adventures in a Chinese hospital, part two!
Hurray, I have proper internet at home again and I can access LJ!
So on Sunday morning, I discovered that I had this odd sort of sore lump in my abdomen, between my rib cage and my belly button. Naturally, I panicked. I didn't have enough time to go to the hospital that day to get it checked out, so I went yesterday.
Both Scott and la_tessa had offered to go with me to the hospital, but I thought that if it was really bad news, I didn't want anyone else to hear it. So er, I told Scott that Tessa was going with me, and Tessa that Scott was going with me, and both of them told me later that I was totally crazy for that.
I went to the Chinese-Japanese Union Hospital because it has the reputation of being the best hospital in the city. I've been to three hospitals in this town, and I can say for a fact that on purely aesthetic quality, it is not the best. Then again, I don't think it's any worse or any better than the other hospitals here.
I wandered the halls, looking for the emergency room because that is the best place to get a quick consultation. The halls reeked of urine, and it seemed insanely busy. In a Chinese hospital, there isn't really much done in terms of hygiene. You're lucky if you get someone with gloves and a clean smock. It is basically a North American's worst nightmare.
When I got to the emergency room, first I was told to go to this other department, but I couldn't find it. So I went back to the emergency room to wait for a doctor to see me. The room was filled with people, most of them sitting but others lying down on the seats or in a gurney. The wall was lined with hooks for IV bags. None of this is blocked off with curtains or any such thing.
There were three desks in the middle of the table, so I went to the one where there was a free doctor. However I had gone to the wrong one, but he could tell that I Was Not From Around Here, as I was carrying my Chinese dictionary with me. While I was waiting, a man came up with a bleeding hand, and the doctor on duty calmly told him that he was at the wrong desk and he ought to go to the external injurines one.
Then, blessedly, my rarely used Foreigner-fu kicked in, and they found an English-speaking medical student. She took me to one of the head doctors--to see her was a whole five RMB instead of the usual two--and she had her own room. She told me nothing was wrong with me, but if I wanted to, I could go get an ultrasound for 40 RMB (which is 5 USD).
So I was having the ultrasound, which despite the decrepit look of the room, looked ultra-new, and as I was sitting there, wondering if I was going to be told Bad News, and the technician wants me to give her my number because she wants to practice English. Seriously, only in China would you get asked to practice English while having an ultrasound!!! I exchanged numbers with her anyway because I thought it'd be useful to have a contact at a hospital if I ever needed one, and my guanxi would rule, but the timing definitely could have been better.
Then I couldn't leave the ultrasound room because a man came in on a gurney, surrounded by his entire family, and they ran something on HIM. I'm not sure what, because it wasn't the ultrasound, but throughout the whole thing, he was moaning regularly as the IV dripped into him. I felt so embarassed because I'm of the opinion that when you're at the doctor or getting a medical procedure done, it should be private, but there was nowhere for me to go and the gurney was blocking the exit.
Finally I got back to the emergency room, and the doctor read the report and told me that I was fine. While I was waiting, I watched the English speaking student and another doctor put on a cast on a girl, which they basically did by covering a table with plastic wrap and making the cast for her as she and her family watched. Then the whole family helped the doctor wrap the cast around her leg.
I tell you, it's crazy out there. If I ever need surgery, I'm hauling my ass down to Hong Kong.
So on Sunday morning, I discovered that I had this odd sort of sore lump in my abdomen, between my rib cage and my belly button. Naturally, I panicked. I didn't have enough time to go to the hospital that day to get it checked out, so I went yesterday.
Both Scott and la_tessa had offered to go with me to the hospital, but I thought that if it was really bad news, I didn't want anyone else to hear it. So er, I told Scott that Tessa was going with me, and Tessa that Scott was going with me, and both of them told me later that I was totally crazy for that.
I went to the Chinese-Japanese Union Hospital because it has the reputation of being the best hospital in the city. I've been to three hospitals in this town, and I can say for a fact that on purely aesthetic quality, it is not the best. Then again, I don't think it's any worse or any better than the other hospitals here.
I wandered the halls, looking for the emergency room because that is the best place to get a quick consultation. The halls reeked of urine, and it seemed insanely busy. In a Chinese hospital, there isn't really much done in terms of hygiene. You're lucky if you get someone with gloves and a clean smock. It is basically a North American's worst nightmare.
When I got to the emergency room, first I was told to go to this other department, but I couldn't find it. So I went back to the emergency room to wait for a doctor to see me. The room was filled with people, most of them sitting but others lying down on the seats or in a gurney. The wall was lined with hooks for IV bags. None of this is blocked off with curtains or any such thing.
There were three desks in the middle of the table, so I went to the one where there was a free doctor. However I had gone to the wrong one, but he could tell that I Was Not From Around Here, as I was carrying my Chinese dictionary with me. While I was waiting, a man came up with a bleeding hand, and the doctor on duty calmly told him that he was at the wrong desk and he ought to go to the external injurines one.
Then, blessedly, my rarely used Foreigner-fu kicked in, and they found an English-speaking medical student. She took me to one of the head doctors--to see her was a whole five RMB instead of the usual two--and she had her own room. She told me nothing was wrong with me, but if I wanted to, I could go get an ultrasound for 40 RMB (which is 5 USD).
So I was having the ultrasound, which despite the decrepit look of the room, looked ultra-new, and as I was sitting there, wondering if I was going to be told Bad News, and the technician wants me to give her my number because she wants to practice English. Seriously, only in China would you get asked to practice English while having an ultrasound!!! I exchanged numbers with her anyway because I thought it'd be useful to have a contact at a hospital if I ever needed one, and my guanxi would rule, but the timing definitely could have been better.
Then I couldn't leave the ultrasound room because a man came in on a gurney, surrounded by his entire family, and they ran something on HIM. I'm not sure what, because it wasn't the ultrasound, but throughout the whole thing, he was moaning regularly as the IV dripped into him. I felt so embarassed because I'm of the opinion that when you're at the doctor or getting a medical procedure done, it should be private, but there was nowhere for me to go and the gurney was blocking the exit.
Finally I got back to the emergency room, and the doctor read the report and told me that I was fine. While I was waiting, I watched the English speaking student and another doctor put on a cast on a girl, which they basically did by covering a table with plastic wrap and making the cast for her as she and her family watched. Then the whole family helped the doctor wrap the cast around her leg.
I tell you, it's crazy out there. If I ever need surgery, I'm hauling my ass down to Hong Kong.