Over the last month things have been a little shaky health-wise in the household. We have been falling sick one after the other. Reason to be blue? But when both the man and the woman in the house are sick, with two children to tend to, blue becomes black and bleak.
Yesterday out of sheer desperation, I went to visit a doctor for the first time since we got here. Until now I was doing very well on the calpol snd benedryl I had brought along. The medical system here though very efficient needs some getting used to. In every district doctors have clinics that are open from Monday to Friday but only at specific times. They don't give out appointments and the waiting time is a minimum of two hours. Reason enough to not see a doctor huh? Also if you fall sick on a weekend you need to go to the hospital where the waiting time… well lets just say you might have to wait very long. As a rule we, especially the kids, always fall sick on Fridays allowing us enough time to worry. Most importantly, here they don't give you “the drugs” unless its imperative. Drink lots of fluids, vitamin C, lots of rest is the way to go.
So I go, like I said, very unwillingly to a clinic and try to register but my insurance card doesn't work. “Chip defect “. How would I know never having used it before. But the receptionist is resolute and on the 10th attempt it works. I am happy till she very politely tells me I could go home and come back after two hours. As the clinic is close by I come back home and decide to fix the “chip defect” by calling the insurance company. With some encouragement from the husband I decide to forge ahead in German. Now while on the phone because you can't use your hands or legs for good measure, I find myself unable to communicate effectively in German. But when the person on the other end has the patience of a monk and doesn't correct you or respond superciliously in English, one manages to explain the problem. At the end when the saviour says she will simply send me a new card by post, I am thinking wow now that was easy. I am gooood ! That’s when from behind the husband says "you got it wrong you know its ‘die karte’ not ‘der karte’".
Refusing to give in, I hold my head high and walk out of the door to go to the clinic ,only to realise I can’t do that for long because my neck hurts. In fact I am so sick I can barely stand. When I reach the clinic, they are very prompt and call me in immediately. I walk in to see this really small person behind the desk. Unsure I hold out my hand. She asks me how I am feeling and listens to my sob story with so much empathy I am surprised. For someone who has been working the whole day seeing so many sick people she was extremely amiable. What’s more she gave me the drugs. Not before reminding me that it will heal on its own if I take rest. I tell her I was feeling better already and she responds by saying "you can come in anytime". To say the website said they weren't taking anymore new patients.
Definitely good times in bad times.
Comments