Socialised Medicine

Oh, dear readers, I have seen the future. And it isn't pretty.

Let me explain. I'm not very political and this is certainly not a blog with an agenda. I'm embarrassingly inept when it comes to discussion American politics. And German politics. And political parties' agendas. So for two years now, my family, my very Republican Irish Catholic family (strange, yes, but they do exist) have been bemoaning the socialised medicine that's slowly making its way into the US. And I keep assuring them that we have socialised medicine here and it's been nearly identical to my good old HMO back in Massachusetts. Referrals, primary care doctors, insurance cards. All the same. I've noticed that we do have to wait a while because many doctors don't take appointments (WHY?) and the people with private insurance get to skip the line. But never, ever, have I seen what happened today. And friends, what I saw, what I lived, today, was the future that all anti-Obamans fear.

Poor Fiona arrived home from school with an earache, a fever, and sick eyes. You know, the kind of eyes that make you want to cry for her- she just looked miserable. Russ is losing confidence in his German by the day (losing the will to practice, to be quite frank) so I took her. Fed baby Maeve (remember, eats every two hours. Hold that in your minds as you read on) left Russ at home with her and walked Fiona to the pediatrician. Where I could not open the door.

Could not open the door, friends. Because of the line of people blocking it. As in, the mall at Christmastime crowded. So we waited in the hall for a bit, and finally made our way to the reception desk. That took nearly 30 minutes. When we got to the woman I all but flung the insurance card at her - poor Fiona was sitting on the bench nearby and zoning out, looking pretty pathetic. The receptionist ran the card through the computer (and I think saw that I was a publicly insured patient) and told me to come back at 18.00 because they were full. I was certain I hadn't heard her correctly but when I asked again, she snapped, as only Germans can, "Yes. 18.00. Not sooner. Go home and wait there." It was 16.30.

Poor Fiona burst into tears and said, "I want to see the doctor. Where is that nurse going? My ear hurts!" and I gently led her out the door and home we walked. Got home. Explained the insane situation to Russ. Fed Maeve. Repeated departure with sick child in tow.

Arriving promptly at 18.00 meant that there was only a short line at reception to see the harried woman answering the phone, writing physical forms, and checking us in. After completing that challenge, we headed to the waiting room. Where there were seven, yes, seven, children ahead of us. All coughing, sneezing, and red-cheeked. Poor Fiona. She ended up lying on the floor of the playhouse, stuffed dog under her head as a pillow, whimpering, "Mummy, do we have to wait really long for the doctor? Where is he?"

Yes, Fiona, we did have to wait really long. We didn't see the doctor until after 20.00 (if you are following this, I'd been trying to see the doctor now for over four hours). By which time poor Maeve had had to take her first bottle (luckily I had pumped a bit and left it in the fridge the other day, but I was without a pump and you can imagine the state of Fiona, sleeping on the church-pew-style-bench in the waiting room, and me, trying to not let her or anything else touch my chest for fear of explosion) and Russ was delighted to give it to her but worried that we were at the doctor well into the night. Is this the future of health care in America? I hope not but am beginning to think that perhaps the ones organising the health care system might want to take a sick child to the doctor, be turned away, come back to doctor, and then sit on a very hard Puritan bench while said child cries. I don't think it was the fault of the doctor, he's lovely, and was clearly busy as he was the only one tending to these many sick children. But somehow, the system seems wrong. But as I said, not a political blog. Just food for thought.

Doctor confirmed fever, fluid in ears, but decided that since it's her first sickness this season, she really didn't need antibiotics. What she needed was nose spray (ah, remember the infamous nose spray from October of 2008? I do. Go back and read older entries if you want to know what Germans love more than Bratwurst. Hint. Nose spray). Off to the Apotheke (drugstore) to collect the prescription nose spray drops. Still with sick child and still have not relieved any breastfeeding-induced pressure. But, being Germany, Apotheke is closed. So I sent Russ on a mad dash to the "emergency" one which is miles away but the only one in the entire Weimar area open. (This info, should you ever visit Germany, is posted on the window of the very closed Apotheke. It's up to you to find it. A bit like a treasure hunt, actually, but I imagine that if you're in need of an emergency drugstore, you're not in the mood for a treasure hunt. We certainly weren't).

Ah, finally. 21.00. Maeve fed, again, and in bed. Fiona's nose drops, purchased and administrered. Chicken and potatoes dried out but tasty enough. About to settle in and read a bit before bed, because I know tomorrow will be a long day with a sick Fiona at home.

21.10- Dishwasher completely broken.