Sometime in late August, my shoulder froze, again. I think the first time it froze was when I was still working. That means it was before 2007. I remember not being able to change gears during my daily commute. It was actually frightening. I also had trouble typing and that was part of my job. It didn't last long. It hit me again shortly after I stopped working, early in 2008, I guess. Again, it didn't last and I forgot about it.
In 2012, my shoulder froze and I consulted the rheumatologist, who prescribed pain medication and by 2013 felt that the osteoarthritis had progressed to the point I should consult a surgeon. Before I got to the appointment with the surgeon she had recommended, I found an osteopath, who unblocked the shoulder. It still hurt but at least I could move my arm. That first surgeon wanted to do a shoulder replacement immediately. I asked him whom he would go to if his shoulder froze and that is how I found my surgeon.
Dr. Grimberg, then, consulted at a clinic not far from where we live. At home, when I said I had an appointment with him, my daughter reminded us that he was the surgeon who had repaired her collar bone several years before and she was happy with the result! He did a much more thorough exam of my arm movement than the first guy (made possible by continuing to go to the osteopath) and said that I would certainly need a shoulder replacement, but not immediately. He asked that the next time my shoulder froze up I should let him see me before going to the osteopath so that he could see me at the worst. He agreed that as long as there was cartilage the osteopath could delay the surgery.
When I couldn't move my arm this summer, I made an appointment with Dr. Grimberg. He's now practicing in the 16th, not near us by public transportation or car. I did not hesitate, though. I did not want to go through the process of finding another surgeon I liked. Getting the appointment was easy and there was not a long wait. I saw him on September 11. He prescribed an x-ray and an MRI, both of which I had done within a week and I had my next appointment on September 16. He demonstrated to me that it was time for surgery. I asked how soon. He had one slot for the 26th and after that, it would have to wait for mid-October. I took the open slot. For those who want to know what kind of surgery, look up "reverse shoulder replacement".
I had my 6-week post-op checkup, last week. I know the physical therapist (kiné) is happy with my progress. I am pleased with the progress. The doctor is very pleased. Next appointment in 3 months. I know that next week the kiné will start working on movement behind my back. I can't wait. I haven't been able to reach behind my back in ages!
The French system is a mix of Sécu and private insurance. Major illnesses (diabetes, cancer, heart, etc.) and surgery are covered by the Sécu 100%. That is the rate that public hospitals and doctors that are "conventionnés I" charge. Other, non-major consultations are covered by the Sécu 70% and the supplemental insurance covers the rest. Some supplemental insurance covers the extra expense of doctors that charge more and for that, it is the customer who decides how much he or she is willing to spend each month for how much extra coverage. We don't go for much extra coverage; that's our choice.
Cost: My total out of pocket expense is less than €1000, about a quarter of the total cost. This doctor does not practice in a public hospital. He charges over the Sécu (French social security is medical coverage, not retirement, and is familiarly called the Sécu.) rate = €1200 out of pocket and the anesthetist also charges over the Sécu rate = €400. Of that our supplemental private insurance covered about half. The clinic charged 2 days for the room, even though it was just for one night and the supplemental insurance we subscribe to only reimbursed €65 per day, not even half of what it cost. The Sécu does not cover a private room, at all. All of the other pre-op, surgery, and post-op expenses were covered by the Sécu or some combination of Sécu and the supplemental insurance, including medication, a nurse house-call every other day to change the dressing and take out the staples and 30 sessions of physical therapy, which are not done, yet.
Choice: I chose my doctor. I could have chosen a surgeon at a public hospital and that would probably have been my decision if I had not already met and appreciated Dr. Grimberg.
Waiting time: Even if I had had to wait until mid-October, I do not think that is outrageously long. As it worked out, I only had a 10-day wait from the appointment when it was decided to operate to the operation. During that week, I had to have lab work, a pre-op appointment with the anesthetist, more x-rays, ....
