They had a busy-ish weekend, but M has not been feeling well and we ended up at the doctor's office Sunday morning. He has definitely perked up with the meds, and we even got antibiotics in case he should need them.... OMG I feel far from the NHS!!!! :)
And yes, I am still a little lost in thought. The Kongsberg Labor and Delivery unit closing has made me think... a lot. Selfishly I guess I am a little glad that the whole of Norway sees what crap that place is, but I am so, so sad for the baby that died and the Mum (and family) that was waiting for him/her.
Most of the time when I think of what happened to me in Norway I think of three doctors: the doctor who delivered D and, among other mistakes, severed my left uterine artery without knowing it, the doctor who "saved my life" and the radiologist who found out what was wrong with me. It has taken me a looooong time, but I have finally come to terms with the doctor who delivered D. She will always be the person who brought him into the world, and he was healthy so I am of course thankful for that. As for the doctor who saved my life, I will never forget her. She met me at the door the night I was medically transported to Rikshospitalet after FOUR FUCKING ARTERIAL HEMORRHAGES and told me, "You have been through enough now. You are in the right place. I will not stop until I find out exactly what is wrong with you." And she spent the night next to my room, and she and her colleagues came in all night to ask me questions, examine me, etc. She fought with her superiors to get me a special test. Then she took a day off, and her boss came in my room and told me, "I am not doing this test. We won't know anything until you actually bleed again. Until then, you will live here. This is your new address." The next day the doctor came back, I was the first to get the test done and the radiologist was so kind and discovered what had happened, and more importantly fixed it. I remember being wheeled back down to the ward and the nurses were clapping and cheering, "They found it! They found it!"
One of my former students has this quote on her Facebook page, "Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon." (Thank you Abby!)
I don't know what to say about most of the doctors, but the nurses in Norway were amazing.
But those are the only doctors I think about. And this whole incident has reminded me of another... the supposed female expert in Kongsberg (ha!). He was called in when I was in Intensive Care getting a blood transfusion after my second hemorrage. He signed me out the next morning and looked me square in the face and said, "I have no idea what is wrong with you. I have lots of expertise and I have never seen anything like this before. If I were you I'd be worried. I'll call the Medical Taxi to take you home now." WWWWWWWWWWWWWWTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF?????????????
This is expertise? I'm sorry?????
This is the only doctor I have vowed to throw water/soda/wine on if I ever see him dining in public. (Oh wait, and maybe that doctor in Kongsberg from the operating room who, as I am bleeding to death and about to go into emergency surgery, grilled me about why I wasn't breastfeeding... Um, another time maybe??)
So I am glad the ward is closing.
But I am also sad.
And angry.
SO FUCKING ANGRY.
Again!
And reflective.
And can only hope things will get better.
And Thank God for my doctors at Rikshospitalet.
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