Dutch stairs/bikes ... and the medical system

Three subjects I hoped to never write in the one sentence and yet here we are. There’s a saying in the Netherlands and Germany “We aren’t made of sugar.” I found this to be very true navigating the medical system here. This is my mantra now as well. I preface this to say that my accidents were pretty trivial, comical really. First we will start with my stair accident(s). But first a pretty picture because after all that has happened, I still adore this country … though maybe not the stairs.

Most of you have heard about the infamous Dutch stairs, right? If not, look here, here and here. I remember posting a picture on Instagram of ours. Many reassured me it would be fine. We would adjust and we did … but not before I fell down them twice. Our kid, three times. Dave is is lucky at zero times … so far. Btw, Dutch people who come to our house agree that our stairs are particularly steep and narrow so … all of the falls have mostly just been humiliating. You don’t fall down horribly, you just sort of bump down on your a** loudly ending with a loud thud at the bottom with a confident yell “I’m okay!” And generally, we have been, or so I thought.

These stairs. I now know from experience that socks actually prevent you from slipping down these stairs. I fell going down them barefoot. And if you try to wear shoes on these … you will trip over the soles.

The last time I bumped down them in August resulted in a sore shoulder from having my left elbow hit all nine steps going down. My dominant arm is my left. The one I use ALL the time to sew. It hurt for a few days, then it felt better but then it started to hurt again. All of you older ladies who have been through what I’m about to mention will nod in acknowledgment. I luckily found a doctor six minutes away by bike. He suspected I was developing frozen shoulder. So after an ultrasound found nothing, he referred me to a physical therapist to at least try to prevent it from happening. They tried but once it’s underway, there’s not much you can do. The PT determined that I likely partially dislocated my shoulder along with rupturing a Triceps and a Lat tendon. So now I have frozen shoulder for the next year, yay.

I walk this beautiful Haarlem street now instead of biking it!

I thought I was all done with the doctor for awhile but then I did a stupid move on my bike at the end of December and faceplanted on that beautiful brick I’ve been admiring. I should not have been biking with a frozen shoulder! I dislocated one tooth and broke the other but was otherwise fine. That fall involved a trip to the ER (I was fine), an emergency dentist on a Friday night located in the middle of an apartment complex, and another dentist a few days later to finish some more temporary work while my teeth heal with a brace for the next 12 weeks. The last dentist, who is amazing, did two root canals in 20 minutes! On the second visit to finish the root canals, there was no Novocain offered (the Dutch aren’t made of … you know). Having a piping hot rod stuck into your gum doesn’t feel that great … but it only lasts a few seconds (twice) so .. buck up!

See! I’m not the only person who walks here though sometimes it feels like it.

But the point of this story is to tell you that healthcare works really well here in the Netherlands. We pay 225 euros a month per person including supplemental coverage. We also bought accident insurance because that’s what you do here and in Germany. If you’ve been in an accident, even if it was stupidly self-inflicted like mine was, everything is covered up to 10,000 euros (which we are nowhere near close to). We had heard there is a shortage of doctors here but we had no trouble in Haarlem. And if you really have an issue, you can see them right away. Thanks to me, we now have a doctor (huisarts), a dentist (tandarts) AND a physiotherapist (fysiotherapie) within walking distance. Once my shoulder becomes unstuck, my insurance will provide one year of PT which I now know I will really, really need. I have about four more weeks before we see how my teeth are. I’m hoping all is okay by then and I can go back to eating normally and have the lovely front brace removed. Until then, I’m giving my bike a rest. But I will get back on it again. I’m more than ready now but since I can’t put my arm out to signal left, it isn’t the wisest thing to do. So, until my shoulder heals, whenever that will be, I walk everywhere and avoid the doctor as much as possible. I will add that the dentist smirked at me and shook his head when I came in with my injury. This usually only happens to kids … and inexperienced expats ;-).