15 Francs to the hospital

Actually, it is 15 francs (CHF) from the train station to the hospital. It is 17 CHF from the hospital to our apartment.

Niamh ate a very small piece of egg and became rather unhappy. She got hives on her face and her skin became red. We gave her some Benedryl and then followed her normal evening process (bath, nurse, bed). About an hour later she started to cry and I went to check on her and there was vomit all over the floor, crib and Niamh. I walked across the street to the urgent care facility and discovered that it had closed 30 minutes earlier.

We debated for another half an hour on whether we should take her to the hospital. About 9 we decided she should go to the hospital. We didn't have enough cash, so I had to visit the ATM down the street. About 9:20 Niamh, her car seat and I headed to the train station to get a cab. The cab driver didn't speak English and I had to say "hopital" (there should be an ^ over the o) three or four times before he figured out what I meant. Once he realized that I wanted to go to the hospital he quickly tossed the car seat into the trunk and drove out of the parking lot at something either at or slightly above what any normal person would consider a safe speed. The trip to the hospital only took about 5 minutes and we probably could have driven a bit slower and been ok.

The emergency room is quite nice. We did have to fill out a little paperwork-actually I handed the clerk Niamh's residence permit and insurance card and he did all the paperwork. While that was happening a boy came in holding his chest or maybe his arm and was screaming really loud (even louder than Niamh). I found out later that he had broken his arm in multiple places.
We had to wait a bit to be seen due to the boy, so we paced around the waiting area looking for brochures on allergies. A woman who was waiting for her friend asked me what was wrong with Niamh (in French) and I replied 'je ne parle pas francais.' She quickly switched to English. She seemed to know a lot about food allergies.

The nurse saw Niamh after about 10 minutes. She took her temperature\weight and said she was going to page a doctor. It took about 30 minutes to get a doctor who spoke English. She examined Niamh and gave her some stronger drugs, two prescriptions, and permission to leave. She also mentioned that we should bring her back if it happens again and should visit our doctor to discuss possible tests (Appointment had already been made for 13 June). The security guard called for a taxi and we left.

Tomorrow we get to experience take prescriptions to the pharmacy and figuring out how insurance actually works here.