Today it was decided that my ankle has been bothering me long enough, so a visit to the hospital was in order. Before I write any more, let me give a shout-out to Josh Lyons, our excellent program coordinator who accompanied me every step of this slightly confusing way.
We took the U6 to Michaelbeuren-AKH. Josh has been this way several times already with other sick students so he thankfully knew where to go. I sure wouldn't have been able to navigate the hospital! Especially one with two different emergency rooms; we were directed to the second one after visiting the first, which Josh has visited every other time he's come to this hospital.
We went to the front desk at the second emergency room, where we explained (in German and English; thankfully all doctors here spoke some of the latter) how my ankle had swollen and how we suspected there might be a fracture. The doctor examined my California driver's license (he happily exclaimed at the state I was from) and gave me a very simple sheet to fill out. After waiting about 75 minutes, I was called to be examined.
It was decided that I would need a few x-rays, so after waiting a bit more, I got them taken, whereafter it was found that nothing was fractured, everything was fine, it was just recommended that I put some anti-swelling lotion on my ankle. Needless to say, I feel really good now that I know my leg is alright.
So now I must ask, what do I think of this whole Austrian healthcare experience? Admittedly, I only saw a tiny part of it, but I guess it seemed like a well-run system to me. I write this while thinking about the time that I really fractured my leg in Davis. That day, I had to fill out so much paperwork: in the ambulance, in the guerney at the hospital, leaving the hospital after receiving crutches...and here in Vienna I only had to turn in one simple sheet! Maybe I'd have to write more if something was really wrong with me, but from what I experienced, I was pleased with the amount of paper bureaucracy I had to penetrate!
The (quite appropriate) German word of the day is "gesund," meaning "healthy."
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