nuclear reactors are down and a nasty cold front is sweeping the country, I may have reason to apply my coping skills.  I like knowing what I will do if I find myself without electricity and heat.

My first reason for reversing my stance on the heater is that I now have 3 other people to consider: my husband’s mother, father and brother. Since DH’s accident, they’ve been staying with me partly to make sure I’m not alone in this difficult time and partly to be close to DH’s hospital so they can visit.  They arrived at my apartment before my plane landed and turned on the heat–and, of course, I’m glad they did.  DH and I chose a heatless lifestyle for ourselves, not for his parents.  And it would just be insane to be a stickler about something like the heater when so much else is going on.  Since they’ve been staying with me, I’ve given my in-laws free reign over the heater, how warm it will be and when to turn it on. That way, I know they’re warm enough, and I don’t have to keep guessing and worrying.

However, since my in-laws know about our energy-saving ways, they’ve adopted a hybrid approach to the heat situation. They continue to use my ’stylish’ cardboard window coverings.  In fact, my father in law even helped me improve one of them so it stays put better .  They also turn on the heat only in two rooms: the kitchen and the living room where they sleep.  We all make up for the cold by dressing in really warm clothes, drinking warm liquids and going for brisk walks.  Surprisingly, when you come in from a quick walk outside, you feel a lot warmer over all. Oh, and we’ve been eating plenty of nice, fatty food and cookies that other relatives are bringing us.  Since none of us is gaining any weight (we’ve all been loosing actually), I assume that at least some of those extra calories are being burned for heat.

Even if my in-laws hadn’t decided to stay with me, I may have been forced to turn on the heater. For the first two weeks after DH’s accident, I seemed to lose all ability to tolerate cold.  I don’t know if it was due to stress or exhaustion, but simply drinking a glass of tepid water would set me shivering uncontrollably–teeth chattering and all.  I think that now that the stress has leveled off, I’m getting my cold tolerance back, but for a while I would have found it hard to go without an external heat source.

It’s nice to know we have the heater in case of emergency–which is essentially what we’ve been dealing with these past weeks. However, the news is reporting possibilities of blackouts in France and I’m keeping my eye out for that.  The temperatures here are fairly reasonable: in the 20s-30s fahrenheit.  But if you’re not moving or sitting in a house in the shade, that can pose a problem.

In case of a black out I have an uncomplicated emergency plan. I have close 100 candles that I bought when we moved into our apartment, since we get plenty of thunderstorms and electrical outages.  Since I cook on a gas range, we’ll be able to cook and heat tea.  I also have a small stockpile of empty wine bottles that we can fill with hot water to keep us warm.  If the electricity goes out at this time of year, food storage isn’t really an issue as I can put anything I want to keep cold in the windowsill (or the unheated apartment for that matter).

Dark Days of Winter Challenge: White bean, sausage and winter veggie soup.

I hope everyone will forgive me for not posting to the Dark Days of Eating Challenge for a couple of weeks  and also for not having pictures on this post–we ate everything before I even thought about it!

Since my husband’s accident, I have a different group to cook for.  My in laws are staying with me.  They are all French, so they appreciate good food and have perhaps a slightly higher standard than I do when it comes to meals.  They tend to be slightly more . . .elaborate in their tastes.  I can get by with a single and complete vegetarian dish for dinner, but they usually want to eat a few courses and meat is more important to them.  At least I’m back in my village in France where I’ve already given the butcher the full interrogation about his methods, so I feel pretty comfortable with the meat I’m serving.

I made this recipe in my hot box–which is absolutely perfect for our hectic schedule of hospital visits and paperwork.  Also, the recipe made me happy because it was steamy, warm, easy and full of vegetables–and my in-laws loved it and want to learn my recipe and have even been inspired to build their own hotboxes–in France they call them ‘marmites norvegiennes’–Norwegian pots?  Go figure.

How local organic and ethical are the ingredients?  The beans I bought in bulk from the organic coop we shop at and I know they come from somewhere in France, but I cannot for the life of me remember where–sorry!  The vegetables all came from our local organic grocer who also runs a farm within walking distance from my home.  The sausage was made in town by our butcher from pork he purchased from a farm 60 kilometers away.  The pigs are fed a mix of grasses and grains and are free-roaming.  Strictly, they cannot be considered organic because if they become sick, they are treated with antibiotics, however, France doesn’t allow many of the shenanigans that the US does in terms of hormones, broad use of antibiotics and the kinds of feed animals can eat (shudder).   Also, the meat in this dish is more of a seasoning, so although it is less efficient to eat meat in terms of our resources, at least we’re not overdoing it.

