That Time I went to the Hospital.

Last week I wasn't feeling well. I was running a fever off and on and was really achy. I tried my best to sleep it off, keep my fluids up, and take it easy but nothing seemed to work.  I went to the nurse's office in the school for some medicine which was really helpful, and I told her I would get some more at the pharmacy that night. She told me its better to go the hospital, too bad it wasn't.

This was my first time going into the hospital in Korea. In my walks around my area I knew there was a hospital nearby. To my surprise there is only one entrance and of course I took the longest way possible to get there. Once I was inside the pace picked up: ARC card, describe your symptoms, go through this door, describe your symptoms, take your blood pressure, walk this way, rest on this gurney, here's a doctor. This chain of events was less than 10 minutes. It would have taken 45 minutes on a good day in Canada. Tragically, this was the high point.

Friends of mine have gone to the hospital in Korea and in Southeast Asia and everyone told me it's pretty basic: you get an injection in the butt, sent on your way, and after 12 hours you should be back to being regular you. Upon looking at my symptoms the doctor (who was stunning by the way) said they'll put me on an IV first to see if that helps. So while on the IV I'm twiddling my thumbs because I had no music, reading material, or work to do. Thankfully I had a notebook and a pen so I made a rough draft of this little adventure and documented some of the other patients in the alley of hospital beds.

After both IVs ran their course the doctor returned and I did feel better so she gave me some medicine and my bill. The bill was the clincher that I'm never going back to this hospital until I'm on my deathbed. I was there for two hours, and had two IVs of who knows what to total up to $35 bill. In reality, this bill could have been a lot higher, but being spoiled by free healthcare back home and having a drug plan courtesy of my parents has made me a cheap guy when it comes to my health. Now when ever I get sick I'm going to spend $30 on medicine from the pharmacy (usually about $5-10), vitamin C infused juices, and oranges galore, then kick back and watch a movie or two.  

In order to appease those people who are curious about the cleanliness and protocol of Korean hospitals I wasn't disgusted by any means. There was a guy across from me who was getting drained for an appendectomy, or something like it, and they had the curtain around him most of the time. All the doctors and nurses wore gloves and used clean needles as well. The only qualm I had was they gave me a rough paper towel when I asked for a tissue, (Kleenex isn't a word here). All in all I learned stuff, and realized that going to the hospital is not like a walk-in clinic. Also, if I'm able to get better on my own, I won't bother going to the hospital unless it is a last resort.