What can I say? I'm an American girl in a Bulgarian world. When I look around Sofia and observe with my American eyes, there are only a few times that I have been able to say, "America could learn from Bulgaria."
1. Metro System - My 30-something years of life have given me experiences in two major cities (and a country town) and none of them had a decent, city-wide transportation system. If you live in the US, you're (pretty much) guaranteed to own a car to get around unless you live in NYC. Sofia has a population of approximately 1.2 million people whereas Phoenix, AZ has nearly 2 million people ~ 6 million people if you include the entire metropolitan valley. Yet, Sofia has two subway lines with a third line set to open February 2020 and a network of buses and trams that can take you almost anywhere in the city. It is not always pretty. Some of the tram cars need an upgrade for sure, but they work! I recently downloaded the app Moovit to keep up with the departure times of the trams. This way of travel is our life, and I love it! No maintenance, gas expenses, parking fees, registration, local taxes, license fees, etc. And most importantly, no traffic to plan around! Stress free!
2. School Curriculum - My son's secondary education (5th - 12th grade) is at least two years more advanced than what the US education system was providing him. Admittedly, he is enrolled in a private school here in Sofia, so I understand that could impact the level of education he is receiving; however, he was also enrolled in one of Arizona's leading school districts over the last three years completing his courses with A's and even commenting that some classes were "blow-off classes." For instance, his Arizona science class last year was naming planets in our solar system. This year, he doesn't have a generic "Science Class"; he has Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.....in 8th grade! His studies are so far beyond my level of knowledge that we now have to refer to YouTube videos when he needs help with homework. His Bulgarian school is pushing him to truly become someone who can think for himself. This school changed my American way of thinking, "My kid is on the Principal Honor Roll!" Those bumper stickers are garbage when the content being delivered is the same material your child was learning since 5th grade. I'd rather my son be presented with new ways of thinking and more difficult curriculum even if it's at the risk he may not get all A's. By the way, he LOVES Biology and Chemistry! And his Chemistry teacher calls him "Mr. President" because he is so smart!
3. Shopping Malls - Why did we ever move away from the idea of having all that we need in terms of clothes, entertainment, and food in one place? Sofia has at least six major malls with multiple levels of stores, and they are booming with business. Every weekend, teens are hanging out playing arcades and billiards. Families are meeting to eat a nice meal together. The cinema is packed with people watching Hollywood movies with Bulgarian subtitles. It reminds me of the last season of Stranger Things set in 1980's America although the buildings and decor have been modernized thankfully. Across the US, malls are dying leaving behind empty real estate that is rotting away. We order everything we need online and have it shipped to our front door, so we never have that incidental run-in with someone we know. We've cut out human interaction, but those connections are thriving here in Sofia. And you'll find a lot of them at the malls.
What you won't hear me say is the Bulgarian Healthcare System is better than what we call "healthcare" in the US. That's a fact. Last week, Matt took a tumble to the ground when he tripped over some low fencing in the yard area of our apartment building. The fall was so unexpected that he didn't have time to catch himself, and he hit the hard ground on his left side causing him extraordinary pain around his ribs. He also couldn't rid the feeling of consistent nausea which lead us to believe that something was very wrong. Because our American mindset has been programmed to only visit the doctor when you think you are dying, he decided to rest for a couple of days at home. Side note: Don't look for medical answers on the internet. You'll find that everyone and everything is dying. 😕 After the pain and nausea refused to subside causing him to miss a day of work, we opted to go see the doctor and get some real answers.
