The private hospital

  I had never given it much thought but of course there is a network of private hospitals and clinics in France along side the public ones.   

My friend Diane came up with the name of a really good trauma surgeon at the Clinic du Parc Imperial.    I had just told her about the check up I had had at a public hospital in Nice, St Roch.  My friend Patrick was kind enough to stay with me throughout the first visit but at St Roch the young person that read my x-ray seemed a bit vague about what he was looking at.  He just told me to come back in three weeks to see the surgeon.  

But Dr Jean Marc Glasson at the Clinic du Parc Imperial was another story.  There are only three doctors working out of this clinic in Nice, each in a specialized field. It seems to be a fully operating hospital with its own x ray unit.  Dr. Glasson saw me right away and assigned new X-rays. 

After having a glance at my new set of prints ( three for the price of one: 42 euros), Monsieur and I consulted with him for about an hour.
 He immediately commented on what an excellent job my first surgeon had done.  He said that titanium screws of the type that had been used weren't even standard equipment in a public hospital and would have had to be ordered in advance by Dr Merola, my Menton surgeon.  He was very impressed with the modern techniques that had been used.

Secondly , he told me that he wanted the cast to come off that day and to begin the physical therapy.  He prescribed some calcium and gave me the names of the therapists in my neighborhood.  This visit with an orthopedic surgeon was around 65 euros!  The new boot to replace the cast cost about 125 euros.     It is pretty cool, it even has a pump that goes with it to make the leg more secure if I choose. 

Since then I have had two visits from my physical therapist, Nicholas Prost ( not the race car driver) who had called me the next day.  He is an affable 38 year old who loves to talk so we have some fun sessions together.   To begin, he is mostly making sure my ankle is supple in all directions. 

  Nicholas says that he wouldn't think of going to a public hospital or taking his family there. …too inefficient and too much wait for not much of a price difference.   And of course the care is much better in the private clinics he says.  

So once again I have " bien tombee" ( landed well)  in both senses of the phrase.   Thanks Diane, and also Patrick for helping with this new direction.    You have made my life so much easier.