Myths about the Dutch Medical System...

Myth: There’s a ton of paperwork.
Fiction: Guess that’s just in the US. I never signed or filled out anything here. I showed my ID and insurance card twice. I asked if I needed to sign a consent form and was told that the fact that I told the surgeon I understood what would be happening was good enough (verbal agreements are binding in Holland). However, I did double check when they wheeled me into the operating room that they were removing my appendix and not my arm.

Myth: The Dutch hate pain killers.
Fiction: Apparently the Dutch just don’t like giving pain killers to pregnant women, because I was never denied. While the nurse did laugh when she asked if I needed any pain killers, because she thought that it was silly to use the word “killer” in a hospital, I was kept filled with Tylenol at all times (although I preferred some of the methods of distribution over others).

Myth: Going to the hospital is a good diet plan.
Fiction: Despite having only a glucose drip for 48 hours, I left the hospital with a belly bloated full of gas from the laproscopic surgery. I’d hoped they perform some liposuction while I was knocked out, but no such luck.