Our health insurance plan only covers two hospitals in the area and neither are close to us, so we hired a taxi to drive us to Pirogov Hospital - Mistake #1. Pirogov Hospital is a state-run medical facility that specializes in emergency and disaster medicine. Upon check-in, we were told to visit the Internal Medicine Unit for help. Luckily, the woman at the registration desk spoke English. As we navigated through hallways lined with sickly people lying on stretchers, we found our destination, Room 126. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Lots of other people were waiting too. Occasionally, someone dressed in scrubs would go in or out of the room, but there was no relief in the ever-growing sick population that was waiting in the hall. I worked up the nerve to ask a hospital employee if they spoke English, but all I got in return was a nod of "ne" (No). So we continued to wait. Alas! A woman emerged from the Internal Medicine Room and began addressing the hoard of people crowded in this hall outside Room 126. I had not the slightest clue about what she was saying but a younger woman also waiting to be seen explained to me that they would take people by order of urgency. Those who were in the most dire situation would be seen first. She had been waiting in frustration for two hours already. Who knows how long it would take them to see Matt? He didn't look like he was in dire need of attention, but we also didn't want to be sitting amongst the flu-ridden patrons for much longer. Shortly after the nurse's announcement, the crowd began to thin out, and Matt was the last to be seen.
I continued to wait for Matt outside the room (only because they kindly asked me to), and I watched. What I gathered from observing people's movements and actions was Bulgaria doesn't seem to have any privacy concerns in regards to medical information. Nurses openly discuss medical concerns with patients in front of others, and those that are extremely ill are left in the halls on stretchers with their file laying on top of them. Some were sleeping on the mobile beds while others were writhing in pain. One man who looked to be knocking on death's door was adjusting himself on the stretcher. As he tossed and turned, his catheter bag, half-filled, fell to the floor but stayed attached to his body.😳A hospital employee responsible for moving him to the next stage took hold of the stretcher and began rolling him away with the catheter bag dragging on the floor. 🤯 It was a scene of pure apathy. To this day, I am still appalled that the employee didn't pick up the bag and place it back on the bed. Did he care? He certainly had to know that it was dragging on the floor because everyone in the hall could hear it.
Matt appeared from the Internal Medicine Room with instructions to have some blood drawn - Mistake #2. The nurses wanted to run tests to ensure Matt did not have an internal bleeding if his ribs were broken. Remember, we're still trying to figure out why he was sooooo nauseous. As the woman inserted the needle into Matt's arm, he felt an electric shock shoot down his arm to his fingertips. He claims this was the most painful blood draw he has ever experienced. Fast forward a week later and he is now consistently experiencing shocking pains down his arm when he stretches it out or moves it in any way. Another Google search has us worried that he may have nerve damage from this hospital visit. No real answers yet.
He was then sent to the Radiology Department which existed down another similar hallway of old blue beaten doors. Finally! X-Rays! That's what we needed to figure out why he is in so much pain days after his tumble. Standing in front of the X-Ray machine, they shot him with radiation to get the picture that was needed except they didn't provide any protection for other parts of his body. In past experiences, hospitals in the US would provide layers of protection especially over your reproductive anatomy before loading you up with radiation. Not here at Pirogov. Thankfully, we are not making any more babies!
After X-Rays were taken, we were asked to go back to the hallway of Room 126 and wait for a doctor to review the photos. We waited. Again. For hours. Nothing. More and more people were being wheeled in on stretchers, and people were shoulder to shoulder coughing (some crying from pain). I asked a hospital cashier for a face mask using body language but only received mockery in return. Matt knocked on the door of Room 126 on three separate occasions and was promised service soon but nothing. So we left.
There was one itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny characteristic of the Bulgarian Healthcare system that I do believe should be implemented in the states: Transparent Pricing. Outside of each blue door was a posted list of pricing for all the services provided by that department. It is clear what you are paying for and how much it costs.
Overall, our visit to Pirogov was something out of a Walking Dead episode. It even looked post-apocalyptic with the deteriorating building. Walking out of the hospital, I saw these elevators that took me right back to Hollywood Studios' Tower of Terror. Tell me I'm wrong. Thank goodness I didn't need to get on; otherwise, I might be writing you from the Twilight Zone. 😆
As of now, we don't have actual answers to know how badly Matt's ribs were injured in the fall. Each day, he is getting better and the nausea has subsided. If his ribs are fractured, we know there is nothing that a doctor can do to heal them. He will just have to rest. Now let's hope we didn't catch the flu while waiting around.🤞🏻Please keep us in your thoughts.