07/05/2025
Some updates since I haven't posted in a while now!
As some of you might know by now, baby #4 is due in November this year and I plan to repeat last pregnancy's success and work until due date haha.
At this stage I am planning to work in Australia until November only.
It has been a great decade and I have certainly learnt a lot of new skills, some of which I never thought I would in my lifetime.
For anyone wondering - we plan to return to Russia in July 2026 first for a few months and then move permanently.
It was not an easy decision after more than a decade in Australia, however as a slightly seasoned parent I have learnt that kids are full of surprises, and unfortunately some kids are full of health surprises 😆 and there's hardly anything you can do to prevent or predict those.
In our circumstances I do find it quite challenging to raise kids in local healthcare system for a few reasons:
1. Drastically longer waiting times for medical specialists when you need them.
2. Quite impressive checks to be seen privately for most specialists or some allied health practitioners.
3. All dental and orthodontics expenses are out-of-pocket for most adults, or up to 2-year waitlist for healthcare card holders
4. Quite rigid childcare discrimination - if you for any reason choose to not vaccinate your child be prepared to pay 120+/day for every weekday child is enrolled incl public holidays. Even despite having a full genetic testing (USA), neurology certificate for delaying vaccination until later in life if appropriate (Ru) or other health-related concerns we still were ridiculed for questioning the system and forced into vaccinating or paying full fees out of pocket - speaking of freedom of choice or human rights 🤔 We did it once, but not an option for 2 more kids unfortunately.
5. Significantly higher quality of affordable specialized care that we can offer back in Moscow.
6. "What if...." concerns about contracting Lyme's - not diagnosed or treated in Australia despite overwhelming numbers of patients who need diagnostic and treatment. We know few people personally who have had this experience, and it's very alarming no actions are being taken by government.
Continued ➡️