Day 18: Pau, 22° ☁️

Just Hanging Out!

I am sitting outside at a little French restaurant called La Brochetterie. I was out walking and spontaneously decided to stop for lunch, not because I’m hungry, but because I’m in France. This is what people do in France at lunchtime, where they often enjoy their largest meal of the day.

As I sit here, I am witnessing for myself the impacts of mass tourism. A bus full of tourist just pulled up and emptied about 60 passengers and they are all trying to get seating inside the restaurant. Thankfully, I’m sitting outside, and thank goodness I got my order in before they arrived! 😆 The service will go down the hill very quickly once they are all seated. Oh, they all just broke out the song and are singing a lovely French tune of some sort. 🎶 OK, they can stay!😂

I’ve ordered the grilled salmon and the house french fries. I also have a little bit of red wine to keep me company. Otherwise, I’m mostly cooking meals in my little apartment, and after over two weeks on the road it’s nice to have a little stability for a couple of days.

I adopted to the cessation of my walk relatively quickly, but it did feel a little bit strange yesterday morning. I’m usually up, grab a bit of food quickly and I’m out the door fairly early. This morning I took my time getting up and figured out how to complete all the medical forms for the insurance claim electronically on my iPhone. A nice new skill to have! Hopefully they will be accepted, and now the insurance company can contact the hospital here and whoever else they need to contact about my health background, and this process can finally get moving in the right direction. It’s not that I’m really in a hurry to go home, but once I make a decision with the insurance company that that’s my option then I have to mentally get there pretty quickly. So I’m pre-preparing myself, anticipating that outcome.

I’ve been for a little walk to reorient myself.

As I walked after lunch, I got a phone call from my friendly service provider at the insurance company. She surprised me, and I think herself, by telling me that they are going to authorize a stress test be done at the hospital here in Pau. An underwriter has read my report and the report that my case manager submitted and has decided that a stress test is warranted. If I’m OK, then I am permitted to walk on, but without insurance coverage for this specific issue.

If during the stress test and issue is identified, then they will work with the hospital to resolve that issue, whatever that means? And then they will help to bring me home. I’m not sure what that means at this point.

The only problem is, tomorrow is a national holiday which means that the administrative part of the hospital won’t be open till Tuesday.. The doctors originally spoke of a stress test on Tuesday, but I don’t know the availability of that now. The insurance company will be in touch with the hospital to try and sort this all out.

So now I sit here in my apartment munching on potato chips. The best potato chips! One of the pleasures about being In France are these Brets chips! Worth the trip across! 

I was sitting here writing and then I was waking up from falling asleep! 😆 A power knap at 6 o’clock. Perfect.😏

And that’s about it from here. Slowly creeping forward, put the weekend and a holiday tomorrow will slow things down a little bit.

Thanks again everyone for checking in. Very much appreciated! If you were here, I would offer you a glass of nice French wine! Speaking of which, it’s time for me to make some dinner and enjoy a little of that nice red wine!🍷

Geoff🥳