SOUJOURN IN A KOREAN HOSPTIAL

I probably should have done this while I was in the hospital but when I got there I think I was too sick, and then I just didn’t care to be bothered. Now that I’m out there is a lot to remember and get down on paper. I don’t really want to forget any of this unique experience.

As you remember I had pneumonia or bronchitis or something. I wasn’t getting any better and the doctor said I had fluid on my lungs so he made an appointment at the local hospital to see the internist. That was on Monday April 9th for a Tuesday the 10th appointment.

From the doctor I went to drive to work. I couldn’t see clearly and kept nodding off. I don’t know if it was tiredness or an indication of how sick I was. What I do know is that as I was approaching the toll gate in Gimpo, I had fallen asleep or gone unconscious. At the last moment I awoke and saw the line of cars in front of me. I swerved to avoid hitting anyone and crashed my car in to the barrier. Luckily I wasn’t hurt and didn’t hit any other cars. The tow truck came and got me and drove me to the service center.

Two people from the agency where I was working part-time before my full-time job showed up to check on me and Saeyoon’s father came. I remember Saeyoon’s father saying he had a mechanic who was a friend who would charge less to fix my car. My insurance is only for destroying other cars, not mine. I said okay and the 2 people from the agency took me back to my motel. Needless to say I didn’t go to work and just crashed for the rest of day and night.

I don’t really think I was that sick. I just thought it’s some kind of evil flu that won’t release me. I went to the hospital on the 10th with my x-ray’s in hand and saw the Internist. After a few seconds he invites me to stay in the hospital. I think he’s crazy and say that I can’t. He says I should go to the out-patient area and get some fluid. I agree to that.

While there I called Saeyoon to tell her where I am and to let the nurses talk to her so she can explain things to me. I’m lying on a bed with a drip in me feeling pretty much like death. The next thing I remember is her father coming in and telling me I should stay in the hospital because your health is the most important thing and I shouldn’t worry about money. I was feeling bad enough that I agreed that maybe I should be there to get fixed.

They admitted me to a room. There are 6 beds in a room (too many) and most patients have a family member with them 24 hours a day. There were nights there were 10 people sleeping in my room. The quarters were close, but they are that way in Korea. All I really remember is not eating but feeling like I had to throw up all the time. I kept going to the washroom to throw up a little. One time I didn’t make it and just threw up walking down the hall. How embarrassing and humiliating. After that I walked everywhere carrying a wastebasket to throw up in.

The next day they told me my problem wasn’t pneumonia but acute renal failure. (kidney stops functioning). It seems the pneumonia had infected my kidney and my kidney kind of died. That was something new to me. They had to cut open my neck and insert a catheter so they cut put the tube in there for my dialysis treatments. I ended up with 3 dialysis treatments and the kidney did get better.

I went from never peeing to peeing way too much. They couldn’t release me until my urine output was normal. I had been moved to a new room which I hated. The guy in the bed next to me moaned all the time. He was bedridden and I have no doubt he was in pain, but enough already. Moaning doesn’t help. The women visitors talked too much and too loud and the TV was on too much. I spent no time in my room because there was no peace to be found.

Most time I sat in the lounge just staring out the window. Rarely did I have the desire to read. The days were forever. I did become an expert at sitting and doing nothing.

The doctors and nurses were very kind. My doctor spoke enough English to communicate with me and the nurses, while their English was quite limited, managed to communicate. I have no complaint with the nurses as they couldn’t have been nicer to me. For some reason they never called me “Martin”. They would always run up to me to take my blood pressure, or whatever, and say, “MartinKing”. It was so cute.

I met a young lady in the next room (a private room) who spoke a little English and had been there almost a month. Her mother was living at the hospital with her (the Korean way). We spent some time together and it was good to make a friend. I also made friends with her sister when she visited, especially the time she brought French fries from McDonalds.

