Sorry seems to be the hardest word
A phonecall from Dr Happy Frankfurter.
HF: "Bonjour, Madame. Lots of extremely fast, totally incomprehensible French. Tone: angry. Vous comprenez?"
Me: (flustered) "Non, est-ce...est-ce.."
HF: (cutting me off) "More very fast incomprehensible French, though I manage to pick up the following:
- "in THIS country, it is our medical and legal obligation to write the sex of the child on the dossier" and
- "if you didn't want to know you shouldn't have read it"
- "you said in your letter "my faith in your professionalism has been damaged. That is a serious accusation." Tone: still angry "Vous comprenez, Madame?"
(pause)
(as if to a stupid foreigner) "VOUS COMPRENEZ?"
Me: "About half...." (then start sobbing)
HF: (curtly) " Why are you reacting like this?"
Me: (bad French, amidst tears) I had no problem with the medical care. I just thought it was bad communication and lacked tact. If the sex has to be written in the dossier then you could at least have told me and I wouldn't have looked.
HF: (totally missing the point) Well, the dossier is about you. You have every right to read it.
Me: sobbing, totally lost for words
HF: (slightly softer) What do you want me to do, Madam?
Me: I would like you to be sorry. It was not for you to tell us the sex of our baby when we didn't want to know. I would like to be sorry for that.
HF: Well I am sorry! Very sorry! (sounding extremely defensive and not sorry at all - then sudden total tone change into false warmth) And may I wish you all the best for your upcoming birth. Goodbye!
6 Comments:
She should henceforth be known as Just Plain Mean Frankfurter.
I'm completely shocked that anyone with any semblance of professionalism should speak to you like that, regardless of the situation but especially considering the delicacy of THIS situation (i.e. 10 days to go!) and when you were specific about not wanting to know. Stupid woman!
Bi-atch!
10 days to go!!! WOW - screw Meanie Franknfurter.
xx
Very unprofessional of her to react like this! Hang in there...
Write a letter to the local newspaper. Even if they don't print it, it may help to get the memory of ghastly phonecall out of your system. And CC La Vache on it - what WAS she thinking???
Also, one would have to question the 'legal obligation' bit, surely? I thought it wasn't ever possible to know gender with 100% certainty, so why would it be a legal obligation to say what it is? What if they got it wrong?
Her reaction is completely typical of someone who knew that they were wrong and then had to get all angry to deny it to herself. Like people who drive into your car and then get out and start shouting at you.
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