My Happy Day.

Here is a story to redeem the German people. :)

Last week I finally made an appointment to see a doctor. I haven't been to a general practitioner doctor since we have moved to Europe. After giving my mUm a lecture on taking care of herself and decided I should do the same. :) I made two phone calls that ended with a "NEIN". ...and on my third try I hit the jackpot! A nice lady who spoke pretty good English.

So I had an appointment.

Today I went to my appointment. I left a half hour early because I knew parking would be a fiasco since it is everywhere here... Parking was a fiasco, but I parked with 10 minutes to spare.

I found what I thought was the building and I was looking at the 20 doctor names on the sign. A lady noticed I was obviously confused and said, "something something help?". "Nein Danke, I think I'm okay", was my reply with a smile. I just walked in and assumed I could figure it out. Nice Person #1. Usually people just stare at me...

After walking up and down the three stories sounding out doctor names and using my phone to translate signs, I made a phone call to my new doctor's office. I told her I was in the building, but I didn't know which door to go into. At this point it was like I was in Michaela's Zelda game; all these brown doors with little white signs on them, empty halls and stairs going every which way... I was so confused. The new doctor's office receptionist said they were on the third floor. "Great, thanks, bye." ...and up I climb to the third floor where I translated the word. Maintenance Only.

Das ist nicht gut.

I go down. Someone else asks if I need help ...maybe because they've seen me carry Andrea up and down the stairs 13 times. I was being stubborn and said, "No, I'm okay, but thank you." Nice Person #2

I went back to the bottom and started at the first door. I started to say all the doctor's names out loud. My doctor was Dr. Hartig ...at least to my ear. I have no idea how to correctly spell and I only half paid attention when they told me so I had little faith his name was actually Hartig. I thought that by sounding out the names I might come across one that maybe sounded like "Hartig". This didn't get me anywhere... Then I just started opening doors and ringing bells, but it seemed everyone was dentists ...and now I'm 15 minutes late.

Nicht gut.

Finally, as I was justifying why it would be a good idea for me to just go home, a lady asked who I was looking for. I said, and did so even somewhat rudely because I was super frustrated, "I don't even know, Dr. Hartig?" She said he wasn't in that building and since I had been searching all of the four floors for 20 minutes I believed her. Then she told me where he was... with very detailed directions and in very good English. :) I thanked her profusely. Nice person #3.

I leave the building and, following her directions, walk three blocks down the road. Then I realize I was super dumb for even walking into the first building to begin with. This first building's address was #29, and full of doctors, but it wasn't even on the right street. I did need a building with an address of #29 and full of doctors... just on a different street.

I get to the right street and find #31... no #29 to be found. I'm again pretty discouraged, but now somewhat determined. So I call the doctor's office again. Nice Receptionist says, "Do you have a child on your head?" I said, "Yes." and my shattered hope of ever finding the doctor is suddenly restored as I'm now spinning in circles looking at the surrounding windows.

If she could see me I must be close. (I had Andrea on my shoulders which is the new easy way to get her from place to place.) I'm spinning in circles and she's laughing because it is pretty funny and I'm even now a little amused. I turn one way and she says "No", I turn and face the other way and she says "Yes". She directs me step by step until I see her waving to me from a window. A window on a building with a HUGE #29 on it. Nice Person #4.

The waiting room seemed full of nice old people who smiled at Andrea. Random Unnumbered Nice People. The doctor opens the door and says, "Is anyone Happy in here?" HA! I laughed. It was funny... and way better than boring ole' "Miss Happy, Mr. Happy" jokes. He did later say that it was too bad he couldn't marry me and be Doctor Happy. PS. His wife was a doctor in the same office. :)

Anyways, the doctor was super nice and talked to me for a while about California and my kids before asking why I made the appointment. Eventually I explained my problem to him ...which was nothing. I don't have a problem. My great-grandma, grandma, and mom all had/have the problems. I just assumed it was my turn. Thyroid "problems" are very hereditary... sorry girls.

He spent 20 minutes telling me all about thyroids and when Andrea got bored he... GET THIS... he gave her his phone to play with!! Nice Person #5! A few minutes later he was ultrasounding my throat like I had a baby in there. I saw my weird airways and my arteries and it was just weird. Our bodies have lots of stuff going on in there! :)

He said I needed some blood work because one side was "maybe abnormal". He and walked me back out to the receptionist and talked to the lady in German for me.

When I had the blood taken a nice lady did it and she gave Andrea a medicine squirter thingy to take home as a bath toy that squirts water. Nice Person #6!

I went home minus some blood, but very happy with my new doctor and all the people that were nice to me.

End of happiness....

Then I went to Scotty's doctor for his one needed vaccination.

It took only four people to hold him down while he screamed as if we were all viciously assaulting him. Seems my pep talk beforehand did nothing...

Seconds after his shot Scotty quickly pulled it together and stopped crying. I held and talked to him for 15 minutes in the office afterwards... He said "My heart was so scared and I couldn't stop it. My heart was just controlling me. I don't know how it did it." His exact words I swear. :(

My poor Brown Eyed Boy... I brought him home and fed him Spaghetti for dinner and followed it with a bowl of ice cream and Hershey's syrup. :)