We missed you at all times except for five minutes !

Going for antenatal hospital checks taught me a great deal, not,only about our lovely twins, but also about the health services.  

Great feeling to meet both expectant mothers and sometimes fathers to be.  I say some times because  we as men are praised when we show up.  That should not be the case.  

I just felt it was both of us, wife and I, and the twins, who had to go every time.  Could not conceive of another way,

As previously mentioned we chose the hospital because there was an expert doctor in twins delivery.  We had met him briefly at the beginning, so we knew his/her face.

And in all the appointments, we seem to have missed him.  It was always someone else, one of his/her apprentices, who we saw.  Let me just describe some of them.  There were great personalities, some of them assuring, some of them more interested than others.  I cannot fault them with the possible exception of one.  

"Fingers crossed" s/he kept saying, in order to give us hope that things were going to be ok.  I can't still understand if this is reassuring, worrying or what.  

Scans showed normality, urine samples too.  In some cased apprentices would suggest extra tests to be sure.  We would take the tests and often would forget to phone to find out the result.  It was all in the yellow folder, we thought, as apprentices would read what the others had written, ask similar questions, write down other things, including prescriptions for tests.  Normal tests results would be attached to pages in the yellow folder.  

And our famous doctor would be busier with another couple.  

So we were subjects of study of this medical team.  Wife, me and the twins.  We would come to the appointment, be asked questions, we were told things would be normal.  For each appointment wife would have an ultrasound scan where we would see the twins, sometimes moving around, other times sleeping.   Thank God they would be fine most of the time.  We would go home thinking, we are all ok.  

I wonder what the apprentices would be thinking when going home. "Did I fill in the yellow folder pages?" "Have I ordered more tests?" "Would I see this couple again, and if so would I remember them? " I just have to say, poor souls.  The health system is about seeing patients, not knowing them. Maybe the only question apprentices will ask themselves is "how many patients did I see today?"

We finally met the doctor we were supposed to meet.  But this is a matter for another post.  All I can say for now is that we met him for five minutes, in all 37 or so weeks of pregnancy.  Ok, if weassume that   the fist twelve weeks do not count (remember the magic number?), that leaves us with 25 weeks.

My only advice for now, that could be crudely useful, is that you are just one of many.  Accept that.