My 12w Appointment...

Must be something about people taking blood at hospitals cos that's exactly what the guy did to me!

God, I hope I don't need a blood test at the hospital!
Whenever I have got one done at Pathcare or Melbourne Pathology they have always been really gentle and careful. My veins are hard to find in my arm (I am guessing it's cos I have a lot of insulation, lol) so I better not get some rough freak doing one at the hospital! They may end up with a black eye, lol.

hey snowy, you must of been at a bad part of UK then because whenever i went to my doctor i didnt even have to make an appointment, and they always saw me then and there and when joshua had to go see his peadatrician (however thats spelt) they had made an appointment to go see one the next week ( this was in manchester) even though hed never been to one before..i thought it was great with my type of care i recieved,and while i was pregnant i got my next appointments at every appointment even for the hospital ones to go see the ob i think it was..

guess it goes to show tthat some people can have bad experiences and some people good, some might be bad here in australia but some could be great too :)

Wow this topic has come a long way!!! LOL.
(Onyu Sarah!! LOL)
Tanya

It sure has Tanya!
I personally think it is so great that we can discuss these issues be it country vs. country, state vs. state or hospital vs. hospital. Either way, we are getting to view a whole bunch of different perspectives. We are informing ourselves so that we know what to expect and what our rights are.
I know that from some of your experiences (esp. yours Sarah) that I can go in armed and at the ready. I hope that when I go in for my first hospital appointment that I can help others aswell.
Whether they like it or not, we have the RIGHT to appropriate and caring hospital and health care. If we don't get that then we have the RIGHT to jump up and down about it. If we know what we should be able to expect from certain visits, we know what we are allowed to question and when to demand respect. Am I making sense?
Knowing me though, I will probably get treated the same way and not say anything because I am too polite 8-[
For example, a friend of mine had a run-in with a very rude Dr. when she was having her daughter. Now, my friend is a very big girl (as am I) and she is under no illusions. Anyway, the Dr. decided to chastize her (while he was doing an internal examination mind you) that she was "Obscenely Obese". Being in a vulnrable position, my friend didn't say anything but was extremely upset about it afterwards. What an arrogant pig! There is such a thing as tact! Honestly! Anyway, from her experience, I know that I have to be brave and if I get some pig say something like that to me, I can demand to see someone else or I can just tell him to shove it!

I was in London (more precisely I lived in Chelsea) ........

btw. statistically the NHS has more people die than any other health system in 1st world countries. I think you were lucky to have such a good experience in England. It's definitely the exception.

sorry, will stop my rant now. it's just been way to personal with the unneccesary death of my friend (who also was in London, not a 'bad part' of England I thought).

Sorry, I said I would let it rest but I just can't. It's been upsetting me all day.

Mouse, I think that's the most insensitive post I have ever read on the BB board. My friend died a horrible death and you suggest that we must have lived in a bad part of England??

I just can't believe that.

snowgirl,

I haven't read the whole thread but I am sorry to read of the death of your friend. It must have been a very difficult time for you, and even now reflecting on that in writing.

I don't think Lesley (Mouse) intended to sound insensitive, she's been a member of BellyBelly for a long time and has been very supportive to all - she has never posted anything nasty or malicious. I think it's a mixture of shock that your friend was treated so badly (when Lesley had only experienced good treatment herself) and also on the internet, things can often come off sounding different or not what they intended.

Maybe it could have been worded better, but I am sure it wasn't intended to upset you at all - just a comment acknowledging that it was bad treatment for your friend, and something you wouldn't normally expect.

I hope this doesn't cause any tension between you girls, you are both great members of BellyBelly and I'm really proud of how well we discuss and deal with issues. It's obviously a sensitive issue and it's always difficult to know what to say when you haven't experienced situations others have been through, particularly death. I know I get totally tongue-tied sometimes when people need support - it's hard to know what to say at times.

We all have different ways of supporting people, often based on our own experiences, and not everyone is always going to word it the right way unfortunately. I know Lesley didn't post that with intention to upset you for the day, or at all.

Snowy - huuuuge :hugs: for you, I do know it must be a difficult thing for you. I hope you are feeling better matey.

snowy, i wasnt attrmpting to be insensitive at all, i didt even read past the the first bit so i didnt even know about your friend, yes I should of read the whole thing first I'm very sorry i didnt.

all i was trying to say is that everyone can have different experiences dependign on where they go, in my mind all of england is bad as i cant stand the place and its thanks to that country that i lost my son, which writing that brings me to tears as i fully regret going there if i didnt id still have him here with me.. :cry:

:hugs: about your friend but as i have tears rolling down my cheeks due to upsetting you and thinking about how much i miss my son im going to end this post now

Lesley

Thanks, Lesley and Kelly for your words. I was just really upset yesterday. And your reply was just .. not what I needed nor expected from such a wonderful group as we have here at BB ... I understand you didn't read the whole post. I think of Jon every day, because he is the reason I'm pregnant now.
Monkey and I had thought of ttc in 2005. But our mind was changed.
When Jon got increasingly worse, he would call us at night from the hospital (cause he knew we're awake trading US stocks at night) when he couldn't sleep and would open up (which was rare for him) and say how much he regretted having postponed having children and that he wished his daugher (1 yr) would know and remember him and that if he had started 5 yrs earlier, she would have.
When we got the call that he had died, Monkey and I hugged and cried and the first thing we said to each other was "Let's have children now". That was February and as you know we fell pregnant in March.
This child will forever be connected with Jon for me, so I might take things quite personal when it comes to the subject.

I can imagine your memories of England aren't the fondest, Lesley, considering they took your child from you and I'm happy for you that at least when it comes to the health care you had a good experience - at least they seem to have good paediatricians (also, no idea how to spell that one). Unfortunately your good experience in that area speaks against the statistics. Aside from the long waiting lists to see a specialist (or have your scan looked at by one), England has the worst cancer survival rate in the westernized world (50% of that of continental Europe or US!!) and the longest waiting lists for radiation therapy. If Jon had been back home in Australia at that time, he would most likely still be alive.

I hope you'll be reunited with your son one day.

Big hug back to you.

Snowy