Saeyoon’s father was there every day. I would tell him not to come but he wouldn’t listen. Her family felt that I was alone so someone should be with me. It didn’t matter that I told them it was alright, they were deaf to what I was saying.

At the beginning it was so bad that if I went to the washroom and wasn’t back in 2 minutes, her father would come in calling my name. I couldn’t walk and push my IV pole because he had to push it for me. If I got a snack, I couldn’t pay, he had to pay. He couldn’t have been any nicer but it is difficult to have anyone around so much.

I had no privacy at the hospital. The only place I was alone was in the shower. It was so depressing to not have anywhere I could go and hide. It was so depressing to not have any loved ones there to come and visit. As nice as everyone was, it’s not the same as the people you love coming to see you.

I was not without visitors. I had quite a few which was unexpected. Saeyoon called people I knew and told them I was in the hospital and some came back after the obligatory 1st visit. Everyone brings food when you come to visit in the hospital. I got drinks, cherry tomatoes, French fries, bread, cookies, milk, etc. It was really quite nice.

One time Saeyoon’s father came and brought this kid with him. The reason for the kid was that Saeyoon’s father was leaving so the kid was there to watch that I was okay. I would get up to go to the bathroom and he would start to follow. I assured him that I was okay and I could manage. I may be in the hospital but I wasn’t an invalid.

The first few days I was there Saeyoon was wonderful. I remember her being there a lot (things are a little hazy) and I remember one night she crawled in my hospital bed with me. When I first remember that I thought it was a dream and I asked her if it happened. She said it did. It is without a doubt one of the sweetest things that has ever happened to me.

She told me she thought I was going to die. I never thought that but maybe I looked a lot worse than I thought. She said she was very scared but after the “crisis” passed she didn’t visit a lot. She would come some nights and stay for an hour but she was very busy. Of course being the overly sensitive person I am, I felt that sometimes she should have given up her “busyness” for a bit and spent time with me. It didn’t matter how much time her father spent with me, it was her who I wanted to see and who could put a smile on my face. All I heard from her was how busy and tired she was. I don’t doubt that but I know that sometimes we have to make an extra effort for those we care about and I felt this was lacking. I admit it hurt me a great deal.

I was recovering and feeling pretty good. The doctor’s were talking about releasing me soon and I was happy about that. I had no home to go to since I’d been living at the “love motel” and I had no job since the job I was going t get was gone after 1 ½ weeks in the hospital. Saeyoon and her mother invited me to stay at her apartment and I kept resisting. I felt it was very generous but a terrible idea. Finally I relented because I had nowhere else to go except a motel and agreed to come.

On a Thursday night I was good enough to get a pas to go out for the evening. It was my last adult class and I wanted say goodbye. I went and told them my tale of woe and they insisted on ordering in a pizza for me to eat. They are good people. It was very nice to spend time with them. When I got back to the hospital I was experiencing a pressure on my chest and a shortness of breath. The intern said I was supposed to be going home soon but I wondered what that mattered. I had a problem then. They did an EKG and my heart rate was much too fast. So, all weekend I was on heart medication and this machine I wheeled around. Care is limited on the weekend so I couldn’t see the cardiologist. It was depressing.

I had to sit around and wait for May 3rd to have an angiogram to check my heart vessels. They told me if I needed stents to widen my arteries they would insert them then. In an angiogram they put a catheter in your femoral artery (in the leg) and then shoot a bunch a dye in you so they can see things. My arteries were good (which was good), but after the test you have to lie still with a sandbag on your leg. There is a risk of hemorrhaging if you move and keeping still for 6 hours is very difficult. After the test I had to pee but I couldn’t lie down. I was moaning and sweating and they offered to give me a catheter which is hell. But things were so bad I had to and I screamed during insertion. The guy who inserted it said all men scream. I peed a liter of fluid so I really needed to go.