Care: Top-rate. The clinic is excellent. I like my doctor. He explains everything very well - why this reverse rather than an anatomical replacement. He did not rush into surgery so I trusted him when he said it was finally time. At the clinic, the nurses and nurses aides were attentive and friendly even though I could see they had to hurry. The nurses who made the house-calls (both of them, men) are almost friends. We've known them for years. The kiné is excellent and has me working hard for a positive outcome. When I've been to the hospital (last time, 2008), I've had only the best care, too.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Saturday, November 9, 2019
6 months!
I haven't written in 6 months. No excuses, really, just didn't feel like writing. I'm not going to try to catch up in a single post, either; Rest assured.
Let's just start with yesterday. I had my 6-week post-op appointment with the orthopedic surgeon who replaced my shoulder at the end of September. The clinic, which is where I had the appointment, is in Paris, opposite from the eastern suburb I live in. It takes an hour to get there on the RER and métro and about an hour or more by car. I've been hand knitting quite a bit during the convalescence and needed to replace one of my circular needles. Being the efficient person I am, I googled "mercerie" (that's the French word for a notions shop, haberdashery in the UK) and Exelmans, the métro station closest to the clinic. To my astonishment, there was one.
I left home in sufficient time to go to the mercerie on my way to my appointment. This was an old-fashioned shop, a hole in the wall place, no light, drab. Usually, this is ideal for finding a knitting needle. The young girl at the counter didn't know what a circular needle was but I explained and looked in the drawer of few needles with her. There weren't any circular needles, at all. And if anyone were to go there for straight needles, there weren't many sizes in stock. The needle wasn't the only thing on my list. I've been knitting tubes of self-striping sock yarn on the knitting machine (the grandkids have been very helpful) and adding the toes, afterthought heels, and top ribbing by hand. I wanted some solid, off-white sock yarn for the hand-knit parts. Well, there wasn't any sock yarn, at all.
After my appointment (doctor very pleased with my recovery, as am I), I decided to go to a shop in the 14th on rue des Plantes, the Atelier at 13bis (https://www.atelierdelacreation.com/). They would have what I wanted. I dislike taking the métro so one of my pleasures as a retired person is to take a bus, even if it's more time. The 62 bus was not too far away and would take me to the rue des Plantes, just a short walk from the shop. It took 45 minutes! They have a lot of sock yarn but, for some odd reason, this year, no solids. They had the short version of the needle I wanted and I bought it, thinking it seemed kind of expensive. The sales clerk told me to go to another shop near m° Etienne Marcel ....
By this time, I wanted some lunch and was not far from my son's, where he usually works from home on Fridays, so I called to see if he could have lunch with me. Exceptionally, he was at the office. Still, I had to get to the métro station, so I stopped for lunch, got on the métro to go to Etienne Marcel and got there before 2.
The shop Lil Weasel (https://www.lilweasel.com/) is located in one of those original shopping centers, a covered passage joining two streets. This one is the Passage du Grand Cerf. It's very picturesque and I recommend strolling through these galleries on rainy visits to Paris. You can almost make your way through central right-bank Paris without getting wet. The hours painted on the door indicated opening hours 10:30 - 19:00. The door was locked. I knocked. No sign of anyone. I waited. Then, I went across the way to the fabric part of the shop and waited for the clerk to finish up with a customer and was finally told to keep waiting. I went back. I finally knocked loudly by using my phone as a knocker. The clerk finally came downstairs to the door, yelled at me for my impatience (15 minutes of "open" hours) and found me some very expensive yarn. I asked about the circular needle, the size and length I would prefer, but it was more than twice as expensive than the one I'd gotten before lunch and the price of the yarn and general snotty service put me off.
From there, I went to visit S, up near Barbès. A year ago, I would have been able to go straight to visit her from the clinic for my notions because there was a great mercerie on rue Cadet. If I had thought my search would take me all over Paris, I could have gone straight to the Marché St. Pierre, just up the hill from Barbès, before going over to see S. But by the time I had gone to 3 merceries, I just wasn't in the mood to trek up the Montmartre hill.
