Testing, testing 123 ... and 4 and 5 and 6 !

Hi - me again.  Hope you are all having a great weekend.  I can't believe it is almost the end of June and we have been here for nearly 3 months!!  Where did the time go?!

It finally feels like we are getting more settled and beginning to feel more like we actually live here and less like an extended holiday, which I guess is a good thing.  (Still no progress on the name though, and this week I added a new one to the list.  In addition to Beth, Melody & Barbara, I am now apparently ... Deborah-Lee! Good grief)

This week, after sitting a 2 hour Maths test to determine what he had covered so far, Ethan finalised his subject choices ready for the start of the new school year in August.  The total number of subjects is seven, and so he was thrilled to learn that whilst Maths, English, History, Science and a language (he chose to continue with Spanish) were non negotiable, the requirement for PE/Sports was only a total of 2 years throughout the whole of Middle School.  He was therefore advised that as he had already done it for the last 4 years in the UK he could skip it this year if he wanted to and choose another elective instead.  "Oh, let me think about that for a second .... YES and YES!!"  I can only describe the look on his face as one of pure elation, especially when he discovered that he could elect to do Advanced Media Arts, which concentrates on gaming and designing and building your own game as one of his options!  The other elective he has chosen is Yearbook, where as well as working on designing and publishing the school yearbook it also involves interviewing the students and teachers ... can't wait for that!

This week has also been another week focused on sorting out medical registrations.  In addition to registering Ethan with a Pediatrician and facilitating all the required vaccination updates, I have also now managed to tick off Dentist and Orthodontist, where he has already had full x-Rays and imaging with treatment due to start next week (prior to leaving the UK we were advised that the NHS waiting list was 2 years!).  So this week, I figured it was time I turned my attention to getting the same sorted for myself and Mr B.  Trying to understand the health system here is like wading through treacle and even once you have navigated through the ins and outs of your policy ... what is your deductible; what percentage co-pay you are liable for and how much is your out of pocket threshold ... ??? ... exactly  ... and arrived at a vague understanding of how it all works (and trust me, you would have to be Einstein to do any better than that at this stage), you then have to find a doctor.  In the UK, you simply register the whole family with the practice for your area - end of - like it or not.  There is no choice to be made.  Here, you can have any doctor you like, in any area you like and each member of the family can have a different one of they so chose ... providing they are within your particular insurance company's' 'network'.  I won't bore you with what happens if you happen to go somewhere that is 'out of network' but trust me, this opens up a whole new tin of treacle!  All this choice though just means loads more research to check each one out - qualifications; specialties; patient reviews and of course to ensure the absence of any outstanding malpractice law suits!   Finally, I selected a female Dr. with excellent credentials, great reviews, affiliated to one of the best hospitals (another important factor), and not too far away.  Great! I'll just call to register ...

"Oh sorry, Dr such and such is not accepting any new patients for the time being ..."

Fabulous.  Return to Go.  Do not collect £200. 

Finally, I ended up going for the closest one with the nicest picture that hadn't managed to kill anyone recently ... well I was bored by now, alright?!

I called to make registration enquiries and was offered an appointment for the same week (although I had stressed I didn't currently have any medical complaint so it wasn't urgent) and refreshingly, was asked what time would be the most convenient for me to come and would I like a 7am appointment? Er ... no thanks.  But great to know they actually recognise here that most people have jobs to get to.   I arrived for my 'new patient registration' appointment, assuming it would be a quick in and out affair - 10 minutes at the most.  After checking in and completing the by now familiar 4 page questionnaire **sigh**, I was called in to the doctors office.  A nurse then came in to record height, weight **gulp**, blood pressure, medical history, allergies etc etc. and then a young girl with long blonde hair, wearing a white coat, who looked about 17 came in and went through the same again.  Ah, probably on work experience I summized.  Hope I don't have to do all this again the doctor comes in.  Oh.  It transpired that she was the doctor.  Right.  Well, she was extremely thorough, completing a  'Well Woman' check up and ordering blood tests to check thyroid, cholesterol (ahem ... that will be interesting) etc.

"When was your last mammogram?"

"Oh, a couple of years ago I think" - these only being offered every 3 years in the UK

"OK so I'll send you for that as well as you get one of these every 12 months here".  Great. "What about a colonoscopy?"  Eh? What about a colonoscopy? "When was your last one of those?"

"Er ... never?"

"Right, I'll get you in for that as well as we also do those every 12 months after the age of 50" ... Triffic.

After a good 45 minutes with the doctor, I was then introduced to the 'Wellbeing Counsellor' or some other made up title I can't recall, who was a kindly lady about the same age as me, who asked how I was settling in ... fine thanks ... did I feel depressed after such a big move ... to a new country ... so far away from all our family & friends ... Er, well not until now ... did I have any questions about anything ... how long have you got?!  She actually turned out to be really helpful, recommending a great music school really close by where her son currently took guitar lessons (Ethan has already had his first lesson there this week and loved it!), some great local restaurants and a even a nearby clinic where I could volunteer as a way of getting out and meeting people.  Apparently there is 'a better class of volunteer' there (?!) and they are 'a very social bunch'.  Hmmm, will have to think about that one as whilst it is a great idea, I don't really do hospitals or sick people, and knowing my luck I will end up in a remake of The Stepford Wives! Finally, I left the surgery 1.5 hours after I had entered, with armfuls of paperwork for the various tests I needed to arrange and a follow up appointment for two weeks later to discuss the results. Seriously? Two weeks? Is she kidding?!

When I got home I called the lab re the blood tests ... "oh yes, that's fine, just come along one morning whenever convenient. Just remember not to eat anything before you come."  I dropped in the next day and was seen within 10 minutes and out again in another 5 with results to be sent to the doctor the next day.  Called other clinic re mammogram ... appointment the day after that.  Once again, no waiting, extremely professional & efficient, results ready by the time I had got dressed!! (all normal thank goodness). I would have been waiting for 2-3 weeks back home!  I was seriously impressed.  I hadn't been home long when the phone rang.  It was the consultant's office to make an appointment for the colonoscopy.  Oh God.  There was a free slot that afternoon if that was convenient?  Er ... no it wasn't thanks all the same.  I have had enough prodding and poking for this week so I think I will save that delight for next week, together with the Eye Test also scheduled!

Now I fully realise that in the absence of any NHS over here, everything medical related is effectively 'private' and if you were to be seen privately in the UK you would have much less of a wait than under the overloaded NHS, and comprehensive health insurance over here is ridiculously expensive, but that said, my experience so far has been very positive.  What's more, as all of the above is categorised under 'Preventative Care' I have not had to pay a penny (or I guess that should be cent?) -  Bonus!  Let's hope it all works this well when we actually require medical attention ...

Now I just need to start researching Doctors for Mr B ...eugh ... although I have a feeling that will be the easy bit.  The hard bit will be getting him to actually go ...!