My husband and I are going to Paris for 2 weeks in mid May. I recently fell and fractured my tailbone.(even more painful than it sounds) We had planned to go to Chantilly/Senlis and Giverny as day trips. I can walk slowly, but stairs would be too difficult. I can take a taxi to Gare Du Nord and St. Lazare, but once there , will there be stairs to get to the trains? Thanks in advance for your help.
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No, you would have to only get up into the train. (About 2-3 steps up).
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metrosfan -
You have sustained one of the most painful injuries there is, and you have my sympathy. The worst thing about it is that most people can%26#39;t help at least smiling about it, simply because they%26#39;ve never done it. Walking is actually good for your recovery, slowly, as you say, so you may as well recover in Paris as anywhere else.
Be sure that you have strong enough painkillers for the flights, or they will be torture, and you%26#39;ll be stiff as a board when you deplane. As far as the stairs go, don%26#39;t feel that you have to rush. Folks can just go around you.
I hope you can enjoy. After all, as Sabrina said, Paris is always a good idea.
Bon voyage.
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You know those inflatable U shaped pillows people buy for wearing around their necks to sleep while flying?
Buy one for your bottom, underinflate it and use it like a donut cushion , it may help a bit on the plane. No one need see it or know why you are sitting on it, but I think it will help take the constant pressure off your tailbone for the long flight. Since it is inflatable it is cheap and easy to keep in your bag.
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I appreciate your comments and suggestions. It%26#39;s hard to believe that my dream trip has turned into this. It%26#39;s my 20th wedding anniversary and I sure had pictured it differently. Yes, plenty of pain meds,and that pillow is a good idea. I%26#39;ll get one. Thanks again.
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I seem to recall some steps at Gare St. Lazare between the platforms and the main entrance to the station but there surely must be a way to bypass them. I know that there are elevators between the different levels at Gare du Nord.
If you are seriously concerned about getting to and boarding the trains at either station it is theoretically possible to be met by an attendant with a wheelchair (presumably at the taxi drop-off point) 30 minutes before your train departs and even, I think, to have a wheelchair lift to raise you from the platform level to the train. I%26#39;m a bit tentative about all this because I have only read about it on the SNCF site. I do not know how well it works in practice.
If you want more info let me know and I will see what I can ferret out.
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While I have no knowledge of steps, I just want to say I thoroughly sympathize with your injury. The suggestion of using an inflatable pillow is an excellent one. In my younger days, I was hit by a car, and among my ther injuries was a dislocated %26quot;tailbone.%26quot; I went around with a cane and a %26quot;donut%26quot; cushion for about 4 months (somewhat embarassing as I was in my first year in grad school , but I really couldn%26#39;t sit without that cushion). Really hot baths can help somewhat.
We%26#39;re leaving for Paris (and other places in France) in mid-May as well, arriving Paris May 14th and spending 7 days there. Maybe we%26#39;ll run into each other at Gare St. Lazare or elsewhere!
P.S. I%26#39;m originally from NYC, but have lived in Maine for a long time.
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