Well it's back to the daily grind and trying to write a blog entry weekly to keep you all in touch with what I'm doing.
School has been crazy. It seems like the more we do, the more they want. My co-teacher has been absent all week so I ended up with her class split and half added to each of my classes then the next day I had two classes together. Needless to say I wasn't happy and was glad to get out of there yesterday and not get up for work this morning.
I seem to have been spending a lot of time at the hospital. I've decided it is because you have to go to a hospital or clinic to see a GP, plus services are much more accessible than they are at home so I tend to make use of them while I'm here.
Take this week for instance. I was aware that it was time for a mammogram and had been thinking about organising one when I received a text telling me that the "Pink Caravan" was going to be at my local hospital on Tuesday. Thinking that this was meant to be, I phoned and registered for a check up. All free! So off I head after work and have a breast examination. While lying there getting checked I thought to myself, why wouldn't someone else be doing the check up for me? No-body does anything for themselves here so why would a breast examination be any different. So another first for me.
Anyway, as I've previously been aware of, there is thickening so they say I'll need a mammogram and give me a phone number for a hospital in Dubai. Dubai, I ask? Yes, that is the hospital they use. Odd when we are at one hospital that they are referring you to another but I later realised that this clinic is independent of the hospital where it was being held.
As I didn't want to travel to Dubai I stop at the radiology counter to ask if they will do a mammogram there. Yes, but I need a referral. The piece of paper I had didn't count so I make an appointment for the following night to see a Gynaecologist (don't you wish you could get seen that quick in NZ?). So off I go, pay my 30 dirhams and meet with my French man who is keen to check out all parts of me! I explain what I am there for but he still thinks my 'bits' need to be checked out. So I'm whisked out into the ultrasound room and have ultrasound on my breasts (which are all clear) then abdomen and pelvis. So everything as it should be. Thank goodness for that!
Back to the examination room and it's time for a check. The IT man comes in as the Dr has called him to load some things on the computer. So there's the IT man, the nurse, the Dr, and me in this tiny room. The Dr draws the curtain. OMG! I'll spare you the details but all this is taking place while the IT man and nurse are on the other side of the curtain. Reminding him what I came for - I think myself lucky to leave with only blood tests and an appointment within the week for a mammogram. I hightail it out of there with a parting message to pop back in a week and to tell all my friends to come to him. Oh, did I mention with his phone number and I can also 'Whatsup' him?
During all this he's taking phone calls and organising flowers for his wife for Valentines Day. The health system here is nothing but thorough!
One thing I do have to say is that it is difficult to be a woman alone here. Unmarried women are considered odd and to not have a husband was a discussion I didn't want to get into with this French Dr. Imagine where that could have led????
While they find that strange here, what I find strange is all the men at the hospital with the woman. Here I am feeling highly embarrassed that the IT man is inside the checkup room but the women here would never go for a checkup without their husband and often have the husband's brother plus mother and father along for the trip. It's a sight to see, especially in maternity which is big business here. I'm not sure if it is because women are treated as chattels or if it is just the way it is, everyone cares so everyone comes. And it's not just the Emirates, it's also the Indians. Why these men are not at work always amazes me. Perhaps that is why the clinics have such late hours.
Another reason for my frequent trips to the hospital is that I'm having physio on my shoulder as it's been painful when I swim. So this morning I've been up since 6am, done my stretching exercises for the physio then went down and spent 45 minutes in the pool just walking as I'm to have a break from swimming freestyle while my shoulder recovers. Then there was time for a bit of sun before coming back upstairs for breakfast of pancakes, bananas and maple syrup.
School has been crazy. It seems like the more we do, the more they want. My co-teacher has been absent all week so I ended up with her class split and half added to each of my classes then the next day I had two classes together. Needless to say I wasn't happy and was glad to get out of there yesterday and not get up for work this morning.
I seem to have been spending a lot of time at the hospital. I've decided it is because you have to go to a hospital or clinic to see a GP, plus services are much more accessible than they are at home so I tend to make use of them while I'm here.
Take this week for instance. I was aware that it was time for a mammogram and had been thinking about organising one when I received a text telling me that the "Pink Caravan" was going to be at my local hospital on Tuesday. Thinking that this was meant to be, I phoned and registered for a check up. All free! So off I head after work and have a breast examination. While lying there getting checked I thought to myself, why wouldn't someone else be doing the check up for me? No-body does anything for themselves here so why would a breast examination be any different. So another first for me.
Anyway, as I've previously been aware of, there is thickening so they say I'll need a mammogram and give me a phone number for a hospital in Dubai. Dubai, I ask? Yes, that is the hospital they use. Odd when we are at one hospital that they are referring you to another but I later realised that this clinic is independent of the hospital where it was being held.
As I didn't want to travel to Dubai I stop at the radiology counter to ask if they will do a mammogram there. Yes, but I need a referral. The piece of paper I had didn't count so I make an appointment for the following night to see a Gynaecologist (don't you wish you could get seen that quick in NZ?). So off I go, pay my 30 dirhams and meet with my French man who is keen to check out all parts of me! I explain what I am there for but he still thinks my 'bits' need to be checked out. So I'm whisked out into the ultrasound room and have ultrasound on my breasts (which are all clear) then abdomen and pelvis. So everything as it should be. Thank goodness for that!
Back to the examination room and it's time for a check. The IT man comes in as the Dr has called him to load some things on the computer. So there's the IT man, the nurse, the Dr, and me in this tiny room. The Dr draws the curtain. OMG! I'll spare you the details but all this is taking place while the IT man and nurse are on the other side of the curtain. Reminding him what I came for - I think myself lucky to leave with only blood tests and an appointment within the week for a mammogram. I hightail it out of there with a parting message to pop back in a week and to tell all my friends to come to him. Oh, did I mention with his phone number and I can also 'Whatsup' him?
During all this he's taking phone calls and organising flowers for his wife for Valentines Day. The health system here is nothing but thorough!
One thing I do have to say is that it is difficult to be a woman alone here. Unmarried women are considered odd and to not have a husband was a discussion I didn't want to get into with this French Dr. Imagine where that could have led????
While they find that strange here, what I find strange is all the men at the hospital with the woman. Here I am feeling highly embarrassed that the IT man is inside the checkup room but the women here would never go for a checkup without their husband and often have the husband's brother plus mother and father along for the trip. It's a sight to see, especially in maternity which is big business here. I'm not sure if it is because women are treated as chattels or if it is just the way it is, everyone cares so everyone comes. And it's not just the Emirates, it's also the Indians. Why these men are not at work always amazes me. Perhaps that is why the clinics have such late hours.
Another reason for my frequent trips to the hospital is that I'm having physio on my shoulder as it's been painful when I swim. So this morning I've been up since 6am, done my stretching exercises for the physio then went down and spent 45 minutes in the pool just walking as I'm to have a break from swimming freestyle while my shoulder recovers. Then there was time for a bit of sun before coming back upstairs for breakfast of pancakes, bananas and maple syrup.
No comments:
Post a Comment