Germany
From: Kathy (kathgill@gte.net)
Fri Jun 27 22:42:13 2003
I think EVERYONE is happy for anyone who has a victory over this
disease. I hope it is still okay to post our own experiences on this
Board....no matter how subjective they might be. I am not a surgeon so
I won't be addressing those issues. I am only posting my experience
which carries the weight of what I have personally lived through. It
would be wonderful if there were 1000 doctors who could help us....one
in every town....but there isn't. We must make the best choice we can
with all the information we can gather. Here are some of things I would
like others to consider:
1. It was a non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt.
2. A person from Dr. Kruschinski's staff picked me up at the airport
and took me to my apartment and his office. For the return flight,
which was very early, I was taken back to the airport by a member of Dr.
Kruschinski's staff. I did not need to worry whether the Taxi driver
spoke English or knew where I wanted to go.
3. A person from his staff took me to all my pre-surgery
appointments...blood, EKG, anesthesiology etc.
4. He contacted me in person or by phone everyday that I was in Germany.
5. He personally removed my drain tube and changed my bandages.
6. Emma Klinik is a small, private (with all that that entails),
state-of-the-art hospital. The rooms were immaculate. The nurses and
staff all spoke some English and were very accomodating and helpful.
7. The food at the Klinik was very good. I requested mostly chicken
soup and white toast. I am never very hungry after surgery.
8. There is a great supermarket directly across the street from the
apartment. So we could visit it at any time. It had everything from
soup to nuts. There is also a drug store, shoe shop and a DVD video
rental shop. This was wonderful since the only TV programs in English
were CNN(Europe) and the BBC. Dr. Kruschinski kindly let us use his
video card to rent movies.
9. The apartment had a lovely view of the Main River and was equipped
with a regular size refrigerator, private kitchen with oven and
microwave, shower and bath tub.
I am sure there are other things that I will think of as soon as I hit
the send button but maybe next time.
I want to acknowledge how thankful I am for all the posts that Karen
made regarding Melissa. I already had my reservations for Germany when
she first posted about Melissa's recovery. It was so comforting to read
about Melissa's positive results as only a mother could post! ...Kathy