Thursday, September 26, 2013

More than

A Doctor:

"Aaah Good Morning Mrs Pitschlitz, How are you today?"

I never correct him I am not Mrs Pitschlitz I am Ms Pitschlitz.  I was not married to my Dad and I don't use my married surname.  I usually correct people but not Dr Kaka he is such a sweetie pie I leave the "Mrs" be.

When Jessica is with me he has a barrage of questions for her: "Aah Jessica how is the boyfriend? What no boyfriend?  What is wrong with the boys at your school?  How is Granny, how are your sisters?  Do you miss them?"

This man sees about 30 patients a day but he knows every member of my family and he never forgets a detail. When my Mom or elder daughters visit me in Johannesburg, they go to see him because he is more than simply a doctor.  

We have been going to him since Jessica was 5, she is turning 17 in two months time.  We used to live near to his doctors rooms, now it is an hours drive, but we still prefer to go to him.

At times when one family member is sick, the entire family comes along to say hi.  We all bundle into his little office and he greets us like old friends.  There is always gossip about our old neighbours and then down to business.

There are two things that single out our Dr Kaka, the first is he is a brilliant at diagnosis and secondly he is a compassionate human being.

While waiting for him today, I overheard him on his cell phone:

"Your medication has arrived, don't worry you don't have to pay anything just come get the medicine."


A Dentist:

In 1999 my sister brought me to Dr Peer for the first time.  Due to tooth decay, I did not have either of my top front teeth.  I was a single Mom and had to find work quickly.  My sister and I both knew that this was not going to happen without teeth.  Dr Peer gave me two beautiful front teeth at a ridiculously cheap price.  They were not crowns and she said they would last for about 3 years.  Her work is so good that they lasted for 8 years before I went to her for replacements.

She is not so cheap anymore although she does give me great discounts but we can go to any dentist for cleaning or filling but if it is cosmetic she is a must.  Nobody crafts a tooth more perfectly.  She is also not just my dentist she has become my friend.


The family GP and dentist is a thing of the past.  People go to medical centers and see which ever doctor or dentist is available.  Do you still have a family doctor?  Are doctors able to diagnose as well without knowing your history?






4 comments:

  1. Wow, Vivian that his health care to 'die for.' Ha! I'm hilarious, I know. Seriously, I wish it was something close to that here, but alas, we're lucky if we get 10 minutes. The primary care docs see upwards of 50 patients a day. They have no memory of who you are. They have a constant need to refer to your chart when you go in for check ups or for a specific illness. And we're only in the beginning stages of having specialists and primary docs networked via computers. Amazing. Not to mention so many people can't afford to see a doctor. I could rant more about it, but will stop. I love the fact that you have this relationship with your physician and your dentist. That is more than wonderful.

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  2. Health Care seems to be a shambles world wide Steph my friend in the UK has many terrible tales about what happens there as well. Our medical schemes in South Africa are extremely expensive. Free health care is dreadful, we at this stage have no medical scheme and have to hope for the best.

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  3. Darcy Perdu -So Then StoriesOctober 2, 2013 at 7:48 AM

    Omigosh, I want a Dr. Peer and a Dr. Kaka! They sound marvelous! Our pediatrician is great but for all the other medical things, we just get whatever doctor is on duty. No personal connection. You're so fortunate to have those relationships!

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  4. I didn't realize. I'm glad at least you have Dr. Kaka. It never ceases to amaze me that governments across the world think it's ok to limit health care to the wealthy. The assholes in the US Congress have seen fit to shut down the government as opposed to allowing everyone access to health care. Incredible.

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