tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8627322010786735293.post6932082541493732402..comments2023-10-01T09:35:35.894+02:00Comments on Antipodes: Fool who thought he was a lumberjackWilliam Skyvingtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10052367756561555096noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8627322010786735293.post-22375733765079626812011-08-03T11:08:09.309+02:002011-08-03T11:08:09.309+02:00I'm not sure of the extent to which self-impos...I'm not sure of the extent to which self-imposed recollections of a traumatic experience might have a positive cathartic effect. The photo of me spread-eagled on the slopes of Gamone has the advantage of being almost funny, in an overkill sense, since I wasn't really as gravely injured as I might appear to be.<br /><br />Anecdote. During the slow trip to Romans in the fire-brigade ambulance, I was looked after by a young fireman who had settled down with his wife and children in Pont-en-Royans a few years ago. At one stage he started telling me about their latest pastime: the production of family videos using the Final Cut software on a Macintosh. I would have liked to inform him that I too was an adept of this same kind of activity, but it was impossible to strike up any kind of conversation while I had that bloody oxygen mask over my face. One of these days, I must get back in contact with him.<br /><br />The general medical system in France is uniform and rigid, in a typically-French Cartesian spirit. Every citizen is assigned to a single GP, and it's this personal GP who then determines how you are going to be "handled", as it were. The GP decides which specialists you will be sent to, and the identity of the clinics and hospitals in which you might be treated. So, for a rural citizen (such as me), it's most fortunate if all these parameters turn out to be optimal, which has been the case for me.<br /><br />I should point out that I'm not at all hypochondriac, or unduly fascinated by medical science (to the same extent that I'm fascinated, say, by genealogy, genetics and cosmology), and that, overall, my state of health has been quite satisfactory during the 17 years that I've been living here on my own at Gamone… otherwise I might not have been capable of staying here. Concerning the future, I tend to consider that the benefits of the monastic simplicity, regularity and harmony of my daily existence at Gamone far outweigh the negative impact of my recent unexpected clash with a walnut log.William Skyvingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10052367756561555096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8627322010786735293.post-48204569963791972342011-08-03T09:34:30.463+02:002011-08-03T09:34:30.463+02:00I recently read that Drew Mitchell (Aussie rugby w...I recently read that Drew Mitchell (Aussie rugby winger) was told to watch a video in slow motion of the tackle that broke his ankle so that he could overcome his fear of a similar occurrence. Bet you're glad there's no video of your accident.<br /><br />Sad but true, though, that as one ages, the quality and proximity of medical assitance demands our attention.Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10806660109196835114noreply@blogger.com