IrishOboe

Last night I paid a little visit to the emergency room with a friend.  The day started out innocent enough.  Stephan and I had helped his sister move and had avoided injury, then we had gone to a friend's birthday party where I heard about Basel's Sport's Night.  Once a year nearly 70 difference sports group set up station around the city for young and old to try out.  It was the stuff of my dreams.  I always love to dabble in something just for fun without the threat of commitment.  I've long wanted to try to walk on a rope and do gymnastics and this was my chance.

My husband said he had work to do, so I asked a friend from church if she'd join me.  We met up around eight and before ten we were in the hospital.  We at least got a chance to try something cool before our plans changed.  We waited nearly and hour to have our chance springing like gazells on Jumping Stilts.  Maybe we weren't elegant, but we walked away unscathed.

Then we had our ability to balance measured by a computer: I'm above average but favor the right (haha).  Sadly, my friend was a bit below average so on her request we went off to the balance room where number of balancing toys awaited us.  Unfortunately, the first one she stepped on threw her off before the proper exchange of pleasantries expected of polite company,  and her shoulder became intimately aquainted with the hardwood floor.

After spectacularly commanding the attention of the room (she had, after all, taken the aparatus located in center stage) I proceeded to receive a lesson in Swiss emergency care.  I was not impressed.  My friend seemed whole but shaken so we decided to seek medical attention.  Unfortunately, the attendants in the room hadn't a clue what to do.  I asked about a first-aid station, which I had noted when trying to a ticket for the event, but they were skeptical of its existence and only did some research once I insisted it must exist.  We walked the short way to the tent where they were generally lounging and loafing about and seemed rather baffled at our arrival.  They were gentle, but hardly inspired confidence.  Miscommunication could account for some of it, but thankfully I was more impressed with the emergency room, which we went to by taxi.  In the end my friend had a broken arm and we're hoping it can heal without surgery.  My dear husband picked us up with a Mobility (car sharing) car and we finally ended the night around 2am.  I'm happy my friend is okay and I'm also happy that my first visit to a foreign emergency room was not with my husband or offspring.  I might not panic as much having done it once before.