Calling
Some time ago I fell sick. I woke up in the middle of the night with strong pain, and it wouldn’t go away, so we called emergency. Emergency asked me some questions about the pain, and told me to wait until the morning to go to a regular doctor (GP). So I waited, and it was hurting, and by 7.55 am I was already in front of the nearest doctor’s office - it was 10 minutes walking from my home, but I was in so much pain, I could barely walk, so we took a cab. The doctor’s office opened at 8, only to tell me that the doctor was on holidays, so they would do administrative tasks, but they can’t help someone who’s in pain. They advised me to go to another GP - luckily, this other one turned out to be close by, so I dragged myself there… This other office had several doctors in there, which gave me hope that at least one of them wouldn’t be on holidays. I walked to the receptionist - and everyone was staring at me as I walked, that’s how bad I looked - and asked her if I could see a doctor. She looked up and asked me if I had made an appointment. I told her I hadn’t, because the pain had come suddenly, and that this was an emergency. (“I don’t think I needed to tell her that - looking at me at that point should have made it clear enough that it was indeed an emergency). She said, “Sorry, then I’m afraid I can only make an appointment for you around 4 pm today”. 4 pm, - I thought! - I’m not sure I can survive until that time!..” But if you had ever met a Dutch bureaucrat, you probably know how firm they can be in their polite “impossible”. They throw this “impossible” at you, like you calm a misbehaving child - you stay cool, and you’re definitely not giving in to her squeaking and screaming… So anyway, seeing a doctor before 4 pm seemed impossible, and I sat down in the reception area to try and think clearly about what I could do next. As I sat there, doctors and patients were passing by, going in and out. One of the doctors noticed me, asked something to the receptionist, and after a short conversation she came out to tell me: “Ok, hurry up, one of our doctors will see you now in-between his scheduled appointments”. And I immediately felt better :)