Ouf !

The French dictionary gives this as part of the definition of the interjection Ouf !

S'emploie pour exprimer la satisfaction du locuteur après qu'un événement heureux (prévu ou non prévu) a soudainement mis fin à la situation pénible ou dangereuse qu'il vivait.

That really does describe the way I felt yesterday afternoon. Translating: In French, Ouf ! is a word "used to express the satisfaction of the person who says it after a positive outcome (foreseen or unforeseen) has suddenly put an end to a painful or dangerous situation the speaker had been living through." For "satisfaction", I should say "relief". Looking back, I now see how the prospect of a negative outcome had been weighing on me. Now, on to the next tribulation, the heat. It's only supposed to be with us for three days, and probably won't kill us.

So I can relax, and I can eat again! By the way, yesterday I left a glaring typo in the title of my post about cleaning up after our recent construction work. I'm surprised CHM didn't jump on it, but he was kind and let it pass. In the morning, I was preoccupied, and when I saw it last night, just getting back from the clinic in Blois, I was horrified.

La Polyclinique de Blois, a modern, private facility with many departments and medical specialists

It's interesting to think that the coloscopie exam I was submitted to yesterday was completely free. Nobody mentioned money or payments except for the modest fee I needed to pay for occupying a hospital room for the afternoon. I was asked on an admissions form whether I wanted un box (a sort of cubicle) for 15€, a bed in a double room for 20€, or a private room for 30€. I've written blog posts about previous medical procedures I've had performed up there and what the overall experience was like.

I checked the box specifying a double room. The woman checking me in said, well, she didn't have any double rooms available, so she'd have to give me a private room. But she would charge me the 20€ fee for a bed in a shared room. I asked her if she wanted me to pay right then. No, she said, we'll send you a bill. The colonoscopy is considered to be preventive care, and the system not only sees preventive care as the right thing to do for people, but also, I think, as a better way to spend money than on heroic measures for a lot of people who might come down with colon cancer and not know it until it's too late.

Now, I did pay for the initial consultation with the gastroenterologist and the follow-up appointment with an anesthesiologist. I can't remember exactly how much I paid them, but it was less than a hundred euros and I got about two-thirds of that back from the state-run healthcare system. I don't pay any kind of premium to be included in that system; nor does Walt, because we are a couple. Whether we're married or not doesn't matter (we are, in fact).

Socialist countries! Quelle horreur !