After Catalina fell running up the three stairs to her room she squealed in that higher register signifying true pain that every parent learns to distinguish from the more typical cries and complaints that emerge daily from their children.
We iced her arm where she said it hurt and watched for swelling. When almost none appeared we decided to wait snd watch for swelling or discoloration. Over the next 24 hours she chose to use the arm less and less. By day's end she was holding the arm across her abdomen as if it were in a sling and her left wrist was noticeably larger than her right. We decided, of course, to take her to the Lennox Head Medical Centre the next morning.
We arrived at 9 am and we're told that the first appointment wasn't until 11:45 am. At this point I should have asked the obvious question, "Do you have an x-ray machine?" Instead we waited for her appointment in the public library a few blocks away, returning to be seen by a nice Scottish doctor who told us what we already knew: the arm is probably broken and needs to be x-rayed and probably "put in a plaster for some number of weeks." The best place for this to be done all at once is the public Ballina Hospital emergency room. The Lennox medical centre, it seems, is a private medical facility The cost for our "consultation" was $62.
Thankfully (and coincidentally) I had arranged a rental car for the following morning and when I called I found it was en route to Lennox Head. So I added a day to the rental, hiked over to get the car, grabbed the family back at the house, and we headed off in search of Ballina Hospital, about 15 minutes south.
We were seen at the emergency room within 15 minutes and were done and out the door with x-rays, diagnosis, and a tenporary cast within two hours. Meanwhile a surfer with a badly dislocated shoulder came, was treated, and departed as well.
There was some serious confusion as staff tried to figure out how and how much to charge us. They virtually never see anyone who does not have Medicare, the national basic insurance that covers every citizen here. We also had no phone and no permanent address, leaving their intake staff a bit perplexed. Anyway, after much discussion and a phone call or two they decided to charge us $90 for the emergency room visit and $90 for the x-ray and diagnosis (including off-site Internet review of the film by an orthopedist).
The Physiotherapy department put on a more permanent waterproof cast three
days later. After more discussion on that first day, 'physio' (Dean and Chris) decided that their charge was also $90 plus $10, "let's say," for materials. Since we'll be in another town, Yamba, in three weeks when the cast needs to come off, they agreed to remove it a half week earlier. "Let's just say that's included in the $100," said Dean. Of course they're not in the habit of billing anyone so they forgot to charge us at all on our first visit to physio.
Suffice it to say they think Americans are a bit 'off their nut' to defend our current 'system.' Doctor Lynn Davies, originally of Wales, proudly made clear that what various treatments cost is not part of her treatment decisions. She does what each patient needs and let's Medicare sort out the costs.
Most middle class and wealthy people also buy private insurance (which is constantly being hawked on the telly) so that they can choose surgeons or cancer treatments if it ever comes to that.
Anyway, Catalina's cast is bright purple and will only be on until June 7 at 11 am.
"Ta"
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