A Little Scary!

Hi Guys, as some of you know my 42 year old hubby had a heart attack earlier this year followed by a quadruple heart bypass but happily all is good in the hood and he is mended and getting stronger every day. We have just been to the Chill Factore in Manchester and it was brilliant and so good to see him back on a board!

So, we are now at the stage of looking at booking a holiday in the French Alps( I speak a bit of the lingo so this makes us feel slightly easier hence it has to be France)....We are after somewhere that either has a hospital or a very well equipped medical centre, as we are still nervous about his condition etc, although his surgeon has said all will be fine! As we plan to go for a few weeks, we don`t mind if not in a typical mountain resort as we can drive around, but would like to be within 30 mins of slopes really.

Sorry for the long windedness of the question, but any suggestions would be brilliant!Although I also hope that none of you answer because that hopefully means you haven`t had to experience any hospitals in resorts/towns in France!!!Thanks in advance guys, and it`s good to be back!I just hope the snow is as good again this season as I really hated missing out on what looked like the most amazing conditions in a long time!!! :)

Hi Jobster, good to hear hubby is on the mend!

I only have experiences of hospitals in and around Austrian ski resorts but I would imagine any emergency would be handled pretty much without any issues in France as they are prepared to rescue people from hard to reach places and hospitals are easily accesed by helicopter if necessary.

However, for peace of mind I would imagine somewhere like Chamonix (ie - big town rather than mountain side village) would be suitable for both skiing and access to hospitals.

Sure there are more people on here with a lot more sounds advice than me who will come along eventually.

Glad his op isn't deterring you from the slopes though :D

I am sure he will be fine ..my suggestion is Grand Massif ..several resorts and good skiing and an hour from Geneva as well as hospitals in Annemasse-Bonneville Cluses and
Sallanches

jobster
I read somewhere ( & also got it from my brother inlaw who has had similar experience)that with this conditon ( & the drugs he will now be taking) keeping the altitiude as low as possible is the way to go; so if this is correct, keep away from the major high altitude rsorts.
Hope he keeps on the road to full recovery.
Be lucky
Mitch

Thanks guys....we figured as much re low altitude due to drugs etc and looking at the facilities around, has to be a half hour or so from Sallanches....anyone been to Les Gets, as this is in our shortlist at the moment....?

Until we get up there it is an unknown quantity as the surgeon says get on with it, where the cardiac nurses were drawing a sharp intake of breath! So we`ll see I guess...!They have also said that as he had no angina before the heart attack, there is no reason why he should now develop angina symptoms in the extreme cold, so fingers crossed...!If anyone has any direct experience please let us know your stories( ie Frostbite, anything your Bro in Law can advise...), as we are just trying to be as prepared as we can....Thanks again everyone,Jobs

My Dad had a major coronary many years ago, a bypass would have helped him but the heart was badly damaged so it was not suitable. He remains fairly fit, well as fit as a 77 year old can be. The only thing I know from him is that he feels the cold a lot more. He also does not cope too well with the heat either. So just to make sure he keeps really warm while skiing. But age is so much on Hubbys side. So glad to hear he's doing well. He does still suffer with angina but he had it bad before the coronary.

Thanks Rose....Despite Rich having a quadruple heart bypass, he got away with NO damage to the heart muscle as we got him to hospital so quickly, and we are probably fitter now than we`ve ever been, so you`re right....he may just have to look like a rather warm wrapped up weeble on the slopes for a while...just to keep him warm mind...and maybe a vin chaud or 2!!! J

Hey jobster, good to see you back with some progress... sounds very encouraging.

I would think you'll be fine in just about any major resort, or a decent-sized town nearby. JonG should be able to confirm but I'd imagine Bourg St Maurice to be very well equipped medically.

If you're concerned about altitude you could stay in the town and ride the funicular up to Les Arcs to ski. Similarly maybe stay somewhere like Annecy or Briancon that are close enough to resorts for easy day trips?

Definitely have that conversation (re. altitude) with the doctors though.