We have been here in Colorado Springs for about 2 months now. Life is so different. I've been told it takes time to get accustomed to the culture. I can't believe the shock I had. I went from living on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific to Germany. Before I even arrived in Germany I read up on the culture. I've heard Germans were different. When we got there, I fell in love. Yes Germans are different. What did you expect from people from a completely different culture than ours?
The only bad experience I had with the German culture were the doctors. They expect you to trust what they tell you and not to question them on how they go about treating you as a patient. My first experience with German doctors is that when they tell you to take off your clothes for an examination, they really mean take off your clothes and they don't even have a gown to give you. Fortunately the doctor I went to for my prenatal care dealt with military families, that he had a little changing booth and gowns for the patients. But he was very blunt. My favorite thing he said to me was "Oh, your baby is small, then again you aren't American or German, you're Asian, you want a small baby. You know where the baby will come out from." Thank you Dr. Weber! He was a great doctor who took good care of me. The next experience I had with German doctors was when I had to go in for my surgery. I was about 16 weeks pregnant when I had to go in for my consultation. The doctor of the nuclear medicine department conferred with his colleagues and they all agreed it was necessary for me to have my thyroid removed ASAP. The earliest possible day they could do that was when I was in my 20th week of my pregnancy. My 20th week came and they said okay, time to have surgery. It was hard to swallow when the anesthesiologist tells you, well, there are risks and it can affect the baby. And if anything goes wrong, we will have to save you before the baby. Can you imagine how I felt at that very moment??? These doctors are all blunt. From my surgery to the very end, the doctors were not very rude but they could have worked on their bed side manners. Before I left the hospital the doctor goes and tells me that if I don't spend the night I could die. I wanted to go home already to my kids, I've only been in country for 1 month and they took me off my thyroid meds and I was already going insane. I just needed to get my blood drawn in the morning. I told them I would come back in the morning. Since all they were going to do was keep me there for a blood test. I wanted to go home. So I left. I went back home and I didn't die. Praise God for that. The following weeks after my surgery put me through the ringer. I ended up looking like a crackhead since my arms both of them, had punctures from the needles. They had to draw blood every single day. I improved and didn't need to do that anymore. Then it was time for my baby to arrive.
I have to say the midwife at the Krakenhaus in Hanau was the best. She did not speak much English, but she was very comforting. Nyko arrived an hour after us getting to the hospital. The midwife took really good care of me. I think that was the best experience. The nurses in the nursery wing were awesome. They all asked if they could help me and they said they would care for the baby while I did what I needed to do, like shower or head to the bathroom. They even offered to change his diaper for me. It was a nice experience.
My last experience was with the doctor who I had to see when we finally moved to Kaiserslautern. She made me cry and blamed me for not seeing her sooner or even having my radiation right after surgery. I explained to her that it was not possible seeing how I was pregnant when I had the surgery. I had to also get a referral to see her, but in order to do that I had to see my primary care physician, which took 2 months to get an appointment. So really it was all this paperwork I had to deal with in order to see her. I only saw her 3 times. The third time was the last straw and made me angry because really is it all my fault that I got cancer? She was not nice at all.
I didn't ever want to see another Germany doctor ever again. Until right before we left and I had to. Roland said I needed to get my teeth pulled right away. So I went for an examine to see if I could put it off a little longer, the dentist looked at me and said why did you wait so long? I explained my fear of dentists, he said the nicest thing to me. I understand how you feel, don't worry we will take care of you and he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. He was very nice and friendly. I liked this German Doctor. And to top it off, he was a dentist. He said I had to have surgery though, but he said not to worry I will not feel it. Honestly I didn't, even afterwards. The pain I felt, it was enough for me to just take Tylenol. My last experience in Germany was with the dentist. He was very nice and kind. He spoke to me and explained what happened and what he had to do. Not like the other doctors.
So I digress with this blog. Now I'm living in Colorado Springs. Should be working on studying for my exams but here I am blogging. I do ramble a lot. Well, I will post more since I think I will start blogging again. Welcome to my world!
~Joy
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