Doctors, Hospitals, Insurance???

So today I think will be like any other doctor apt. Most of you know that I have MS, and I have had it for 16 years, and doing good with it. A little limp in the right leg, but other than that, OK. For the past ..almost 3 years I have been on a drug known as Tysabri. I go every 4 weeks, never a day sooner. Now I do not know if the 28 days is a safety issue or an insurance issue, but I do not want to take a chance.
In the states if you are on this drug, you have your blood pressure checked, temperature checked, and then they ask you questions making sure you are in good health before they let you start the medicine. Once you have cleared all the red tape, you have the IV for one hour and then observation for an hour.
My first apt here they put the needle in my arm, put up the IV and in 10 min I was done. I freaked out. "What, I am done? Why so fast? What is going on"? The doctor comes in and says I am sure the states has you there for 2 hours so that they can bill you. hmmm
So today I come in for my 4 week apt and the office says, "no you missed your apt yesterday" I told them for 3 years my apt has always been on a Wed, not a Tues. So obviously lost in translation, the nurse 4 weeks ago made my apt for 27 days since the doctor was not going to be in the office for a week, starting today. I revolve all my vacations around this medicine. It has to be TODAY!! So I ask them to find me a hospital to go to since I have already paid for the drug, 2600 euro of it! Yes convert that! (and yes we are reimbursed for most of it, no worries) So as she is calling I ask her "is there a nurse here that can do the IV"? and she tells me that she is a nurse but there is no doctor here.
That being said she gives me an apt for the emergency room at 14:00 (they use military time here) and gives me the iv, the needle, the saline solution...I can now do the whole thing myself at home...but she cannot do it. WHAT??
So now I am nervous about going to a hospital and what happens there. So 2:00 I show up and they tell me no, its 4:00. I do the math in my head while showing my apt card. 12 + 2 = 14..2:00! But they tell me, no doctor until 4. So I call my friend Jenn to see if she can look after my kids since I have to come back in 2 hours and cannot pick up my kids from school!
She could look after them, bless her heart!
So now I am back at the hospital and in with the doctor. The doctor is unsure of what to do and reads the instructions, consults his blackberry of medicine and starts to open containers. I have not seen him wash his hands, nor put on gloves to do any of the mixing. He then comes to the table puts up the IV, sprays my arm with something and puts the metal needle in (no they do not thread the plastic flexible, walk around if you need to needle here, no moving around with metal, stay still!).
So 10 min goes by and I am done.
Now since I have a cold I ask him about my ear, since I am sure it is infected. Is this too much information? He asks me if I have a temp. I don't know! So he takes my temp, then looks at my ear and low and behold, infected! So he writes me a prescription for ear drops and ibuprofen. (yes you cannot get that over the counter here).
He then tells me that he is not going to bill me for the visit (never hear that in America), but suggests to me that I tip the coffee lady on the way out.
I think he is joking until I pass a little coffee place..does his wife work there? Sorry I do not drink coffee and I am late for my kids, next time.
I tell Ben all my drama for the day and he says "you can't make this stuff up! My clothes, flat tire, speeding ticket, getting sick, now this. You just do this so you have something to write on my blog". Yea I wish that was the case!
Well its been over 5 weeks and I am still alive in Germany! Maybe not my dog for long if she does not learn how to go to the bathroom in the right spot! But that is another blog!