I wish I had pictures to go with this post. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I'm sure some of you would feel that if you saw pictures of the hospital I go to see my doctor at!
The doctor that I am talking about here is actually more of a chiropractor, although on his door the sign says "Manual Therapy". It's something between massage and chiropractic. I started a few years ago because of herniating a disk in my back. Now I go back periodically to get re-aligned and if anything else is wrong--like my ankle that still hasn't healed up--and he helps me sort those things out. It so pays to have an acquaintance in the medical system!
Generally, my trip to the doctor starts around 7:45am when I call a taxi to take me to the hospital (usually if I am going to see the doctor I don't feel up to going by public, or I am running late; taxis cost about $2 at this point in time, here in Rivne). I have to get to the hospital by 8am or else there is a good chance that I will end up waiting in a long line (like today when I got there at 8:15 and ended up waiting till 9:30 before I got in). My doctor, Dr. Vazhovski (although if I addressed him by name I would probably say Peter Rastislavovich--using the patronimic is the polite form of addressing someone), works in the City Hospital, in the clinic. That means you can walk in and if you know where you are going you just go and get in line in front of the appropriate office door. It also means there are aptekas (pharmacies) ALL over the place in the building (cause you have to buy your own needles and gloves and cotton and alcohol and medicine and anything else you may possibly need and bring it to the doctor--why is it that people think that socialized medicine is such a good deal?).
Dr. V is on the second floor, so I trundle up the steps and go around the corner and down the dimly lit hall--lights are off because presumabley the windows at the one end let in enough light for us all not to fall all over each other... I tap on his door and try the handle. Generally it is locked, a good sign, as it means that I have beaten him to the hospital and he'll see me before the cleaning lady gets in (we have a friendly war, she and I, even if I am sitting there she'll set her broom and bucket and the vacuum on the other side of the door and see if she can sneak in before he lets me in). If I have to wait for the cleaning lady that adds 15-30 minutes waiting time. And on occasion, I am not the first one there and so I have to wait for someone else and that adds about 20 minutes waiting time. This morning, I was late, so the cleaning lady was already in and there were two people in line.
Now, once you get in to see the doctor it is not unlike a chiropractic appointment in the west, minus all the fancy equipment. You lay down on his table (well, okay you normally have to undress here, cause doctors can't work on you if you have clothes on--doesn't matter what the ailment is), and he manipulates you. For me, since he is my only acquaintance in the medical system here I also go to him for questions like dizzy spells and sprained ankles and broken limbs (that would be my nephew, not me). He sorts us out and takes us personally or arranges for us to be taken to the correct doctor, where he smooths the way before us. I appreciate the personal touch. Naturally, there is a cost involved. Generally, at the end of the session I give him somewhere between $10 and $20. A normal Ukrainian would only give $3-5 typically, but being a foreignor and not really under the socialized system... But again, who wants socialized medicine when you have to come during the pre "working hours" and pay anyway in order to get decent treatment!?
Normally, a trip to the doctor takes about an hour if things go smoothly. This morning it took over two hours. I did take extra time because I fell yesterday--one of those lovely things that you hope no one else sees--and must've wrenched my back a little, and of course my ankle took extra time. I've been told that if it isn't better by Monday I need protseduri (literally=procedures; actually means therapy). I'm hoping to avoid them, just on the basis that I am not sure what electro-magnetic therapy will do for it or ultrasound therapy for that matter. But maybe it will just ascertain that my ankle really isn't pregnant.
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