The Hospital

So, I got sick last Thursday. BLEH everywhere. It was a horrible scene. It started around 8:30 at night when I had my first attack. My guess is that it was from the milk I used to attempt to make rice pudding. Although I had the milk a few days prior with my cereal in the morning and I didn't get an upset stomach. My friend Hyo-jin was visiting me around 7pm because he was in my town. My tummy started rumbling and I told him, "I don't want to come off rude, but I have to ask you to leave."

Good thing he didn't have to witness what happened later. I vomited three times between 8:30pm and midnight. I went to sleep for what I thought was a full 8 hours only to get up at 1 am from an attack of the runs!

I was crying and in pain so I called my co-teacher. He came to pick me up at 1:30am and take me to the hospital. Now, I pay in every month to the national health care plan. I could have went to the university hospital, but that would have been more expensive. Instead, my co-teacher took me to a hospital about 20 minutes away. They asked me where it hurt and what happened. The nurse asked me if I was pregnant and I said, "No way!". Then they hooked me up to an IV drip for 40 minutes. I laid in bed #2 trying to sleep. When I entered the hospital there was no one in there. As I lay there about 4 more people came in. I had to call the nurses attention to the fact that my drip was done and my blood was beginning to go back into the IV. They unhooked me and that was that. They didn't really tell me my condition. The doctor said I had an acute something or other... I just said it was bad milk.

I paid 35,000 won ($32) for the visit and after I paid they sent me to the pharmacist. She gave me a few pills and three small packets of what tasted like peptobismol. I occupied the hospital's time for about 1 hour and 30 minutes. They didn't tell me what to eat or what not to eat and I didn't think to ask in my given state. I thought that was strange, but then I asked my co-teacher and he said to eat jook (a type of rice porridge or soup) and stay away from spicy things. I guess it's just common knowledge so the doctor failed to mention it. It would have been nice though.

I knew that the pain would probably pass, but here was my opportunity to visit the hospital so I had to take it. I know it sounds strange, but I wanted to see what my experience would be like. In terms of care, I think it could have been a bit better; more information about the foods I should eat and more promptness with the removal of the IV would have been great. In terms of promptness of admittance, there were no long lines I had to wait in nor was there was a communal room where all the sick were waiting nor any other image of what universal health care is portrayed as in the US by certain media outlets. In terms of cost, I thought it was more than reasonable considering the time I stayed and the medicine I received afterward. In terms of cleanliness, it was not pristine, but it was not dirty nor scary either. The beds were like any hospital beds. In terms of staff demeanor, I think the doctor and nurse were very nice considering I was a foreigner. I watched they way they handled other patients and I think I received the same level of care. In terms of how I felt after, I was super sleepy since it was 3 in the morning. I was glad that I was able to keep the fluids in though.

I didn't go to work on Friday and this was the text one of my teachers sent me, "I heard you are sick. Please feel better. I will come visit you so you are not sick alone in foreign country." It made me feel so good. I told Bae Jin-suk that I would rather she not come because my place was pretty gross. I went out to eat with another friend, Kevin, who was super busy trying to find a new job but came to keep me company. I ate Solongtang. It's a bland soup with noodles, rice, and thin strips of meat. It was perfect for an upset stomach. I garnished it with green onion and added a bit of salt. Later that evening, Hyojin drove to drop off some Bulgaris, which is a yogurt like drink that has probiotic stuff in it. He said it would help. One in every flavor! :)