We registered with NHS (the National Health System), and I had a similar experience to what I had the first time I used the health system in Singapore. It works!!!
The US is so complicated. Insurance. Doctors in network. Out of network. Deductibles. Premiums. Complicated offices - it's all so complicated and frustrating.
When we got here I searched for a "surgery" (primary care office) right near our place and found one that wasn't closing and was accepting new patients. We registered last Saturday. An auto-response said it would take up to two weeks to get us into the system. Monday I got a text that our whole family was registered. Done.
Wednesday I messaged them (they don't accept phone calls) that I needed to figure out how to get my progesterone that I take for endometriosis and adenomyosis, as I have 2-3 weeks supply left. I figured no one would get back to me, and it would be a black hole. I got a text that I had a phone consultation scheduled for the next day at 2:30. Damn.
The next day I got the call at 2:37, and the pharmacist listened to my story and said she would figure out getting me the prescription in the short term, and she would refer me to a gynie here who could manage my case. She said that might take some time, but they would get the medication for me until I could get the appointment. She then called back and said she needed more info, because I also have an IUD with progesterone, so it's not common to have the extra pills on top. (TMI? Sorry - search here to read all about my uterus. I have blogged all about it in case it's helpful for anyone, and I have gotten some random people reaching out from it, so I'm glad I did!). Friday I uploaded the notes from my doctor visit when it was prescribed to me, and I got a magical text that they have sent the prescription to the Boots closest to me. I pay a standard NHS fee per product, which is apparently 9 or 10 pounds for ANY PRESCRIPTION.
I haven't gotten it yet, but I can't believe how easy that was. In two days. And apparently the gynie office reaches out to me to schedule an appointment.
Other updates:
Thursday I saw 7 houses. I saw a few in St John's Wood, a few in Belsize park and one in West Hampstead. The ones in St John's Wood were not liveable. And I think we want to be a little farther from school (and the neighborhood is a bit too fancy for us). I LOVE LOVE LOVE-d Belsize Park and also West Hampstead. There was only one in Belsize Park that was liveable (we're talking musty, no windows, TINY bedrooms, weird...), and there was a great house in West Hampstead. We were able to arrange viewings for Matt for the two finalists, and we all schlepped out there after school. Kids were fine with either. Matt said he could never live in the West Hanpstead one for various reasons. It is a longer commute for everyone (kids would take the tube to school), long walk to the tube, felt too far removed for him. Inventory is SO SO LIMITED, and it felt like we would be left on our own out in the cold if we didn't go for one of these (agents said nearly nothing coming online). So we put an application and deposit for the one in Belsize Park. They're doing a background check on us now. I hope we pass! It's a bit of a weird layout, but we think we can make it work.
Thursday evening was Middle School back to school night, where I went to all of Sam's classes for ten minutes each. They blew me away. What they teach. How they teach. I was really impressed. This school is really cool.
Friday I did nearly nothing - lots of catching up online, and I tried to not walk at all, since I was so so pooped from the previous day when I walked TWELVE MILES (and 9 the day before etc). We walk so much here. We had a nice Shabbat dinner (we can't invite anyone - we don't have any extra chairs or plates...) and went to the park for a change (NOT).
Saturday the school had a new parent orientation to the school at a high level and also the PCA (like the PTO) and community activities. They had a presentation which was great, by both the head of school and also the head of the PCA. Then they had a gym full of tables representing sports programs, dance schools, running clubs, churches, women's groups, etc. So you can learn more about what's interesting to you. And there were also tables for each grade with a grade rep sitting at it, so you can meet other parents. It was so well organized and so nice for newbies like me. So helpful.
Saturday afternoon we donned our Michigan gear and headed to Paddington Rec for the kids to go nuts and then we went to find a bar where people were watching the Michigan game. We took the Tube to the London Eye, sat in the park and ate delicious pastries, walked around a bit and then followed our phones to where this bar was supposed to be. It led us into this alley COMPLETELY FILLED WITH GRAFFITI. I was like, "Matt...you think this is safe...with kids..." It truly looked shady as hell. We followed the map and a random American bar appeared, and lo and behold there were Michigan fans upstairs! We watched the first half of the game before the kids lost their minds. Luckily they had a ping pong table, so that helped.
Today we spent a bit more than 4 hours in transit trying to get to and from Greenwich. We did our research and found that there's a super cool train (light rail) that goes through the skyscrapers and ends up in Greenwich. We took the Tube for about 30 minutes to the end of a line and walked about 10 minutes to a light rail station. We walked all over the place in a crazy maze to find out that this specific cool train was not running. We were told to go to another station and take a regular train. So we walked another ten or so minutes to find that, and it also had no trains running. So we walked to yet another station and took the regular train. (Bonus, we walked across London Bridge). We finally got there around 12:45pm. And we found that there was a half marathon with 16,000 participants. Clearly we did not do enough research. It was truly insane, and all streets were blocked off. We went to the market, grabbed lunch, took it to the park and then went to the Royal Observatory and learned about tine, longitude and the Prime Meridian. It was interesting. Getting back to the train was also a maze, and a long queue, but we met a super nice couple who kept us company. We took a boat back to London proper and hopped on the Tube at Westminster back home. We haven't moved since. That was nearly 5pm. With SO much of the day in transit. Greenwich was pretty, but we didn't have the quiet, relaxed town experience. Another time.
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