At the doctor

Yesterday we suffered our first casualty of sports. Kai was playing soccer at school when he fell and one of his friends stepped on his hand. He was sent to the school nurse (they are called “health centre” here) for a quick check. Nothing seemed broken, so he was sent home. But since he was still in pain this morning, we figured it would be a good idea to see a doctor.

So after making an appointment online via the website, we went to the Mount Waverly Clinic to have the doctor look at his hand.

The staff there were very helpful and after a short wait (and filling in the usual paperwork associated with visiting a doctor for the first time) we were called in to see to doctor.

After a bit of probing it turns out that probably nothing is broken. There is some brusing on the lower part of the hand “as if someone had stepped on it”. Which is exactly what happened.

So, bottom line, while this is certainly uncomfortable and slightly painful, it is nothing serious. We’ll keep the bandages on throughout the weekend and should see improvement by Monday. Worst comes to worst, we can always get some x-rays done then.

One interesting fact about the visit: afterwards we immediately had to pay AU$ 63,- for the visit. In cash. Yes, we can claim that back from Medicare (by actually going to one of the many Medicare centers around the city), but still. Another one of these things that work just slightly different from the Netherlands.