NHS vs. Private Medicine

I'm not going to go all political on you guys, but want to share one of our experiences of socialized medicine.

Since moving to Scotland, we have been eligible for free health care through the National Health System. It seemed so strange to us since we've always had terrific health care through Scott's employer. With the NHS, you register with a General Practitioner (give them your name, address, phone number and date of birth) and then all of your health care needs are sorted. You call and make an appointment, and depending on your ailment, you turn up at said time, and you leave with the diagnosis/prescription/advice you need. No co-pay. No paperwork. No nothing.

The doctors offices we've been to so far have all been a flash back to another time. They are not flashy, there is little state-of-the-art equipment, and the customer service is not what we were used to in the US. At first, I criticized all of this with a sharp tongue. I found faults and noted them in my memory. But over time, I have come to appreciate the absence of unnecessary processes, procedures, equipment, paperwork, and treatments. It easy for me to say all of this because our family is blessed with good health and we have the back-up of private health care insurance. So if anything is not to our liking or our time frame, we can call the private guys. So I can look at both sides fairly un-baised.

So why am I telling you all of this?

Because 2 weeks ago, Christopher fractured his toe. It was a Tuesday night and he tripped going up the stairs. He complained about it going to bed, but I brushed it off and said we'd see in the morning. Well, he could barely walk Wednesday morning and he and I were staying home that day sick with a cold virus. I phoned the GP to see what "procedure" to follow and/or to make an appointment. The receptionist let me know that it would be the following Tuesday before the doctor could see him. "Um, well, seeing that he can't walk and I think it's a broken toe, one week from now might be a little late. What could you do for me?" I said. How about Friday, she said. Um, no. I think it's an emergency. She then said, well, go to the emergency room. Okay. Point well taken. We'll go to the ER. (Having been through this with Ethan in Dallas, we called the PCP, say her straight away, and then went to the lab for x-rays.)

The children's hospital was quiet as can be so Christopher and I were quickly attended to by a very nice physician. They took an x-ray, "just in case." (The x-ray machine was fancy dancy. All the bells and whistles which surprised me since the facility itself is straight from 1973.) The physician looked at the film and assured us nothing was broken and sent us home to rest.

Flash forward one week. Another ER physician phoned to let me know that the results were in from Christopher's hospital visit. What??? "His toe is fractured and he should not participate in PE or any physical activities for 6 weeks" he kindly said. Um, okay. He's already been to football, PE and swimming. Does that count? Christopher was bruised but within 24 hours completely back to normal. It was not his kicking foot so we were clear there.

Thankfully, our situation is not serious and/or life threatening; so I can joke about it now.

But I'm not sure which is better: An over-priced, selective (not available to all), state-of-the-art, choice-filled, health care system; or one that is free, run down, over-worked, available to all, slow health care system. Both seem broken to me. What do you think?

Thankful

Last Sunday we had the privilege of hosting a Thanksgiving Celebration for our friends. 5 families came with a side dish, an empty stomach and a sense of humor. And boy did we have fun! We have been blessed with such wonderful friends here and for that we are thankful.

Let me tell you a little about our day and the preparations leading up to it. After researching my options for a turkey (they are not available until this week as people prepare for Christmas meals), I found one. One option. A FRESH one from the south of England (more Americans there so they raise turkeys for Thanksgiving) and the poor guy was delivered on Saturday. They phoned me week before last to say he been killed, plucked and hung. Whoa, that's a little too much detail for me to think about when I'm gonna cook the poor guy. And then we arranged for him to be delivered on Friday. Well, Friday morning, the turkey rep called in a panic to say the courier did not pick him up and would it be okay to deliver him before noon on Saturday. Yes, just fine.

He arrived and he was a fine bird. We had a moment of silence before we put him in the fridge.

Friday night, my friend Amanda (who is fascinated with all things related to American cooking) came to help me bake the pies. We had too much fun. It was so nice to prepare part of the meal with someone else! Apple, Pumpkin and Pecan pies were baked and in the refrigerator. YUM.

Everyone turned up around 1 on Sunday and stayed until 9. We ate, danced, played games, watched a recorded Dallas Cowboy game, and ate some more. And had a competition to see who could write their names with their BUM the best. It was fabulous.

As Scott said, if you invite the Scots for a day of eating and drinking, they will come and they will come ready to party! While we miss our families on this special day, we are reminded of the blessings we have here.

We are thankful.

For family, for friends, for shelter, for food, for rain, for sun (even though it is no longer familiar), and for all the blessings of this life. Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!

Ark

We are building one! I'm not sure if it is making the news in the US, but the UK is being pounded with rain. I mean lots of rain. Steady rain.

We've had some flooding in Glasgow but I think the worst of it is in SW Scotland and NW England. Many of the villages in the Lake District are flooded.

So we're building an ARK.

Happy Thanksgiving cooking to you all.

Pants

Or no pants. Underwear to you and me (if you are reading this from America).

In every souvenir shop in Scotland, there is a postcard of a man in a kilt, gently lifted by a breeze, and he is sans pants. Yep. Bare Bottomed.

So far, we have had little experience with kilts, and I haven't fully investigated the truth of the matter. I'm not really sure how I would have approached the investigation. Do Scotsmen wear pants under their kilts?

Well, tonight we found out. The Glasgow Academy held a charity fund-raising fashion show, with pupils from the prep and senior schools modeling clothes from local shops. One of the local kilt makers donated clothes to model and the senior 6 boys let us know what was underneath their kilts! One of the boys mooned us at the end of the runway and two of the boys mooned us as they exited the stage. Oh My! It was HILARIOUS. I wish you could have seen Charlie's face.

So now you know. Kilts with no pants. Scots Style. Just in case you were wondering!

Cheetos

Mims and Gramps sent a little treat in the mail and since the Royal Mail was/is on strike, they'd been holding these hostage and we did not know it:

I was able to pick up the package today and boy were our boys excited! It's the little things.....Snickers and Twix bars on the way home from school and then the Cheetos! Thanks Mims and Gramps! We still love us some Cheetos!

Guy Fawkes

We've been watching fireworks this weekend. Lots of them. You see, November 5th is Bonfire Night, Guy Fawkes Day in Britain. This year since the 5th was a Thursday, the celebration lasted all weekend.

Bonfire Night, Guy Fawkes Night, is a celebration/remembrance of the "Gunpowder Plot" of 1605; the attempt to blow up Parliament. It still makes me chuckle that it's such a big deal. Ethan's done a research project on Guy Fawkes and we've now celebrated this holiday 3 times. Check out the history. Pretty interesting!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy-Fawkes

However strange the celebration seems to me, it has given us the weekend with friends, bundled up watching fireworks and sharing meals.

Life is Good!

Halloween

We had a terrific Halloween and hope you did too. Scott, Ethan and Christopher went to a party and Charlie and I went trick or treating in the neighborhood.

This year we had Darth Vader, An Umpa Lumpa, and Luke Skywalker.