As of yesterday, my family and I are back in the US of A — and in the process of moving into a local Best Western Hotel, which will be our home for the next four months or so while our regular home undergoes surgery. I feel very fortunate that we’re able to make the upgrades, but it’s still going to be a “bumpy” four months here, with the five of us plus our calico cat in a space about the size of two-and-a-half regular hotel rooms.
Europe was, in a word, fantastic. We spent a ton of time just mulling around the little German village that my husband is from, the kids playing with their cousins and indulging in gelato, and us enjoying real cappuccinos at the local Italian Eiscafé. We also took side trips to Breda, Holland; Lyon, France; and Germany’s Mosel River that were fun and inspiring, but also slow enough to constitute perfect “down time.”
For the first time ever, I’m almost disappointed to be back home. But then you do realize that it’s the little things you missed…
For example, here’s something we encounter every year that used to bother me even before I had the ‘Betes, but now I find it maddening: German and Dutch bathrooms generally do not have countertops. Instead, they have these stand-alone sinks with nothing but plumbing underneath them. Above the sink, many have these narrow little wall-mounted shelves right in front of the mirror. I do not understand this.
You cannot possibly put anything down next to the sink, except a pump-bottle of hand soap that’s not too wide or too slippery. Up above, the shelves are too narrow to really hold anything but a few decorative bottles, and too high to be of any use when you’re doing something bathroom-ish like say, brushing your teeth, or blow-drying your hair (dumb shelf’s just in the way then), or attempting to check your blood sugar (!)
Where oh where can you set your meter down for a moment while you plug in the test strip? Nowhere, that’s where. My meter and whole case kept slipping right into the sink, getting wet and soapy and frustrating the heck out of me. Not that I had to test in the bathroom, mind you. But I often did, because: 1) that’s where I am first thing in the morning and right before bed, 2) when we were out and about, that’s the time my hands were cleanest and ready for testing, and 3) because yes, you know the drill, I didn’t always want to explain to everyone around me (in German, no less) what I was doing and what the numbers mean.
And do not get me started on the process of changing out my insulin pump. Insulin vials fall easily into the sink anyway, do they not?
How poetically trivial that one of the things I missed most about America is bathroom countertops. Hah!
btw, if you had any inkling what the title of this post might mean before reading it: I <3 You, PWD Blood Brothers & Sisters.
It’s funny how little things mean a lot to us that others would never think twice about.
I am glad you had a great trip and sorry it’s couldn’t last longer. I would love to hear you explain testing your blood in German, I have trouble in English and it’s the only language I know! LOL
Remind me to brush up on my German for diabetes the next time we head that way… Oh how I want to go back.
Welcome home Amy!
I’m glad it was a great trip. We’ve missed you, but have enjoyed all of the guest posts.
We have a teeny-tiny bathroom with more space around the sink than the sinks in your photos, but only marginally more. I don’t really check my BG in the bathroom though, The coffee table is my go-to BG check spot.
I’m not envious of you for having to live in a temp space during your renovations, but I am envious of the remodeling! I could deal with living in a hotel if I got to come home to major improvements in my house at the end, so try and keep your eye on the prize as you make do in your hotel for the next few months. I bet it will be worth the inconvenience when it’s all said and done
I take a group of students every year to various places in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. We rent apartments, so each year, we encounnter something like what you encounter, I have had a couple of experiences related to diabetes (I am Type 1, have been since 1959).
1. Leaving my meter (and backup meter) in a taxi, and having to buy a new meter in a pharmacy. It is intriguing to me that medical professionals (like pharmacisits and doctors) have a weaker command of English than waitresses and shop keepers, presumably because they have less need for it. I replaced my meter with an Accu-Chek device (Freestyle meters were unavailable). The pharmacist apologized for the cost of the proprietary lancet device that Accu-Chek supplies. Lesson learned: I now carry my backup meter/lancing device separately from my primary device. (Now that I am using the Omnipod and Navigator, this has become less of an issue, though).
2. I spent some time in Suttgart and then travelled to Munich. After spending a day or so in Munich, it was time to change my insulin pump infusion set (I was using MiniMed at the time). I couldn’t find my inuslin bottles!!! I assumed I had left them in Stuttgart.
I talked to the owner of the apartment I was renting, who helped me through the process:
All three doctors in the village that we were in were on vacation (inusulin requires a prescription, and cannot be purchased without one in Germany). My host found a doctor in the town 2 miles down the road, and drove me there.
I talked to the doctor, who contacted the pharmacy accross the street from his office. Without insurance, I had no idea what to expect: the cost of seeing the doctor was about %12.00, about half of what my copayment was here.
The pharmacist said she could sell me the bottles of Humalog for $60, but if I could let her export the insulin to Austria, then reimport it, she could sell it to me for half of that amount. Some strange legal issues involved here, but it meant coming back that afternoon. I did so.
Later in the day, about two hours after changing the infusion set, I found my original bottles of insulin. I had put them in the refrigerator for safe keeping, and forgot that I had done so.
My experience pointed out a couple of things:
Health care is wacky everywhere.
The Germans go out of their way to help–the pharmacist offering a way to cut the cost of the insulin in half, the apartment owner calling and driving me to get the insulin (twice in one day), the doctor opening up a slot in his schedule on a moment’s notice, etc.
There are real issues dealing with the cost of health care in this country.
Welcome back guys!!!
My grandmother is diabetic and I have this strong feeling that some day so will I. This kind of blog post helps me know what things I might encounter – thanks!
Oops – if you ever visit me in Montreal (mini me Europe) I hope you can deal with testing your BG’s / cartridge change on my granite marble counter tops in my kitchen. That’s where I do all my “stuff”. I used to do the same as you – in the bathroom but like you found in Europe – we don’t go for the same kind of bathrooms as North Americans. My kitchen counter tops though are uber clean. Seriously thought, when I’m on holidays tho’ I usually use the desk in the room for keeping all my “stuff”!
Welcome back home!
@John – I understand Bavarians are especially friendly. Sounds like it’s true.
@LeeAnn – right you are. I need to keep that in mind when I’m moaning about the crapola shower in the hotel.
@FatCatAnna – Soon I will have granite marble counter tops in my kitchen, too! Yay!!
actually not just Bavaria. I spent a couple of weeks in Hamburg once in Northern Germany. I rented an apartment from a retired school teacher and his wife, both of whom were extremely friendly.