Yesterday was another Remicade® day. Except it was no ordinary day – there was a grève général (general strike) in France with millions of workers in the public sector and some private companies stopping work to demand that ordinary people are protected from the economic crisis, not just bankers.
Around the country perhaps three million people marched, including 40,000 people in Caen (with a population half that of Brighton & Hove) and there were still people starting the march in Paris at 6.30pm, six hours after those at the front of the march had moved off.
It was quite a day, but would my infusion be taking place and, if so, how would I get to the university hospital for 8.30 in the morning?
I’d heard nothing from the hospital and there was nothing on their website about cancelling appointments, so I decided to go and see. I checked the web site for the local public transport and there were some trams and buses first thing in the morning, then nothing during the lunchtime and only a very skeleton service in the late afternoon.
I expected the trams to be packed, so I left home at 7am. When I got to the tram stop there was no-one there, but a tram was due in a couple of minutes. There were less than a dozen people on the tram (usually they are packed at this time) and I was at the hospital well before 7.30am.
After reading my book for a while, I went up to the gastroenterology unit and was shown to a side ward – no single room for me this time.
It turned out that the unions had negotiated a reduction in staffing to have a minimal impact on care, but allowing staff to join the strike. The shift times were also changed so all the afternoon staff could attend the lunchtime march and rally in the town centre and then come into work for their shifts.
What that meant for me was a more sociable day than usual, having some good chats to my room-mate who seem to find me and my appalling French most amusing. It also meant that lunch was a cold meal – but it was very tasty, as usual.
Otherwise my treatment was as perfect as ever. In fact, my Remicade® started earlier than usual and I was on my way home (on an empty bus) by 4pm.
I have to say, I was disappointed to have missed the huge march through Caen – the pictures in the newspaper today and the footage on local TV last night were glorious. However, it will always be amusing to remember I spent a general strike day as a patient in hospital.
