Free Ambulance Ride

Caution: Post contains very amateur, slightly gory photography.

11:09 While in route to the pediatrician with Hugo, phone call from Crosby's school

"Hi Frau Biggs. Crosby tripped and hit his head on a desk. It's a lot of blood but the cut doesn't seem to be that bad. We need to call an ambulance, how quickly can you get here?"

This is one of those moments when I wonder if I have any maternal instincts. I actually wasn't really that worried. I knew Crosby would be bummed because he would likely miss that afternoon's birthday party.  My bigger concern was getting there in time to meet the ambulance so that Crosby wouldn't have to ride alone.

After a rare running of red lights and riding my bike on sidewalks, I met Crosby in the secretary's office. His teacher was there with him waiting. His biggest concern is that he was going to get stitches and it would hurt. The paramedics got there five minutes later. We all walked down the stairs and went in the side door of the ambulance. 

I don't really know what rules on photography in medical emergencies are, but I snapped some photos secretly. As such, the photo quality is even worse than my usual half hazard shots. 

The hospital is only five blocks from his school. They had the sirens going and everything. 

Like most of my life here in Germany, I only mostly understand the process and the language. I think that patients who arrive by ambulance get some kind of priority but also the emergency rooms' triage process applies. At this point we joined the other kids who had accidents at school or kita - falling off play structures, sliced fingers, etc. We had to fill out a special form for accidents occurring at school or on the job - so there was a liability reason that we had to go to the ER.

Five minute in-take

Why they took off the bandaid in the in-take, I don't totally understand. 

While we were lounging in the waiting room for two hours, a doctor came by and said, "Awesome. Just a surface wound." Then we both burst out laughing and he backtracked. I understand that Germans sometimes have a reputation for being too blunt. But, sometimes it makes for good comedy.

Right when I left Crosby to get sandwiches and a cappuccino, he was called into the room with the doctor. I rushed back. The doctor put some superglue in the cut, taped it over, did some concussion checks, and off we went.

Crosby got the red light on the jump house birthday party later that day, running around for the weekend, and swimming next week at his class trip. But, he got the green light to eat cake and attend the last half of the birthday party. I asked him if he wanted any ice cream and he said, "I'll likely eat a lot of sweets at the party." For a second, I wondered if he might actually have a concussion. He changed his tune later that evening as we passed by the Ikea.

On the way to the party we indulged in a little retail therapy - namely buying him another bike helmet. Did he need one? Not really. But in my rush to get to school, I didn't bring a helmet for him. Did I want to tempt fate with a second ER visit that day? No.

Of course there are other ways we'd rather spend our days than hanging out in the ER despite the free ambulance ride. BUT, I am so grateful to live in a country with an equitable healthcare system. I paid nothing for the visit and there will be no follow-up bill coming in the mail. When Paul was working, he paid 9% of his income for health insurance and his employer paid the other 9%. The more money you make, the more you pay. If you are a student, unemployed, on parental leave, or retired - the state significantly subsidizes your health insurance costs. The current cost to cover our whole family is 240 Euros a month/280 USD. 

This is what affordable health care looks like.