The mystery of the OB/GYN

So tomorrow I'll be heading to Georgia, I just found out there will be no internet. This fact annoys me as the internet is my lifeline lol. Also, if I don't check my email daily it gets very full and I'll probably have 200-300 emails by the time I return! After Georgia I return to Canada, will arrive in Syracuse, NY on Tues the 6th. In baby news, the baby is now the size of a fig (1 and a half inches long) according to the weekly email and moving around freely. My nausea has subsided somewhat, but I have had a cold this last week and so whenever I cough, I gag! Not fun when you have a cold. But on with the story...

Got my first doctor appointment on the 13th. That was a fiasco trying to make an appointment... See, I say to my parents that Canada is pretty much just like the US in every way... and for the most part I still agree. However, there are these subtle differences, particularly because of the health care system there, that make it different. When you "break" these specific "protocols" people get pretty annoyed and ends up leaving the offender with a feeling of "what the hell do I do now??"

Anyway, so my story goes... In the US when you are pregnant, you look up the number of your nearest OB/GYN and you call the office and set up an appointment. That same doctor is with you through the whole pregnancy and beyond. So, a few weeks before my return up there, I looked up some ob/gyns and picked one and called them up. Well, the french woman, who I could hardly understand on the other end was more than simply impolite on the phone when she informed me that I have to call the hospital to make an appointment. When I tried to question her with my misunderstandings, she abruptly interupts me with the phone number and hangs up. So, being in my highly emotional state I begun to cry. Having a baby is one thing, but having a baby in a foreign country where you don't know the "rules" and having people be very rude about said rules and not understanding the rules can wear on a person's emotions. That's not to mention the whole money stress, which is yet another story... Anyway, so I'm left holding the phone, pondering why she'd want me to call the hospital. See, in the US the hospital is used for surgery, labor, emergencys, etc, you don't just call them to bug them or set up appointments or find doctors. So, I give it a few minutes, wipe my eyes and call up this number she gave me, of course I get another french greeting and I ask her for this place I *think* the woman, with the thick accent, said. Well, she's never heard of it, so after explaining the situation to her, she transfers me to what she believes is the office I'm looking for and I'm greeted with a "Hi, we are out of the office..." so I hang up.

I think at this point, Dan takes pity on me, because during this whole thing I'm on instant messenger with him explaining it, and he asks one of his workmates who supplies him with a doctor name and phone number that she used for her recent baby. So, I call this new number. The receptionist, fortunatly, doesn't have an accent and I explain the whole situation to her and that I'd like to see the doctor there. She wants to know who is referring me. Referring me? Why would I need a reference to see a doctor? I say no one, she asks "Who told you to call us." Heck if I know, it's someone Dan works with, "uh... Jean... but I dont know her last name." So, she says I need to go to my general practioner and get a referral to them, all I hear is more costs in my head now, I mean now I have to see a doctor to see a doctor?? I pay out of pocket for all these visits. Ok... so I say well I don't have a family doctor. "Please hold" I wait... She comes back, ok I'll put you in to see doctor . Great, now I have an appointment, I thank her. She says "oh one more thing, don't call this number, it's our *private* line." Argh, more rule breaking... I ask for the number to call, appologize and hang up.

Well, at least I have a doctor appointment now.