nourishing obscurity

Thought I might blog on this before the anaesthetic wears off.  That’s not me, by the way, just a file photo but there were three ladies in there doing their worst and as they’d predicted, it was a bit messy.

You didn’t need to know this but hey, what’s a blog for?

Apparently something was wrapped around something else and they had to saw through the bone to get to it after it broke off a couple of times.  Only eight stitches and all is well.

So it was a great opportunity to compare Russian and British treatment.  The Russians are more perfunctory – they see it, jab you five or six times then whip it out whereas the British make an appointment for a month later, give you a swab first, then a needle, then another and later another, talking to you softly the whole time and with light music in the background.

Over here I understand the language but over there I understood most of it and the rest was done by gesture.  Over there is expensive but over here takes one’s life savings.  Over there the nurses were absolute honeys and over here the nurses are absolute honeys – it eases the pain, I can tell you.

Over there you can get treated almost immediately or at least within a couple of days.  Over here, with the same number of people, they can’t put you in for a month and a half, even with trouble.  The NHS, I believe, takes five months.  There is an emergency slot each day apparently but it has to really be an emergency or else they charge the earth.

Over there, one has to take a pair of plastic shoe covers and put them over your shoes.  Over here, your shoes can go up on the chair extension.  To be fair – it’s relatively clean here but over in Russia it’s always muddy and slushy outside.

Hygiene-wise, both are excellent and the quality of the care is great.  She was truly great today in a messy situation with blood all over the place.  One girl was wiping it off the basin and floor most of the time.  The third blanched a couple of times and the main one said there was a small problem and they were going to find a way round it.  They did.

The Russians are big on herbal remedies and after an extraction, send you to the chemist for boxes of this tea and that tea – all effective.  Here it’s more chemical but it still works and they have it on hand.

Lastly, there are three more of these sessions coming up apparently.

So that’s it, folks.  I’ll blog again when poss.  Hopefully I can get back to training on Tuesday.  Might go down for a swim tomorrow.

Filed under: Society & human issues