There’s pain…there’s emotional and physical pain…and there’s white hot, too-painful-to-even-swear, nay, breathe, pain.
I suffered that third ‘pinky the cat’ kind of pain on Saturday, when I dropped a heavy sliding door on my foot, fracturing my toe. I obviously needed to go to hospital, so, of course I went to watch musical improv comedy instead.
When the tears of laughter merged with the tears of pain, I decided that maybe it was time to go to the hospital. By this time, my foot was so large it almost didn’t fit through my front door. The worst part was, I’d only just paid off the hospital bill from my last visit, in September.
Hospitals are always great places to spend the late hours of Saturday. It’s like the after party for everyone who was too drunk to actually attend the real after party.
And if they weren’t drunk, they were homeless: one guy who came into the waiting room, looking for a place to rest his weary head:
“I think I left something here.”
Receptionist: “What type of thing would that be?”
“Actually I’m sick.”
“Sick doesn’t mean anything. What are your symptoms?”
“Fatigue.”
“Well we have places for you to sleep monsieur,” and the man was led away. I later saw him unconscious on a stretcher in the corridor, one of several homeless men.
Meanwhile Marie was waiting in the reception for me, having the time of her life chatting to all the other friends and partners of people dumb enough to spend Saturday night in emergency.
One lady for example, was in Paris for the first time, visiting her boyfriend. He was obviously so excited about seeing her that he got vilely drunk and meandered on to the road, where a passing cop car thought he might need some medical attention.
The other woman Marie spoke to lived in the neighbourhood and was also awaiting news about her intoxicated partner. She was an ‘art therapist’ by trade, someone who uses art to effect healing.
If only we’d known her earlier, I could have bought some paints to her house and saved myself a trip to the hospital.
Tags: broken toe, hospital, Hospital St Michel
