Patient
I spent a few hours at the ER last night.
During my last class of the day I started to lose my vision and my limbs and face got numb. I blocked it out until class was over and once I got to the teachers lounge I started to kind of freak out - and so did some of the people around me. I rushed (the word rushed may be misused here - I struggled in traffic in the back seat of a cab) to a nearby hospital as quick as I could.
An assistant from the school came with me so he could act as my translater. He is really good at Korean, so I trusted he was telling the doctor and nurses what was going on, but he is lacking in the English depertment, so I was pretty much in the dark.
I was sitting on a typical hospital bed in the middle of a large room full of other hospital beds. A woman was dying about ten feet from where I was as her family softly cried and consoled her. A young boy in another bed was standing on the bed while a doctor felt his penis. A man with severe head trauma was motionless a few beds away as his head continued to slowly ooze blood all over his pillow. And I was sitting in the middle of this, disoriented and listening to a Korean conversation that may very well decide my fate.
A nurse started taking my blood for tests and I collapsed backwards on the bed. After they had my blood, I was rushed around and some emergency tests were taken. I had to sign a few waivers that I'm still not completely clear as to what I waived. It was an absolutely terrifying experience. I speak often of feelings of helplessness in this country, but this forced me to completely trust people I had never met before.
Not long after the initial tests, the owner of my school rushed in with another woman from school. They were able to help me understand more of what was happening and definitely put my mind at ease a little bit. I had been in the ER for about an hour and had yet to hear a genuine word of English. Then the emergency tests came back and they were all negative (or positive, whatever the good one is) and I became much more relaxed.
A woman tried to do a heart test on me. She had a machine that would only work if she could get the little suction cups to suction to my skin. Apparently I am a little more hairy than most Koreans, because she could not get the cups to cling to my skin. It was kind of a humorous situation and helped ease the tension further.
It was a long night. I ended up back at home in a weird state of mind. I was very thankful for all of the people around me that came to my aide. Without the help of others, I am not sure what I could have done. At the same time, some atypical events transpired over the evening and reflecting on them was not entirely a joyful time.
I went to see a neurologist this morning and she decided that I need to have an MRI and an MRA on Monday to figure out what is going on. Again, a woman from school came with me. She showed me where to go in the hospital, filled out my paperwork and acted as translater between myself and the doctor. I feel as if I understand what is going on a little better now - now I just need to have some patience.
So, on Monday a large machine in Seoul, Korea will be taking pictures of the fruit inside my melon. I will have to wait until next Thursday to get the results. Looks like I may have a week full of stressful thoughts and worries. Good thing I'm a glass-half-full kinda guy.
If you pray, keep me in your prayers.
If you're a jew, rub Moses's belly for me.
If you practice voodoo, kill a chicken for me.
I'll be getting through this one way or another, I've just gotta be patient...
Much love from Seoul
During my last class of the day I started to lose my vision and my limbs and face got numb. I blocked it out until class was over and once I got to the teachers lounge I started to kind of freak out - and so did some of the people around me. I rushed (the word rushed may be misused here - I struggled in traffic in the back seat of a cab) to a nearby hospital as quick as I could.
An assistant from the school came with me so he could act as my translater. He is really good at Korean, so I trusted he was telling the doctor and nurses what was going on, but he is lacking in the English depertment, so I was pretty much in the dark.
I was sitting on a typical hospital bed in the middle of a large room full of other hospital beds. A woman was dying about ten feet from where I was as her family softly cried and consoled her. A young boy in another bed was standing on the bed while a doctor felt his penis. A man with severe head trauma was motionless a few beds away as his head continued to slowly ooze blood all over his pillow. And I was sitting in the middle of this, disoriented and listening to a Korean conversation that may very well decide my fate.
A nurse started taking my blood for tests and I collapsed backwards on the bed. After they had my blood, I was rushed around and some emergency tests were taken. I had to sign a few waivers that I'm still not completely clear as to what I waived. It was an absolutely terrifying experience. I speak often of feelings of helplessness in this country, but this forced me to completely trust people I had never met before.
Not long after the initial tests, the owner of my school rushed in with another woman from school. They were able to help me understand more of what was happening and definitely put my mind at ease a little bit. I had been in the ER for about an hour and had yet to hear a genuine word of English. Then the emergency tests came back and they were all negative (or positive, whatever the good one is) and I became much more relaxed.
A woman tried to do a heart test on me. She had a machine that would only work if she could get the little suction cups to suction to my skin. Apparently I am a little more hairy than most Koreans, because she could not get the cups to cling to my skin. It was kind of a humorous situation and helped ease the tension further.
It was a long night. I ended up back at home in a weird state of mind. I was very thankful for all of the people around me that came to my aide. Without the help of others, I am not sure what I could have done. At the same time, some atypical events transpired over the evening and reflecting on them was not entirely a joyful time.
I went to see a neurologist this morning and she decided that I need to have an MRI and an MRA on Monday to figure out what is going on. Again, a woman from school came with me. She showed me where to go in the hospital, filled out my paperwork and acted as translater between myself and the doctor. I feel as if I understand what is going on a little better now - now I just need to have some patience.
So, on Monday a large machine in Seoul, Korea will be taking pictures of the fruit inside my melon. I will have to wait until next Thursday to get the results. Looks like I may have a week full of stressful thoughts and worries. Good thing I'm a glass-half-full kinda guy.
If you pray, keep me in your prayers.
If you're a jew, rub Moses's belly for me.
If you practice voodoo, kill a chicken for me.
I'll be getting through this one way or another, I've just gotta be patient...
Much love from Seoul
posted by Kyle at 11:21 PM
2 Comments:
Korean hospitals can be a harsh place, but I do have confidence in Korean(South!) Healthcare. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
stay strong,
Justin
The best thing about Korean Hospitals is cute nurses who want a quick english lesson.Keep your eyes open.
Justin
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