Anyways, I had offered my chauffeur services to my friend in order to get these girls up to Winterberg for this event. It didn't seem like a bad deal at all. I got to drive, something I really miss, and I was able to get to Winterberg and go skiing and got transportation there for free!
Unfortunately, while skiing I snowplowed (not literally) and I ended up braking my collarbone. Although I didn't realize it immediately, (I thought I had torn a muscle) I knew I couldn't continue skiing and had to call it a day.
By the time I got back to the car and had taken off my skis and ski gear, I was in a lot of pain. I had to sit and take rests. The movement in my right arm was limited and things weren't looking good. It just so happened that when I got back to the car, there was an ambulance in the parking lot attending to someone else. I approached the paramedics asking them if they could take a look at me once they were finished attending to this other person. After about 1 minute, a guy came up to me to check on me. I told him what had happened, and he suggested that they order a 2nd ambulance. I declined (good thing too, since the costs would have been too prohibitive without my insurance documents) but he did give me some icepacks for free.
About 10 minutes later, as we were packing our stuff and I was resting in the car, another skier came up to me, and told me that he had seen me fall, and that the pain I was probably experiencing was because I broke my collarbone. He said that he was an orthopedic doctor, and asked if he could look at my collarbone. After checking it out, he told me that it was definitely broken, and that I would have to go to the hospital. Well at least things were clear. At this point, Romain, my friend who had joined us from Köln, drove me to the hospital while the snowboarders stopped for lunch.
Every bump in the road hurt my body, and it was hard since all cars in Europe are manuals, and every change in momentum causes pain. Anyways, we got to the hospital, about 10 minutes away, and tried to find the emergency entrance.
To my surprise, it was closed!!! CLOSED, did you read that? How can an emergency room be closed? There was a sign on the window which had the hours of the doctor, and that not during these times, you had to call an ambulance to be admitted. Luckily, the phone number on the window didn't direct you to 911 (or 112 as in Germany), but to the doctor on duty. After about 2 minutes he came down and opened the door to us, and told us to sit. The phone call was billed for 12€ by the way.
This same man (the doctor presumably) then told another patient to come into his office/medical room. We waited probably another 8 minutes and then I was told to come in. The doctor asked me to take off my shirt so that he could look at my collarbone (which I quickly learned is called a schlüsselbein [keyleg - directly translated]). The doctor first asked about my insurance. At this point, things got a little messy because I had no ID (only MI driver's license) and no Insurance Card other than my American Insurance HMO (I left my German insurance documents back in Frankfurt). Ultimately, I was seen, but I had to pay out of pocket 36€ for about a 3 minute check (including the 12€ phone charge). Luckily, that's pretty affordable and I could easily pay it. The only problem that sometimes results, is that everything in Germany is cash-only.
After being checked, I was then sent down the hallway to radiology. When I got into this department, everything looked a lot more like an emergency room. There were secretaries working at a main desk, and lots of seats with about 20 people sitting in a room waiting to be seen. I checked in, again had the insurance hassle again, but was told to be seated. After about 20 minutes, I was admitted into the x-ray room and two digital x-rays were taken of my collarbone. They were immediately viewable, and I was then sent to another medical examination room where the doctor uploaded my pics on the computer and showed me the break. He told me that I was luckily since my collarbone didn't move out of place and that I would just have to wear this "rucksackverband" (backpack-bandage) around my chest for 4 weeks. The nurse then put the bandage on, making me lift my shoulders and then pushing them back as far as possible. While remaining in this position, she fitted the bandage, which holds my shoulders back so the collarbone can heal properly.
Then I was sent back to the desk to check out. In all, I have to say it didn't take all that long. We probably spent an hour at most at the hospital. While checking out, the secretary asked me for the payment. Clearly I had misunderstood because I believed that she was just going to write a bill which I could just forward to the my German insurance provider. However, she insisted I pay, and that I could collect the money back from insurance not them. So I paid another 164€ out of pocket, luckily my debit card worked despite them saying they didn't accept credit cards, only EC Cards (the equivalent Germany debit card).
In the end, I have to say:
- German medical care is definitely not as urgent orientated as in the US, unless you arrive on a stretcher.
- Always carry your insurance information on your person.
- German medical service is quite sophisticated and professional. Equipment is modern and functional.
- German health services are provided in a sterile environment.
- German hospitals are extremely quiet.
- German health services aren't exorbitantly expensive.
I'm still wearing the bandage, and I take it off only to shower or when I have a lot of shoulder pain. I have to sleep, walk, work in the bandage.
After visiting a second doctor this last week here in Oberursel, it was almost expected that I take sick leave so as to recover. There are an unlimited number of sick-leave days, but they must be accompanied by a doctor's note.
Sorry for no pictures. I will try to scan a picture of the x-ray and also a picture of me in the stunning rucksackverband.
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