Maryann Dolling - On Risk

Maryann Dolling

Worthwhile Risk

In 1961, my Uncle Walter, a sailor with a US aircraft carrier fleet visiting Hamburg harbor Germany, met Heinke and Holger Dolling on the dock. He entertained them on board and was invited to their home. While visiting, he asked Heinke, who was my age, if she would like an American pen pal. She said that she would, and we began to write. After a year of correspondence, Heinke and her mother visited my family and welcomed me to visit. Upon completing nursing school, I saved and sailed to Germany.  

There I met her brother Ulf, and we became more than good friends. He won me over with long walks and talks, and for my birthday, roses and an opera. I extended my visit by two months before returning home. After writing to each other, for what seemed a very long time, we decided to each spend a year in the other’s country.  

In 1966, very much against my parents’ wishes, I sailed to Germany. Although my knowledge of German was limited to a 6-week Berlitz course, I risked an application for work at the University of Hamburg Hospital and amazingly was hired for evenings on an Orthopedic unit. American nurses were highly regarded! The staff was welcoming and the work different. A kitchen on the unit meant involvement with food prep and delivery. Answering patient buzzers led to interesting exchanges and a fair amount of "sign language." As was the custom, plants were taken out of rooms for the each night. The Herr Professor Doctor leading this unit did not believe in Heparin as a blood thinner, so there were trips to the lab to pick up leeches and the application of said leeches to areas of thrombosis. Many risks were taken during this period of my life, and I must say that every single one was worth it! Ulf and I have been married for more than 50 years!