Sick

She is sick, she is sick, she is sick sick sick... 

Anyone else a West Side Story fan?

Seriously, I'm a bit punchy. I was up late with a sick child (and, yes, on the phone- it's not my fault none of you are around until it is way too late my time!). Fiona has had a cold off and on, and we are such responsible parents, we took her out late at the ZweibelMarkt, and flew to Ireland and back, and lots of swimming and playing outside- hoping every day she'd be better. It's been up and down but last night was definitely down. She was up all night, telling me her ears hurt. Demanding medicine. We have a drug addict on our hands! She's addicted to Children's Motrin! 

Today Russ and I juggled schedules and each taught part of the day. Russ took the first Fiona shift which meant dozing in bed. I drew the short straw- my shift included the visit to the German pediatrician.

I have heard from everyone in this country how ridiculous the wait times are, and how the socialized medicine system is horrible. It wasn't too bad- I've waited just as long in the US. But you know how stressful it is to have a sick child? And you know how stressful it is to try to communicate in another language? Put 'em together and what have you got? A very tired and stressed-out Mummy.

So the pediatrician was very nice- and I found myself pulling the classic foreigner-who-doesn't-really-understand-thing: I kept nodding and saying "Ja, Ja, OK, OK" when in fact I was getting about every fourth word. I was pretty sure he said he wasn't going to give her antibiotics yet, that he'd make an appointment with another doctor (I think he said an ear specialist) for tomorrow afternoon and that doctor would decide about antibiotics. Listening to him was a bit like taking the foreign language exam in high school- I thought I was right, but it just didn't make sense. I was sitting in a doctor's office, he was looking in her ears, which were dripping junk out of them and she was crying that they hurt, why wasn't he going to give me the medication? As on the language exam about an elephant who escapes from the zoo (honestly! They chose really bizarre stories to trick us!) I figured I must have it wrong. My German-pediatric-medicine vocabulary isn't that good, you know.

Our school nurse Tamara, (the German word is Krankenschwester, pronounced cranken-shvester, meaning the sick sister!)  and secretary Anja, my saving graces in our apartment drama (remember- no keys, many days of waiting,  insane stacks of paperwork?) rescued me again. I had the receptionist call Tamara and Anja  and tell them what the Dr. said, since I was certain I got it wrong. I figured I'd call them when I got home and clarify, since the receptionist spoke in rapid and angry German and there was no way for me to comprehend what she was telling them on the phone. 

As I walked down my street, I saw our school nurse, Tamara- she was waiting for me outside my house! As Russ says, "Turns out" I was right- we DID have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. Seems that this doctor, this pediatrician, was not exactly sure she had an ear infection and so was sending her to an ENT to have it confirmed. Well! That made me feel better and worse! Better, because hey- I got it right! My German isn't that bad! I am pretty proud of myself. But also, um... what kind of pediatrician is not sure about an ear infection? I mean, I'm delighted that he was willing to send me to a specialist, but really, I'm not a doctor and I was pretty sure I knew what it was. Now, this man isn't her 'regular' German pediatrician (aka, the man who speaks English and she's seen once for clearance to enter kindergarten), but still, they're in the same practice. Hmm. Good thing Fiona's still considered a patient at her regular pediatrician in Andover.  

Tamara was there to tell us that she, and school secretary/wonderwoman Anja  had made me an appointment for just then at another ENT- a well-respected woman who is a student's grandmother. Off we went to the ENT, and lo and behold, Fiona has two infected ears. The kindly woman handed us samples of antibiotics, a prescription for nasal spray (they're obsessed. I heard about the nasal spray all day. Apparently it's a wonder-drug and will cure all.) and an appointment for next Monday afternoon. All in about fifteen minutes. 

I went by the pharmacy to drop off the nasal spray prescription. No dropping off here! They fill it on the spot. There was a small problem with the cost- since it's for a child, it should be FREE. But the chemist felt terrible- since the ENT had written the prescription, not the pediatrician (I think that's why, anyway, again, only getting every 4th word) it was going to cost me. That's ok, really, this drug is worth millions apparently. But the pharmacist felt terrible! I shouldn't have to pay for a child's medication! It's ok,  I kept repeating, it's ok. Once I had convinced her that I was willing to pay for it, she rang up this nasal spray. It cost me €1.68.