WRITTEN ON May 12th, 2009 BY kiwivera AND STORED IN kiwiland

it’s only wednesday and this week has been quite the rollercoaster. c. was rushed out to the emergency room at 5am on monday with severe kidney stone pain (he’s had kidney stones for years and every now and then they decide to remind him that they’re there). after spending about 10 hours in hospital, with loads of medication (he was given morphine three times, to try to ease off the pain), he was sent home and booked for surgery for the next day. the nurses at auckland hospital were lovely and kept checking on him. the doctors also kept going in and he was never left alone or without news for very long.

the next day, he was also very well prepared for the surgery and even though he was told he would be the last on the list for the day, he was out of there by 4pm, with lots of recommendations. 2709 electromagnetic shock waves, he seems to be kidney stone-free for the time being.

the positive thing about the last couple of days is how impressed i was with the public health system in kiwiland. if c. was in portugal, he’d probably have paid an astronomical bill to the hospital (or he would have had to claim insurance) and he’d have had to wait perhaps months for a surgery (or go through private and pay another enormous bill). but no. there was no insurance claim to be made, no avalanche of paperwork to fill out and no money to be paid. not one cent. kiwiland seems to do a good job of looking after its kiwis. now lets wait for the medication to do the rest.