Too much missed school!

I’ve been missing a lot of school because of my doctor appointments for my knee. Come to think of it… this is the first time in my college career that I have attended every single class in my schedule past the first few weeks! Hopefully I’ll only have one more doctor visit before I’m back in Texas. Today I finally had an MRI of my knee done, which was very quick and painless. I found out that I do in fact have a lateral meniscus tear, though however small, it is what has been causing all of the pain and swelling that I’ve been experiencing. A couple comments about the medical care system – the last time I had an MRI done, which was of my brain, it cost roughly $6,000. Here, it only cost 420 euros! Of course contrast solution was used back in the states and it was with a better resolution, but that’s still quite the price difference and I have the socialized medical care to thank for that. Another thing I found interesting was that at the MRI building, I was given the typical German citizen paperwork to fill out, in which I signed in one of the boxes that I was aware of any and all “negative consequences” if I was to refuse the examination. I was intrigued by this, but because of the communication barrier the receptionist didn’t fully understand my question. Is this some aspect of the socialized system in which if you are sent to a doctor for a treatment, you must receive said treatment? I am still intrigued by this.

Tomorrow morning I and 4 others (2 of which will be with me the whole stay) are travelling to Hannover in order to visit the Hannover Medical School. Here one of the lead professors will take us under her wing to show us their facilities and their current research. I am extremely excited for this opportunity to experience and witness all that these people are doing Hannover because my career goals coincide almost perfectly with their type of research. The main work that we will be learning about is the regenerative ability of neotenic salamanders to regrow whole parts of their body, including sections of their spinal column! Researchers are already discovering ways to mimic this process in humans via techniques involving creating an extracellular matrix with “pixie dust”. I can’t wait to see what types of advances have been made and the new directions this research is taking!