Colleagues and Boobs and Memories
the other day at work i listened to 3 girls chatting about plastic surgery. i was standing there smoking my cigarettes and thinking about how the hell i should finish work, and didnt really listen to them at the first second. probably they came to this topic after discussing the tv series “nip tuck” or whatever name it has.
mainly, the result of their heroic outburst of intelligence was: “i would want to get bigger boobs. i cant understand how someone who has big boobs would reduce them.” i wasnt sure wether or not i should make a snappy comment or mind my own business. i never made a big secret of my breast reduction a few years ago. i am not wearing a shirt that says “look at me. i got myself smaller boobs!” but colleagues ask questions if you disappear for a month from work.
“well, you know sometimes women have health issues with big boobs. such as back problems.” their answer (it made me think i am in a soap opera nightmare.): could be, but the boobs would be worth it.” oooookay. so it obviously doesnt matter if a girl/woman has health problems, but at least she has nice huge tits. before i could respond to them, my boss came in and asked me to come back to the phone, since some bank needed to talk to me.
the whole situation made me remember how i was fighting the Krankenkasse (health insurance. with each salary you get you pay taxes. those taxes cover the health insurance. i think thats how it works. google for details if you want.) to get the surgery. if you need some “not so daily, unusual” medical help you need to go to the krankenkasse and get a YES from them. without that, you have to pay it yourself. when i went there, it only took 2 minutes until i got my first NOT A CHANCE. so i went to different doctors asking for the price of this surgery. back then it was around 25.000 schilling. not covering the insurace if you dont go to work for a month. there was no way i could afford that amount of money, not even if i would ask my parents to help me out. while seeing the doctors, i asked them to write me a diagnosis, which i could show the krankenkasse. all of them said it was necessary to get me the surgery, since my lungs were already affected (a little crooked) due the hunched back. for the men: get yourself some weight on the chest and run around for a couple of weeks. youll find out that your back hurts like hell. i couldnt believe when that lady of the krankenkasse said: “i do believe it has to get done, but you have to understand that we dont have the money.” i wasnt sure wether or not it was a stupid joke, or if i should question the sanity of paying taxes anymore. the third time i asked for the Ombuzmann (= someone who makes sure that your interests as a patient are respected), who said something like that lady.
the fourth time i tried it with crying. then with screaming. then with playing a psycho (which contains rocking back and forth and saying ‘this is no good’ for the whole time).
after that i wrote a heart wrenching letter to them, with the last paragraph: “i do understand that you dont have the money, for what reasons ever, but keep in mind that i cannot continue going to work with that pain. furthermore i require a psychologist to help me ease the psychosis which i start to feel rising. plus, i will need to see a doctor to help me with the back problems at least 3 times a week. pls see the copies of several diagnosis.”
1 week later i got my Ok.
when i was still in the AKH recovering, i got a new roommate. a girl that got another boobjob. she wanted to have nice big boobs, but something wrent wrong and she needed new ones. she asked why i didnt get bigger ones myself, since she was thinking i was there for the very same reason. i explained the situation to her, and i heard exactly what the colleagues said ages later to me in that smokers room. its not up to me to judge wether or not girls should enlarge their breasts (or men should enlarge their penis. just check your junk mail. i am sure you find good and interesting links about that topic).
a few women asked me if i regret the surgery getting done. of course i dont. after they took nearly 2 kilos away, i felt newborn. i could sleep again, i could do sports again, and i could sit in a straight position again. they asked if i got any scars. like after every surgery you have scars. they fade away after a while if you take good care of them.
no woman should be ashamed of such a surgery. not at all. talk about it, cats. if someone doesnt understand it, so leave him/her be. its not their decision what to do with your body. you have the reasons, and if those reasons are good enough for you, why let others judge them? dont be afraid to ask for that surgery. ask for all the information you need to decide whats good for you. the times when women had to wear corsettes and were only a wife and part of the furniture are over.
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My cousin had the reduction surgery done for much the same reasons as you. She was 38DD by the time she was 14 years old, and they kept getting bigger! By the time she was in her late twenties, she was having serious back problems and she had deep grooves cut into her shoulders by her bra straps. After the surgery, the nurse told her they had removed more from each of her breasts than they usually took for the complete operation. She has never regretted it. With some physical therapy, her back straightened up and stopped bothering her. Plus, she could sleep again and be more active.
Do you also have private health insurance in Austria? Kind of like company health benefits which are complimentary to the government based and funded health care plan (where they will pay for eye glasses, medication, dental work, homeopathy, etc…).
besides of the normal tax funded health insurance you can get a private extra health insurance on your own. most of my medicamentation gets paid by the normal insurance, and the other extra insurance usually helps you getting a better room in the hospital, or they pay you out money if you had an accident. while the normal health insurance covers most of the medical payments, there are always things youll have to pay for yourself.