Diversity of Life

2. The Registration

The floor of the lobby was neat and clean. The large dark tiles indicated that the consulting rooms appeared to be quite modern. Another open door led to the larger hall area. Amber saw from the door that the registration area seemed a bit larger than in other well-known medical practices. She stepped inside and stood for a moment. The reception desk was white and its corners and edges warped silver. Everything looked new and classy. Three assistants sat behind the counter. They were all wearing white polo shirts. One of the three assistants typed something into the PC, another made a call. She walked over to the woman on the far right, who looked up at her with a friendly look. "Hello! Nice to meet you. What can I do for you?"

Amber briefly introduced herself by name and gave the reason for her visit: "I'm registered for today's sports medicine examination." "OK, one moment, I'll take a quick look." The medical assistant typed something on her computer keyboard and waited a few seconds. She hesitated, looked at Amber for a short moment looked back into her screen. "That's right, here it is." Amber saw how the doctor's assistant had found an entry. Then she looked up and at Amber. "Nice that you are here. Do you have your health insurance card with you?” Amber registered that friendly and trusting smile again. I'm sure she's also very nice in private, she thought, and gave her the health insurance card. The woman had dark, straight hair that she wore tied back. Her eyes were made up. Was it perhaps the eyeliner that gave her that certain something, Amber wasn't sure, but she thought it suited her very well, reading her name C. Schenke on a name tag on her polo shirt.

“Today's medical examination is a bit different than the normal ones at the general practitioner's. Have you informed yourself a little?” she asked. Amber had the brochures at home, but instead of reading them she had just skimmed them. She didn't want to talk about the medical exam. When the subject came up, she quickly changed it. She knew that she would have to undress for this. Ever since her last check-up at the family doctor, she's been kind of embarrassed about the subject. She hasn't liked to talk about doctor visits ever since. At the time, she didn't know what to expect either. She was all the more surprised that she had to take off her bra and even show her vagina to the doctor. It kept bothering her after that, but talking about it was taboo. At first she did not understand what was happening to her. It wasn't until later, when she thought about it again and again, that somehow she didn't feel so bad anymore. She had never known before that someone was so interested in her body. But she kind of enjoyed it in hindsight. "Yeah, pretty much," she said, feeling a little annoyed that she caught herself lying. Mrs. Schenke smiled and took a quick look at her PC.

"Please tell me again what is being done?" Amber asked. "Of course," replies Mrs. Schenke. “The sports medical examination takes a little longer. It begins with the doctor asking a few questions that are important for the further course of the examination, but also for the findings. A physical examination is then carried out. For example, we check whether the joints are okay, the posture and so on. Then the doctor examines the organs and the cardiovascular system. And then an EKG is done. There we examine the heart more closely under stress.” Great, Amber thought to herself. She had very much hoped that things would go a little faster here today. Nothing will come of this, she thought. "At the end there is a short conversation, then that's it!" Amber suspected what was in store for her and noticed how her palms were beginning to get wet.

"Please take a seat in the waiting room in front, we'll call you then, yes?" Ms. Schenke pointed to the waiting area, which was behind a frosted glass door. Amber took a quick look and thanked her. After that she went to the door, opened it and entered the waiting room. A few people were sitting here, including Sebastian, whom she saw in front of the building. He smiled, Amber gave a friendly nod back. She didn't feel like talking, so she just managed a soft "Hello." The other people were not known to her. Another woman in her thirties was reading a magazine, and a man in his early forties sat across from her. He was busy on his cell phone when Amber entered. She chose a corner near the magazines and sat down.

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