White bean, sausage and winter veggie soup (serves about 8 people or 4 with leftovers).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups white beans (dry)
• 2 leeks
• 4 large carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• plenty of fresh spinach (I had a large bowl full before I chopped it)
• one smokey sausage
• bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper

If using a hot box:

1. Rinse the beans and remove any pebbles!  Add the beans and the whole sausage to a large pot with a good lid–one that fits in your hot box.
2. Cover the beans and sausage in plenty of water and the salt, pepper and herbs.  Cover the pot and bring it all to a boil for about 20 minutes.
3. As everything boils, chop the vegetables into small bits, strips and cubes.
4. Add the veggies and bring back to a boil for another 5 minutes.
5. Put it all in the hot box for 6 hours.
6. Serve with bread and salad.

If not using a hot box:

The night before, bring the beans to a boil in seasoned water then let them soak all night.  Cook them until they are slightly ‘aldente’ before you add the sausage the next day.  I think the cooking time will be about 3o minutes, but you may need more.

Waking up.

You will have noticed that I’ve been out of the blogging world for about two weeks now.  That’s because my husband was in a bad car crash.  It’s been hard, but the fact that he is awake and responding makes me feel very, very thankful.  Things are hardly back to normal, and he is still in intensive care, but I think I may be able to start writing again.  This blog and writing in general mean a lot to me and although my time and energy are limited by these challenging times, I have to say that I know that I won’t be right if I’m not writing.

As my husband has finally had the chance to ‘wake up,’ in a way, I feel like I’m waking up myself.  You may notice from my writing that I’m somewhat in a daze.  Frankly, it doesn’t worry me.  No emotion I might feel–or lack of emotion for that matter–would surprise me.  I’m just glad that DH and I are literally surrounded by family and friends both in close proximity and far off.  I cannot imagine going through this time alone.

I’m also so thankful for the healthcare system in this country.  My husband has received and will continue to receive care that leaves me humbled and everything is covered by the government for now.  Eventually, I understand there will be an investigation into the car crash and the insurance company of the driver at fault will reimburse the government for my husband’s health costs.  I’ll post more about the health care later.

At any rate, it is wonderful to be  back writing again and to have a space in my mind and life to devote to something other than crisis.  I have more to say, and I intend to respond little by little to my backlog of comments, but this post is the first step.  I hope you are all well.

Family Emergency

Due to a family emergency, I’ll be flying back to France today and will most likely not be posting for a while.  I hope I can post some good news soon.   Friends and family feel free to contact me personally.

Postponing purchases: the long road to a new pair of boots!

Given my focus on avoiding buying anything new and downshifting in general, I’m always so excited when I get something I ‘need’ without having to buy it. I’ve been wanting a new pair of shoes for walking and hiking for some time, but I have never wanted them enough to spend  75-200 dollars (lets not even discuss the price in euros!) for a new pair.  Since I have some serious problems with my feet, I have to be very, very careful about what shoes I select.  Generally, I cannot find them on sale because I have to be so picky.  I’ve had my eye out for a possible solution for at least six months now and had begun to think that I would simply break down and buy a pair on my visit to Southern California.  Shoes and clothes cost so much more in France, especially with the dollar being so low.  I supposed that I would bite the bullet and buy new but get a good deal sometime on this trip.

Hiking in the Alps this October with my old shoes--this trail is an easy one.

You may or may not know that hiking, wandering and walking is one of my favorite pastimes. Living in San Diego for the past few years, I generally got by on any local terrain with a pair of trail running shoes.  Since I alternated trail running and hiking, these were the perfect solution.  I’ve read a few books on people who have hiked the Pacific Crest Trail who believe that lighter type shoes work just as well as long as you train and strengthen your feet and ankles for such hiking. This system worked fairly well for me for nearly 5 years in France and in the US.  This way, I haven’t had to pack heavy boots back and forth on international trips.

However, now that we live close to DH’s parents, one of our favorite pastimes is hiking together on his home turf: the Alps (the southern ones on the border with Italy).  Scrambling over the slipping rocks in trail runners hurts my feet and ankles, I’ve discovered. The potential for cold, snowy weather also can make boots more appealing.  I’ve had my eye out for a traditional pair of hiking boots.

I’ve spent about six months mulling over this decision, all the while, hiking in a pair of tennis shoes that are self-destructing. I don’t have my camera so make a mental image of shoes with parts peeling off them, giving the effect of having winged feet.  This is impractical for hiking because it no longer holds my foot and lets dirt and moisture in!

