Thursday 10 March 2011

The View From My Couch: Healing Places

It's not often I can say this, but I love my GP (General Practitioner) and her medical centre. I know, me giving a doctor a shout out, weird hey? But I do. When I see her it's never a stress. She goes with flow. She listens. She's helpful. And, perhaps most importantly she has a sense of humour.

 (If you have to be sick at least be sick in  a picturesque place. 
It's quiet except for local wildlife, and filled with every hue of green imaginable.  
There are even fish ponds and seats outside.)

Case in point. I rock up on Tuesday for my appointment, green, shaking, just a little wobbly. The counter staff don't bat an eyelid. They just take me out back. Hand me a puke bag and let me lie down in the quiet treatment room. No hassle. No stupid questions. No, how's your mother? My GP walks in laughs and says well "that's not how my patients usually great me" as she spies my legs elegantly shoved up against the window frame. She didn't make a big deal about my shaking as I stood up. She didn't make a big deal when I took an hour and a half to put on my thongs (shoes not butt floss underwear), thanks to uncooperative shaky feet. She gives me the option for lying down in her room but doesn't push the point.

 (It just doesn't feel like the road to a doctor's office)

She's helpful. She knows my case and also asks about my son's current issues. When she orders more tests and scans she gives me a heads up about a possible internal ultrasound because "you want to be mentally prepared when they start waving that thing around down there" (please, please, please let them get what they need from the outside sweep). As she hands me my new set of referrals she says "here's hoping for nothing new to be broken".

To top it all off her name is Cicily, which always makes me think of Northern Exposure.

The centre is in a gorgeous natural setting, and I love the decor.  It's clearly a medical centre but minus the cold clinical feel of 98% of the doctors offices I visit.  If you have to get felt up by strangers, this is my choice of location.
(It's red and Asian inspired, as soon as I walked in I knew it was the right fit)

Now I'm off to the old dark and dingy local hospital to be felt up by yet another stranger.  Fun times.

Cheers
Michelle :)

7 comments:

  1. Sounds like another reason to move to the land down under. I second the thought "Here's hoping for nothing new to be broken!"

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  2. If Cicily and Aloysius hooked up, they would have the sweetest, kindest, most sensitive baby doctors in the whole wild world.

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  3. Yes! Anything Sicily/Cicily/Cicely etc. reminds me of "Northern Exposure" too! :)

    The centre sounds lovely! It makes a real difference to a state of mind where someone's already feeling vulnerable, just to inject some colour or decor to help relax them. I had surgery a few years ago and the wing of the hospital I was having it was right next to the children's wing and you had to walk through it to get there and it was magnificent. Full wall murals of Where The Wild Things Are and lots of colour everywhere. So much more pleasant than stark white scariness! :)

    Good luck with the appointments and may you have a better time soon!

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  4. wow what a place to go when your ill. you really,really wouldnt want to see my grim london practise that i attend, oh no. xxx

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  5. OMG I did NOT get prepared about the internal one until the lady doing the ultrasound said, "I can't see your one ovary, but that's okay we'll use this!" and omg... that was NOT shaped to go in there!!! I love the pictures, and the plant inside the office is wikid! I feel the same way about my GP, and even though they may not be our specialists for other things, she's so relaxed about it all and willing to help!

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  6. Hey that light fitting looks like Jeff :)

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  7. It's very zen. If all doctor's offices looked like that, I'd probably stop putting off making my appointments. :)

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