Now that we are all registered with a GP we face the same problems as everyone else when
trying to get an appointment although I think it's even harder because English isn't my first
language. Most people find it difficult to talk about their health on the phone to a doctor and
I find it hard to communicate how I am feeling in my own language let alone another.
Sometimes I have a translator for appointments but they are not always available so I try to
get by. I will let things go when it comes to my own health but I like to get my girls seen by a
doctor if they pick up some sickness at school, as children do.
There was one occasion when I was unable to collect the medication and the woman in the
pharmacy offered to drive and deliver the medication to my house in her own car. I couldn't
collect them during business hours and the woman who worked there personally offered to
deliver them to me. I was very touched by the gesture. There are good people everywhere.
My daughters enjoy school and have friends there that they play with and would like to meet
outside. I sometimes feel like an outsider when talking to their parents because I think they
are wary of the fact that my English can be broken but it's nice to exchange some words with
people every day.
I am learning English now also but it was difficult to get into at first. My daughter corrects the
way that I speak English sometimes because she has picked it up very easily in school. It
makes me laugh. She is only seven but she rolls her eyes and says "no Mama, this is how you
say it" and then I remind her that I once taught her how to speak so now it is her turn to
teach me. (laughs gently)
You know how people say that friends are the family that you get to choose for yourself? I
like this saying. It makes me feel privileged when I think of my friends. That they chose me,
and I them. We care for each other- not through the accident of birth but because we chose
each other.