I Survived Knee Surgery!

Yup!  I sure did.  One of the scariest thing for an expat is needing surgery or to be hospitalized in their host country.  Usually it means dealing with doctors who may or may not be at the standards you are used to from home, language barriers and all kinds of issues.  But I'm happy to say that my experience in Turkey was awesome.  My doctor actually picked me up from home, drove me to the hospital, helped me check in, came and checked on me pre-surgery and post and then came back at the end of the day to help me check out and drove me home!!!! And the anesthesiologist spoke great English, gave me all my options and helped me make the best choice for me... it was also the first time I didn't wake up groggy and dizzy from a surgery.  My nurse spoke little English but she tried hard and was very sweet and caring.  The hospital is also staffed with people equipped to deal with foreigners in several languages.  There are two ladies who speak English and walked through the whole process with me... checking me in, taking me to my lovely private room, helping to translate my family history, helping me to deal with my fears and helping me to leave at the end of the day.  I love those ladies with my whole heart!  They make a trip to the hospital less of a frightening thing and a little more like being with family when you clearly aren't. So I had minor knee surgery in Turkey and I couldn't be happier with the results.  My pain is VERY minimal... really just a little soreness at the end of the day, I am walking around with the only issue being that I can't bend it properly and I feel like I was well taken care of.  Chalk up a point for Turkey and their medical system and workers... especially at TOBB hospital (Hastanesi) in Ankara... they do a great job!!