Today, I’m packing for an emergency business trip with my dad to the snowy mountains (more on that later).  I thought it would be better to have boots than a leaky pair of tennis shoes.  My mother poked into her giant closet and found not one, but several dusty old pairs of perfectly good hiking boots. She’s had foot surgery and other problems and has several pairs of shoes she can no longer wear.  One of the pairs fit me perfectly!  I’m so excited.  Can you tell how excited I am through my writing? (DH, if you are reading this, I know you will be excited too, since you’ve been hoping I’d get new shoes–and yes, I promise, they really fit me!)

One of the Alpine lakes nestled in just the kind of terrain where it's difficult to hike in tennis shoes!

The shoes my mother gave me are perfect for me. They are soft, light, but I can waterproof them.  They are relatively low in the ankle as hiking boots go, so they shouldn’t be so clunky that I can’t keep up with DH when we hike, but they’ll protect my ankles when I’m sliding around in loose rocks.   The sturdy soles are just what I need to protect my feet.

I don’t have time to waterproof the shoes before I leave, but Mom assures me she’s worn them in the snow.  I look forward to stomping around in them tomorrow!  It all goes to show that sometimes, with a little patience, you can find just what you need without adding to the consumer cycle or dipping into your wallet.

Dark Days of Winter Local Eating Challenge

Have you heard of the Dark Days of Winter Challenge?  I hadn’t until very recently, but I love the idea of people wherever they are doing whatever they can to eat more locally especially during the difficult winter season.  The Dark Days of Winter invites anyone with a blog to write about one sustainable, local, organic, and ethical meal each week.  Anyone without a blog is welcome to post their meal in the comments section of the Dark Days challenge.

Our local Turkey hook up: turkeys from 120 miles away.

They’re attitude is fantastic, in my humble opinion: do the best you can and write about what you were able or not able to do. This is not a contest, but simply a way of raising awareness.   As part of this challenge–and just because I like the topic of local food–I’ll be posting once a week about a local meal. This week and next week, I’ll be dealing with local food issues in Southern California.  Once I get back to my village in France, life will be easy for me.  Here, I have a few struggles ahead of me.

It has been a true learning experience trying to make a local diet work in Southern California–my  apologies to those with more ties to this area if I’ve missed any hidden gems. In that case, please feel free to enlighten me!  I’m currently in what I sometimes refer to as the LA basin, and I find that it’s far more difficult to eat locally.  Perhaps it’s just the fact that I’m not so familiar with the area, but I haven’t been able to track down the same kinds of food sources as I can in my village in France.  I’ve tried internet searches and found a local organic farm (only 10 miles!), but their produce has been hard for me to track down so far.  I also shop at a nearby farmer’s market, but have learned that many of their vegetables come from the Central Valley, which is still about 150 miles away-not quite as local as I’d like.  There’s  a nearby organic/sustainable grocery store which stocks fruits and vegetables from the Central Valley as well.

Do we notice a trend here?  I guess, this local challenge has certainly got me thinking about where LA gets its food and how far you have to go before you reach anything that can support all of these people! From our village back in France, if I go for a walk, I can see farms, green houses, herds of goats and vineyards.  Around here, I see tract homes, McMansions and box malls.  I was asking some local family members if they any secret farms or other local food source.  They just laughed at me and said they may not have farms but that there are plenty of local fast food drive-throughs.  Does that count?

All jokes aside, here is the menu I have planned to cook tonight for my family:

Local-ish turkey soup with California Organic celery, onions, carrots and parsnips.  The turkey comes from Modesto, about 120 miles away.  However, it is free-range and organic which is a pretty good find.  The vegetables, again, hail from the central valley.  That’s the best I can do this week.

Backyard apple sauce. (yes, truly local and picked by me-well, except for the cinnamon and sugar).  They’re kind of small, so I haven’t decided if I’ll go through the trouble of peeling them before I toss them in the pressure cooker or not.  Anyway, they are untreated, so at least we won’t be ingesting anything bad in the peels.

The most recent apple harvest from my parents' tree. They're small and tart this year, but real fruit has a way of changing from year to year.

Home made bread with King Arthur Flour: nope, it’s not organic and it’s not local (ever see wheat crops growing in So Cal?  Me either!).   Still, it makes use of a veritable stock pile of flour my parents have in their cupboard that could very well go to waste otherwise–and King Arthur is a good company that has promised not to use genetically modified grains.  I firmly believe that wasting food you already have is just about the most unethical option available.  I’ll be making bread from this flour until it’s gone because it’s wrong, wrong, wrong to throw away food!

Well, I’m very excited about this local food challenge and will be participating in it here and in France even through the holidays.  If anyone else with a blog is doing this challenge, feel free to send me your link here.  Those of you without a blog can feel free to post in the comments either here or on the Dark Days website by following the link above.

Happy local eating!