I come to you today from the comfort of my bed, as I am held up here nursing my aging body back to basic function. For the last 4+ weeks I have been struggling with sciatica that has thrown my hip and lower back into a huge fit. Ice then heat, ice then heat. I hobble back and forth to the freezer all day, trying my best to rest as two rambunctious toddlers fly around me. “Momma, Momma! Snacks!” “Momma, Momma! Water, please!” Up and down I go, trying to care for these little babies of mine. Brin, being only 14 months old, still requires so much lifting—from high chair to crib, he needs a lift into it all, which has been the toughest part of trying to heal. They say moms don’t get to be sick, don’t get to have downtime…but what do you do when a break and rest is the only way to get better, the only way to heal?
It’s been a very touch-and-go situation, from feeling like 60% after resting on Daniel’s weekend then back to 0% from a long week of caring for the boys. Last weekend I made the grave mistake of walking too much and then the last nail in my coffin, climbing a hay bale mountain at the pumpkin patch. This sent my back into an even worse spiral, which I am now trying to get out of. Who would have thought one fall activity with my son would cause my body to shutdown like this? Since now losing all function of my back and needing help with pretty much every movement—outside of lying flat— the worries have started to creep into my mind… Am I going to be okay? Will I struggle with this issue forever? And, the biggest one… What if this happens again on my trip?
As I have been slowing checking things off my list for Paris, health insurance has been something I have seriously considered this time around since we will be there for a while. In the past our trips only lasted about 12-14 days, so I didn’t find it necessary for us to have coverage. With our spring stay being 6 weeks long, I think that it may be important to have, especially given the downward turn my body has seemingly taken recently. Apparently my “best by date” was 31, and heaven forbid I take care of my body with physical activity like Peloton, which I’m pretty sure is a key player in this sciatica flare up—but, I digress. I wonder: do they have national healthcare in France? If so, does their national healthcare cover non-citizens? Is it basic care or a limited-treatment coverage? I have these questions and I’m sure others do as well.
Travel health insurance is most definitely one of those things you buy and never use. Or, you don’t buy it and then end up with a huge medical bill as a souvenir instead of that very cute Yves Saint Laurent bag you were eyeing for months. I’m not sure how much a simple doctor visit costs out of pocket in Paris but if it’s anything like the US, I hope they offer a payment plan. I’ll admit my experiences with healthcare overseas are minimal: my IVF procedure in Prague back in 2017 was a crazy ordeal, but surprisingly wasn’t terribly expensive, which is why we went there in the first place. Then, in Amsterdam I ended up with strep throat and learned they don’t go to the doctor for basic illnesses, they just treat it at the pharmacy. Ricolaaa… That was fun especially with a slight language barrier. Although I can imagine a hospital trip would be something completely different and an MRI Parisian-style isn’t exactly the fun outing I’m looking to give the boys. In the time between now and then, I’m wholeheartedly dedicated to getting back to full working order. I’ll be very conscious, and cautious, about my health overall so that this trip can happen with no major hiccups.
Health is something we all tend to take for granted on a daily basis. In the last 20 months of the pandemic, I think more people are having realizations—in one way or another—about life, death, health, and longevity. In my opinion, these thoughts and conversations going on are ultimately a good thing, but sometimes they can also be overwhelming. I know I took the basic daily functions of my body for granted: sitting/standing, picking up kids, walking short, and longer, distances. Even these simple ways of everyday life I didn’t give a second thought until doing them became painful, or even impossible. I can only hope that as the days go on and I put into action my doctor’s recovery plan that it will all come back to a good place. Health can come and go, which was (and is) a huge motivating factor for me wanting to pursue living abroad now rather than later…at least in some form. I need to do the things my soul desires because we just do not know what in life could change our future. Heaven forbid something happens to any of us where we no longer have the chance to turn our dreams into reality. We have to live while the livin’s good!
So, I guess the search for short term travel health insurance has now been added to the list of to-do’s. I can only pray that it’s not too expensive, or they have a decent family plan that can work for the 3 of us. As it goes, I hope we don’t need to use it, but if we do we’ll be glad we have it.
More to come…
She's gone to Paris 