Staying Warm
I would like to say right up front that I do not like going to the doctors's office. I do not relish being weighed and measured, sized up and analyzed. I do not like the paperwork and the impersonal questions, as though I am answering about the condition of an item I have been taking care of.
But it is a necessary evil. And it is all in a day's work for those health care workers. I'm grateful for their knowledge and help.
Today's visit to a doctor here in Oxford was a pleasant one indeed. It was similar to my experience in Denmark. Why can't the U.S. take a lesson here?
I contacted my insurance to say I was getting low on medication. They set up an appointment with a physician for today. At the appointed time, SK drove me to the clinic. There was a lovely and pleasant young woman behind the counter. She gave me two pages of paper to fill out. Besides an address, email address and phone number, the papers asked if I have had any serious illnesses or operations.
I gave a couple of brief answers, and then a slim young man with a shock of brown hair came to the door - almost as soon as I had turned in the forms. He said, "Mrs. Madsen will you follow me?"
I followed him back to a light and larger-than-the normal U.S. examination room. I sat down and he sat down at the desk. We chatted for about 5 minutes about Gilbert AZ and Oxford. He asked what brought me in today, and I told him about needing more medication. He looked at the bottles, wrote down what they were, typed them into his computer, asked a few questions about each one and the way of taking them.
He was so pleasant! I must tell you here that I was never at any time asked my age, my weight or my health history. This just makes good sense. A good health care provider surely knows by looking at someone who is overweight or ill. The appointment was over in 15 minutes and I was on my way with prescription in hand.
We joined the young missionaries in the town square to hand out "Light the World" cards. At one point, I sat down on a nearby bench and watched the young missionaries. I loved doing that! They were so cute, each one of the four. As people walked by, they politely asked if they could speak to them or hand them a card. They were often swatted away like a pesky fly. Others smiled and politely declined. But others, and I would say quite a few stopped and listened and conversed.
It was a very pleasant experience. After getting back to our flat, one of our sweet YSAs came by to leave three bags with us while she goes to Cypress and then Milan Italy for Christmas. It was Janice, a delightful young woman from Singapore who is studying economics. She laughs in the most charming way. She puts her whole heart and soul into laughing....when she is with us, I can hear her laugh across the room and it always puts a smile on my face.
While I don't have much to show for my day, all of the people we interacted with have brightened it beyond my ability to describe. We are marching toward the shortest day of the year, and having dear people in our lives keeps the days warm and cheery.
But it is a necessary evil. And it is all in a day's work for those health care workers. I'm grateful for their knowledge and help.
Today's visit to a doctor here in Oxford was a pleasant one indeed. It was similar to my experience in Denmark. Why can't the U.S. take a lesson here?
I contacted my insurance to say I was getting low on medication. They set up an appointment with a physician for today. At the appointed time, SK drove me to the clinic. There was a lovely and pleasant young woman behind the counter. She gave me two pages of paper to fill out. Besides an address, email address and phone number, the papers asked if I have had any serious illnesses or operations.
I gave a couple of brief answers, and then a slim young man with a shock of brown hair came to the door - almost as soon as I had turned in the forms. He said, "Mrs. Madsen will you follow me?"
I followed him back to a light and larger-than-the normal U.S. examination room. I sat down and he sat down at the desk. We chatted for about 5 minutes about Gilbert AZ and Oxford. He asked what brought me in today, and I told him about needing more medication. He looked at the bottles, wrote down what they were, typed them into his computer, asked a few questions about each one and the way of taking them.
He was so pleasant! I must tell you here that I was never at any time asked my age, my weight or my health history. This just makes good sense. A good health care provider surely knows by looking at someone who is overweight or ill. The appointment was over in 15 minutes and I was on my way with prescription in hand.
We joined the young missionaries in the town square to hand out "Light the World" cards. At one point, I sat down on a nearby bench and watched the young missionaries. I loved doing that! They were so cute, each one of the four. As people walked by, they politely asked if they could speak to them or hand them a card. They were often swatted away like a pesky fly. Others smiled and politely declined. But others, and I would say quite a few stopped and listened and conversed.
It was a very pleasant experience. After getting back to our flat, one of our sweet YSAs came by to leave three bags with us while she goes to Cypress and then Milan Italy for Christmas. It was Janice, a delightful young woman from Singapore who is studying economics. She laughs in the most charming way. She puts her whole heart and soul into laughing....when she is with us, I can hear her laugh across the room and it always puts a smile on my face.
While I don't have much to show for my day, all of the people we interacted with have brightened it beyond my ability to describe. We are marching toward the shortest day of the year, and having dear people in our lives keeps the days warm and cheery.
Comments