Let me preface this blog post by saying this is not meant to be a political post, however this is just an account of what I experienced and feel that I should share my experience. I have stated that I would fill everyone in on why we left Toronto to move to Michigan well my post today will shed some light on one of the reasons that played into us deciding to leave Canada.
The whole healthcare debate was a huge issue in the election, and let me say that I am all for everyone having healthcare, I just feel it doesn't need to be funded by the government. After experiencing government run healthcare in Canada, I think most Americans would not like the government run healthcare.
When we arrived in Toronto I was only 4.5 weeks pregnant and had the blood work from my Dallas office confirming the pregnancy. As soon as we got up there my first mission was to find a doctor. And let me say finding a doctor was near impossible! Since it is government run a lot of doctors don't accept new patients and hardly any of them actually answer the phone when you call, it's all on voicemail with a message that they will call you back within 48 hours. I spent two days trying to find an OB only to finally talk to one office who told me that before I can see an OB I have to go see a family physician for a referral. SHEESH! So, then I spent another 2 days trying to find a family physician, majority were also not accepting patients. Or I encountered that they would only accept patients if you lived in a certain proximity to their office. Can you imagine? So I spent a good week just trying to find a family physician only to breakdown crying to one lady on the phone who told me to just go to a local walk in clinic. We had a walk in clinic located near our apartment so I was able to make an appointment for a Saturday and Greg was able to accompany me. It was a nightmare. I had to have 13 vials of blood drawn from me, which led me to almost passing out. They had to call Greg in, it was horrific.
After the appointment they sent me to have a 7 week sonogram because that was apparently mandatory before an OB would accept you. So we went to what was basically a basement in an office building for our first sonogram. The place was disgusting, and the woman who gave our sonogram barely spoke English. During the sonogram she asked me if I was having cramping, in which I replied, "No, what's wrong?". She then just pointed to a sign that said,"I can't disclose anything please consult doctor." Seriously, WTF, I was soo annoyed and crying at that point. She said you have a little blood but ask your doctor. I had found out the prior week that I had been accepted by an OB and get this I was the last March baby that she was accepting. Can you believe that? Most women don't even find out they are pregnant till 7-10 weeks. She basically "let" me in because she asked if I was Armenian since we had an ian ending to our last name :).
So our next encounter with this healthcare system was horrific as well, which keep in mind is suppose to be one of the best healthcare systems in the world. UGH! So we went in for our 12 week sonogram at the hospital (thank God, that it wasn't in a basement) and once we arrived we had to get a number. Yes, you read that correctly, a number. There wasn't a, "Mrs. Kirian" called, it was number 16. So frustrating! As we were waiting we witnessed a couple going up the counter to ask what the sex of their baby was because the attendant didn't tell them. The lady responded with,"We couldn't tell baby was in a bad spot, just call your doctor." I felt so bad for this couple, as they had probably been anxiously awaiting to find out the sex and had their family and friends on call so they could share their news. We went in for our sonogram and the tech said everything looked good, but it would be about 10-15 minutes as they would have an OB just look over the sonogram. After this appointment I told Greg, I really did not want to have this baby in Canada. Anytime I had a question for my OB, I basically called an answering service in which they told you they would get back to you within 48 hours, it was a nightmare. The blood that the first tech saw ended up being nothing,and the Canadian OB said that it was such an early sonogram that if we would have had our first one at 10 weeks it wouldn't have even been there. But, this is the real kicker, you don't see an OB until 20 weeks, if you aren't high risk. That's right, 20 weeks. I can't even imagine, I had so many questions in between 12-20 weeks.
So, we decided to move to Michigan where Greg had another offer. The baby was a big reason in moving, but Greg was also ready for a change in work. I will never forget our first sonogram in Michigan, it was in a hospital where we could watch the sonogram on a flat screen with a lady who spoke English. As soon as we left the hospital, Greg and I both felt relieved that we were in the US.
I wanted to write this post today so I could shed some light into what government run healthcare may be like. Doctors may no longer accept patients, and your level of service that you are used to will definitely diminish. Living in Michigan and so close to the border, we hear that lots of Canadian residents come to the US for doctor visits, because they can't get in to see a doctor in Canada. As I said before, I think everyone should have healthcare but not government run. We all deserve the right to have the best care, and I fear that we lose a lot of the level of service we are used to as well as the right to pick and choose doctors should the Government interfere with the Healthcare system.
JNK
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