In the system.

When we left new Zealand we were aware that once we arrived we would need to make sure that Hannah's medical needs were accounted for.  Not that she has any major medical issues but she does have a tendency to get glue ear and we had a stage at the start of 2012 where we were going into Christchurch Public Hospital once a week for about two months to have her ears cleaned out.  Her ENT specialist had recommended that when we arrive in France we get her into the public Health care system straight away and get a specialist for her.  Finally after six months she is now in the system.  There is a procedure for everything in France and getting into the hospital system is no exception.  She had to go to the doctor who wrote the name of a specialist on a yellow post-it note (this is the French system for referrals), then I needed to ring the receptionist of the doctor to make the appointment.   All sounds straightforward except for the part where even though the doctor speaks English, the receptionist doesn't.  Luckily our lovely French teacher was able to ring and make the appointment for us.

So on Wednesday we take the post-it note referral to the hospital and we desperately try to find the right floor and office.  Again the receptionist speak no English and just keeping pointing and saying ES, which I later find out means basement.  We wander around looking for the correct department or the Doctor's name and eventually I ask someone (well I show them the name on my post-it note) and she shows us where to go.

We arrive at the doctor's on time but then have to wait for an hour to be seen.  I am starting to get a bit frustrated and am aware of my car parked in the supermarket car park hoping it doesn't get towed away, also that Hannah needs to get back to school as the educational psychologist is coming to observe her.  Finally the lovely Dr comes and gets us and remarks on Hannah's blue t-tubes in her ears and says shouldn't they be black, isn't everything in NZ black.  Then goes on to tell me why the All Blacks are the greatest rugby team in the world.  He cleans her ears out then says that if we have any problems to ring the clinic and they will be able to see her any time - yah we're in the system!