the ambulance ride...
hospital 1...
hospital 2 and surgery prep.
February 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
As irony would have it when something really great happens so does something awful. Around 2pm Elena started feeling under the weather, with chills, stomach aches, a fever and a burning sensation in her eyes. We let her relax for a few hours to see if it would pass, and by 9pm her condition was worsening. We told our guest house personnel who called an ambulance from a private local hospital. When we got there a doctor diagnosed her with acute appendicitis and recommended immediate surgery. We did our best to contact her health insurance and the U.S. embassy in Thailand about what should be done, but the eventual verdict was to go through with the surgery, because it obviously couldn't wait a week.
The unfortunate thing about this hospital was its inhospitality. The nurses spoke really broken English and understood even less, but when we would try to conversate or ask them a question it would result with their laughing and ignoring of us. Then we learned that Thais don’t usually utilize CT scans after official diagnosis from a doctor, they just trust the doctors judgment based on a physical exam, and recommend. As you can imagine, this was uncomfortable, being American we ensure that every diagnosis is in fact Absolute, and to have a general idea of what’s wrong without confirmation is scary. As this was a private hospital, we learned that we had a couple of options dependent on our priorities. This particular hospital had a CT scanner, it would, however, cost 400$, and the surgery itself would cost 1,300$, plus the cost of recovery and medication.
After countless phone calls we were approached by an aggressive doctor who asked us, in fantastic English, what we valued: the patient’s health, or money. we responded that Elena’s health was the most important, obviously, but that finances WAS a factor as none of us had an extra 2,000$-3,000$ lying around.
We knew we didn’t have this kind of money, not even combined, so we were recommended to go to the general hospital, and decided to go for more diagnosis and friendlier staff.
The staff at this next hospital was indeed friendlier and all doctors who examined produced the same diagnosis. They moved Elena into prep mode and by 3am we were well acquainted with the surgeon, doctors, and interns who would be performing on Elena with each of their medical educational histories volunteered and committed to memory. Each and every one of them adored Elena and was excited to exercise their English. She even made some Facebook friends out of the experience. One of which was Rebekkah, a girl who wouldn’t leave Elena for HOURS and who would struggle with a smile to communicate. There is a picture below…
By 4am Elena was wheeled out of her surgery and groggy, started her recovery. There were some high and low points, but over the next 3 days that she spent in recovery she healed and made friends with all the others in recovery.
This experience, alone itself, was the most singular true Thai experience that I can recall, and it’s also the most terrifying to remember. What I know now, is that there are some very severe and distinct differences between the standards of Thailand and America when it comes to hospitals. And while we were in a northern region hospital, it was indeed a capable hospital with capable doct
ors and surgeons don’t get me wrong there. the next closest comparison, which is still a stretch as far as technological and sterile standards go, would be what we know as a general hospital, and a large population of those admitted were people from hill tribes, and some even from the borders of countries like Myanmar and Vietnam.
The first night was the worst.
It was a nightmare.
Upon arriving, for one, it was 230-300are, which permits a grim vision. This hospital was regarded as "the people's hospital" and was very popular, aka, it was overbooked with people. Not only was Elena admitted to a large room where 25 other people were openly in recovery, but there were patients lining the hallways, their clipboards lying on the floor next to them. The corridors/hallways on the outsides of the large recovery rooms were open-aired, which explains how the largest cockroach that I have seen in my life was permitted to scurry across the recovery room floor, and a cat in heat allowed meowing its face off around sick patients. the worst, the worst of all for me, was when we had taken Elena to the bathroom, which happened to be a SQUAT (can you believe it, sick patients, barely able to move squatting to relieve themselves!) for her last potty break before surgery, and we looked around and couldn’t for our lives find her toilet paper. So when I went to ask the office of nurses for some tissues/toilet paper, they laughed and said yes, for 8 baht we will give you toilet paper. And that in itself is the worst most vicious anger I felt in all of Thailand. To this day, I still feel like it is a crime that a hospital could directly ask money from patients for toilet paper. I think that is a human right, toilet paper when one is sick, weak, and hurt. After all these quick harsh realities Brittney and I both had to take a moment, away from Elena, to go have panicked phone calls to loved ones bursting with tears.
Brittney and I went home around 430-500am and finally slept after pulling an emotionally vicious all nighter. Over the next few days we stretched ourselves over going to the hospital, small meals, and naps...
Love day and market excursion...
february 14 2010
happy valentines day, to all our loved ones! tonight brittney and i went out to the local night market(while elena was resting), which was a bit more spread out and handmade than the other markets we had been to. we found a few goodies in the city of chiang rai, that we absolutely love...
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