
Ask HN: What are you thankful for? - Tomte
As the year is nearing its end, and Christmas markets have opened, people may be in a reflective mood.<p>I certainly had the opportunity for some reflection these days.<p>Everybody likes to groan about the health system. Long waiting times. Two-tier treatment of patients, based on whether they are privately or publically insured. Doctors in a hurry.<p>(I&#x27;m talking about my home, Germany, by the way)<p>But it isn&#x27;t so bad, after all.<p>Yesterday late in the evening, through a combination of inattentiveness, tiredness and a kitchen knife, I happened to cut myself pretty bad (although no sinews or bones involved, at least). And I hadn&#x27;t been able to still the bleeding, even after an hour.<p>I&#x27;m thankful that there is a telephone hotline giving you advice.<p>I&#x27;m thankful I could go to an Emergency Room where two highly-trained specialists (a trauma surgeon and a nurse) not only desinfected my wound, stopped the bleeding, and IV-administered antibiotics, but also made sure it would heal &quot;good&quot;, probably with a scar, but not with any deformation or so.<p>I&#x27;m thankful I could get another highly-trained specialist (another trauma surgeon) to look at it today, on a Monday morning, without an appointment, and continue treatment after <i>only waiting for three hours</i>. Yes, waiting for hours sucks. But it doesn&#x27;t suck nearly as much as not having him look at it.<p>I&#x27;m thankful they will take some more time over the next week to ensure the wound is healing properly and no infection is rotting the flesh.<p>I&#x27;m thankful I don&#x27;t get a bill for all that. At all. You can say that I pay for it through incredibly high taxes, but it&#x27;s relieving that I can actually <i>plan</i> my health costs. That they are <i>predictable</i>.<p>So, what are you thankful for?
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mtmail
There was a similar threads around Thanksgiving 2 weeks ago
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18509717](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18509717)

You're right the 24/7 non-emergency phone number in Germany where doctors are
ready to answer questions (116117) is great. All the best for your injury.

