We went shopping at IKEA on Saturday. That was torture. We could not find any big items on our list. We felt like cattle being herded through the store. It was awful! You’d think with that many people shopping there they would have some good stuff. Bryan and I were exhausted by the time we wound our way through there. I found a chair for the desk, but other than that, the trip was a bust. Next, we found a store similar to Lowe’s where we were able to buy shelves for the kitchen and shower, lamps, a stool, trash can, light bulbs, and a picture hanging kit. I saw many other things I wanted to buy, but knew we were running out of room in the car. Have I mentioned that Bryan now drives a minivan? Haha. It’s a small minivan, but still It’s a minivan.
Sunday, of course everything was closed, so I spent the day organizing Thomas’ room. He and Bryan spent the day destroying the living room. They played with every toy. I guess Thomas just wanted to make sure that all his toys made it safely across the ocean.
Monday morning (around 3 a.m.) Thomas woke up with a fever. I kept him home from school. He laid around a lot, but I could not figure out what was wrong with him other than cold symptoms. I could tell he still had a fever because he’d be telling me how cold he was one minute, then the next wanting to know if he could take all his clothes off. I kept him doped up on children’s Tylenol and Robutussin. Monday night went about the same. He woke up several times with bad dreams, sweating or freezing. Finally, on Tuesday Thomas was blowing his nose & he told me that his ear popped. I asked if it hurt & he said “yes.” Later on I was checking his temperature with one of those ear thermometers and when I put it in his ear he really fussed about it. (Highly unusual.) I asked if his ear has been hurting all day and he said “yes.” I asked why he didn’t tell me and his answer was “I don’t know.” UGGGH! I sent Bryan to the pharmacy for something like Motrin and he ended up talking to the pharmacist. She suggested we go to an afterhour’s clinic because we would not be able to make an appt. for the same day we called a pediatrician. We knew we needed to get Thomas to a doctor, but without insurance cards, it’s a little difficult. We got directions to the clinic and were out the door. Now the fun begins….
It was raining and there was no parking at the clinic. Bryan drops me off at the door while he parks. I’m standing in front of a huge door with a smaller door inside it. Finally, someone comes out and I see that there is a buzzer I have to push to get the small door to open. Once through that door, I’m standing in a driveway with 2 buildings on either side of me. Luckily the building on my left had a door with a red cross on it. I find the buzzer for that door and...we’re in! Just my luck the receptionist does not speak English. "No problem," I think to myself….I’m sure the doctor speaks English. As I’m gesturing wildly by fanning myself (fever) and pulling at my ear (basically playing charades), another patient came in the door behind us. She spoke some English and she was able to help me relay our information to the receptionist. Whew! I reassure myself that it will be so much easier when we can talk to the doctor.
Just after Bryan arrived we got called into the exam room. It appeared to be an old living room which had been converted into an exam room/office/pharmacy/break room/library. I felt like I took a step back in time. I was scared. Then the doctor spoke to us in French. Bryan asked if he spoke English and you guessed it…the answer was “no.” He did try though. Now, I was I beyond scared! We did our best explaining the symptoms again (more gesturing) and Bryan did an excellent job understanding what the doctor tried to tell us. Finally, he was ready to examine Thomas. He was so sick, he didn’t care if the doctor gave him a shot or not. Poor little guy. We were familiar with the routine, so when the doctor used the stethoscope, we had Thomas taking deep breaths without being asked. Then it was time to cough. Thomas did one fake cough which then led to him coughing uncontrollably. Next, the ear exam. We knew there was a problem by the doctor’s facial expression. (I’m learning that the French are very expressive with their face & gestures. I’ve actually seen a grown business man stick his tongue out and say plllll like a child who just ate something bad.) Anyway, Thomas does have an ear infection. We came away with several prescriptions. Fortunately, Bryan remembered where there was a pharmacy and we were lucky enough to be able to get everything filled within 15 minutes. The drugs only cost 16 Euros and that’s without the insurance card. WOW!
Today has been better with the drugs in Thomas’ system. He still has a low grade fever, but it’s nothing like it was. We’ll see if he’s able to go to school tomorrow. I think he’s gotten a little too used to being here with me. Thomas enjoys going to school, not because of being in school, but because of the “adventure” we have to go on to get there. I may have to remind him about the tram and metro ride we have to take to aide in him getting dressed for school.
Monday night, Bryan and I had our first French tutoring session. Oliver is scheduled to come to our house for 2 hours a night 2 nights a week. Monday we could only make it an hour because neither of us could concentrate. I realized that I was in over my head. Oliver came again tonight & things went much smoother. Maybe it was because I spent most of the afternoon using the Rosetta Stone program.
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