There used to be two merceries in Nogent, until maybe 15 years ago. There were still two in Fontenay, a few blocks over from me, until 4 years ago. Monoprix used to carry some notions. There is still a mercerie stall at the main market in Nogent, but she doesn't come every market day and she doesn't carry everything, so it's hit or miss. The shops in Paris are expensive. It's quite a schlep to get there and then to have to go from one to another to another. Does anyone still wonder why Internet shopping is successful?
Let's just start with yesterday. I had my 6-week post-op appointment with the orthopedic surgeon who replaced my shoulder at the end of September. The clinic, which is where I had the appointment, is in Paris, opposite from the eastern suburb I live in. It takes an hour to get there on the RER and métro and about an hour or more by car. I've been hand knitting quite a bit during the convalescence and needed to replace one of my circular needles. Being the efficient person I am, I googled "mercerie" (that's the French word for a notions shop, haberdashery in the UK) and Exelmans, the métro station closest to the clinic. To my astonishment, there was one.
I left home in sufficient time to go to the mercerie on my way to my appointment. This was an old-fashioned shop, a hole in the wall place, no light, drab. Usually, this is ideal for finding a knitting needle. The young girl at the counter didn't know what a circular needle was but I explained and looked in the drawer of few needles with her. There weren't any circular needles, at all. And if anyone were to go there for straight needles, there weren't many sizes in stock. The needle wasn't the only thing on my list. I've been knitting tubes of self-striping sock yarn on the knitting machine (the grandkids have been very helpful) and adding the toes, afterthought heels, and top ribbing by hand. I wanted some solid, off-white sock yarn for the hand-knit parts. Well, there wasn't any sock yarn, at all.
After my appointment (doctor very pleased with my recovery, as am I), I decided to go to a shop in the 14th on rue des Plantes, the Atelier at 13bis (https://www.atelierdelacreation.com/). They would have what I wanted. I dislike taking the métro so one of my pleasures as a retired person is to take a bus, even if it's more time. The 62 bus was not too far away and would take me to the rue des Plantes, just a short walk from the shop. It took 45 minutes! They have a lot of sock yarn but, for some odd reason, this year, no solids. They had the short version of the needle I wanted and I bought it, thinking it seemed kind of expensive. The sales clerk told me to go to another shop near m° Etienne Marcel ....
By this time, I wanted some lunch and was not far from my son's, where he usually works from home on Fridays, so I called to see if he could have lunch with me. Exceptionally, he was at the office. Still, I had to get to the métro station, so I stopped for lunch, got on the métro to go to Etienne Marcel and got there before 2.
The shop Lil Weasel (https://www.lilweasel.com/) is located in one of those original shopping centers, a covered passage joining two streets. This one is the Passage du Grand Cerf. It's very picturesque and I recommend strolling through these galleries on rainy visits to Paris. You can almost make your way through central right-bank Paris without getting wet. The hours painted on the door indicated opening hours 10:30 - 19:00. The door was locked. I knocked. No sign of anyone. I waited. Then, I went across the way to the fabric part of the shop and waited for the clerk to finish up with a customer and was finally told to keep waiting. I went back. I finally knocked loudly by using my phone as a knocker. The clerk finally came downstairs to the door, yelled at me for my impatience (15 minutes of "open" hours) and found me some very expensive yarn. I asked about the circular needle, the size and length I would prefer, but it was more than twice as expensive than the one I'd gotten before lunch and the price of the yarn and general snotty service put me off.
From there, I went to visit S, up near Barbès. A year ago, I would have been able to go straight to visit her from the clinic for my notions because there was a great mercerie on rue Cadet. If I had thought my search would take me all over Paris, I could have gone straight to the Marché St. Pierre, just up the hill from Barbès, before going over to see S. But by the time I had gone to 3 merceries, I just wasn't in the mood to trek up the Montmartre hill.
There used to be two merceries in Nogent, until maybe 15 years ago. There were still two in Fontenay, a few blocks over from me, until 4 years ago. Monoprix used to carry some notions. There is still a mercerie stall at the main market in Nogent, but she doesn't come every market day and she doesn't carry everything, so it's hit or miss. The shops in Paris are expensive. It's quite a schlep to get there and then to have to go from one to another to another. Does anyone still wonder why Internet shopping is successful?
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