A Day in the Life

After being plagued for a week with an ear problem, Lena decided to seek out a LOR—an ear, nose, and throat specialist. After a little research, she settled on a spot not too far from our apartment. She had been given exact directions on the phone. After arriving at their “office”, she realized that there were no doctors at this office. Troubled, she called on her mobile phone to the receptionist who had given the directions. “Of course there are no doctors there. That’s our office. You went to the wrong place. You should have gone to a place across the river.” was the reply of the irritated secretary/nurse. Lena reminded her that she went to the place she was told to go to and actually decided to go to this doctor because the office was closer to our apartment. “Well, you are wrong. You went to the wrong place. I would have never told you to go there.” responded the helpful nurse. Admittedly frustrated and irritated, Lena just asked if she could help solve this problem by telling her where it is that she should go. “Go over the river, Plehanova Street, building six. Second floor.”

A little dejected, Lena set out for a trip she hadn’t planned. She found the building, it was an apartment building. No doctors in sight. Unfortunately, another call to the nurse had to be placed. “It’s Plehanova 6. It’s an old kindergarten. It’s right there. Just ask somebody where it is.” “But I’m standing right here. This address is an apartment building. It’s definitely not an old kindergarten.” “Well, that’s not my problem. It’s an old kindergarten, Plehanova 6. Just ask somebody.” After several attempts of asking somebody, a guy walking a dog came by and said the kindergarten was behind this building. And there it was, Plehanova 6A. Oh what a difference one letter can make.

Though there were no signs of any kind indicating there might be a doctor anywhere near this kindergarten, seeing the white glass door mentioned by the nurse on the phone and having found no gate nearby, Lena entered through the hole in the fence and found the steps to the second floor. No one was there. This receptionist had apparently stepped out. A woman who came walking down the hall said to just stand in the hall and wait, someone would come for you. Lena had the office number so she went to that room number thinking maybe the doctor was hiding there. Finally she was found. Among more ordinary treatments of ear, nose, and throat, Lena was surprised to hear that juice of red beets diluted by water kills bacteria and microbes. Now she is dutifully testing this medicine. We’ll let you know if it works miracles. So far we learned that the beet juice nose drops hurt pretty bad.

The way back was pretty easy. Apparently, the first time Lena came from the back (the side of Plehanova 6 apartment building) and there indeed was a gate up front and a sign on the fence with the name of the clinic on it visible to anyone who would have bothered to come up and look at it. Seeing some people on a little road going through a maze of apartment buildings around and knowing that the metro station was in that direction, she just decided to follow them. You live and learn in post-Soviet Ukraine.