Finally, a doctor

There have been a number of speed bumps associated with moving to a new country. I've never lived outside of Michigan so it is a huge change for me. My family also knows that I have a picky stomach and don't usually like "foreign" food, even if it is not as exotic as moving to Mexico. I've learned to adapt and the glorious living arrangements have made it a bit easier. I'm so thankful for the Chambers and its staff that has given us an extremely warm welcome.

One of the biggest speed bumps, however, was actually finding a doctor. Shortly after interviewing for the job, and before an offer was given, we found out that we are expecting. Prayer and careful consideration led us to accept the offer once it was given which I found exciting. God will provide for us right? I am 15 weeks today and doing well even if I have had to suffer through some morning sickness. It wasn't until arriving that I realized how different national health care really is. You get assigned a doctor based on your postcode (like our zipcode). If you call an office outside of that area, they just say it's not our area and hang up. I know which one is in my area so that is where I am supposed to go right?

Wrong, because my husband is only working here for 6 months, they did not give me a visa. You are allowed to "visit" a country for up to 6 months but you can't "reside" there. What does this mean? I am not actually a resident at LS12SP - our postcode - and cannot take national health care. So go private right? That is very hard to find - there is one option. One practice is fully private and I finally got word that they'll take me! I have a doctor. This comes after calling doctors that take private insurance and NHS. Because they are part of the national plan they again asked my postcode and hung up.

This experience has made me even more thankful for Dr. Greene and the fact that I can easily choose to go to a doctor more than 1 mile away who holds the same beliefs I do. And if everything goes according to plan, I will be back in the states about 6 weeks before my due date so that he, or someone from his practice, can be the one to deliver the baby. Before everyone gets disappointed, my baby would not have dual citizenship if born in the UK. They don't have that policy and it would be past my allowed time to stay here if I did have the baby abroad.

Again, hopefully I will have pictures up soon. Beautiful shots of London and maybe one showing my slight baby bump.