I was back in my room watching the clock and I needed to pee again. There are no privacy curtains and I told the nurse I didn’t want to pee in front of everyone. She brought a screen in which was too small and was getting one of the other patients to hold up a blanket as a curtain. Now I was getting angry. I couldn’t pee and I told her I couldn’t like that. She offered me a catheter I and said where are you going to do it? In the middle of the room? She said she would find some place private and off she went. I then managed to squeeze out a bit of urine and it hurt like hell. The nurse came back and I told her I thought I could pee myself if I was alone and where was my private place. I was quite loud and yelling that this was a “fucking stupid place” and what kind of way was this to treat patients. I think I was amusing my roommates.

She did find me a private room which was quite nice and as painful as it was I did get some urine out on my own. Saeyoon came that night and she had a book of old pop songs so we sang and it was quite fun, her sitting by the bed and me stationary in the bed. The nurses let me stay in this private room all night (a touch of heaven) and I felt pretty good in the morning except my leg was a little sore.

The doctors released me the next day (May 4th) and they told me I could go to Jeju Island with my friend the next day as planned. I was quite excited about the trip. Saeyoon’s father picked me up and bought be BBQ chicken and strawberries and watermelon to eat at Saeyoon’s as he knew I liked them. We came here and I felt just fine. I woke up early in the morning to get the airport bus and I felt fine. Everything was good until the bus got to the airport. I took the wrong suitcase and I was so dizzy I fell off the bus. I couldn’t walk but was weaving all over the place. I just thought I had low blood sugar.

I rested for ½ an hour and then went upstairs to meet my friend. He told me how bad I looked and how pale I was. I asked him to buy me an orange juice and I would be fine. I wasn’t. Inchon airport phoned me to tell me I had the wrong suitcase and they were sending someone right over to get it, and I would have to go to Inchon to get mine. Things were not going on.

Dr. Kang (my friend) said we were not going to Jeju but he was returning me to the hospital. I was in no condition to argue. He practically carried me to his car where I passed out in the back seat. The next thing I know we are at emergency back at my old hospital. They did a brain scan and a blood test and told me I had anemia which is too little blood. They thought I was bleeding inside so they did some tests looking for the source. It wasn’t the stomach and they couldn’t find the problem.

They readmitted me and I went back to my old room. It was embarrassing. They had me on fluids to stop the dizziness but because it was the weekend, patient care is limited and they couldn’t look for the problem until Monday. Not good.

On Monday they tell me they have scheduled a test for Tuesday or Wednesday. I was not happy because I was there and shouldn’t have to wait so long. When I learned Tuesday afternoon that it wouldn’t be until Wednesday I told the doctor to take my IV out, I was leaving the hospital. We had a long conversation and at the end of it they were able to do the test.

They still couldn’t find the bleeding but my leg (from the angiogram) was a funny color and had swollen to twice it’s size so that was my guess. On Wednesday morning they tell me they well schedule a sonogram for maybe today or maybe tomorrow. I told the doctor that it will be today. I am not waiting any longer. He said he would ask them to do it today and I told him, “No. You will TELL them to do it today”. I was quite aggressive and I hated to be like that with good people but I don’t believe in just sitting and waiting when you are in the hospital.

They did the sonogram and found a small hemotoma in the leg. That is like a small blood clot that impedes the bleeding process. My swelling was bad and my foot was blue from old blood settling there. But at least we knew what the bleeding was from.

The guy who did the sonogram asked me I would take an MRI. They had a brand new machine (one of 10 in the world) and it was a $7000 test but it would be no charge. I said would it help them find any problems and he said that it would right away. I said when can you do the test and he said, “maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day”. I said, “No, tomorrow” and he agreed.

So I just rested my leg and had my big MRI. I was only the 3rd patient they had used it on and where the sonogram showed many potential problems, the MRI showed that everything was pretty good. I felt good about that and all I had to do was wait for my blood levels to come up and my leg to get better.

They released me yesterday (Saturday) at noon. I went to the business office and offered them $250 for my $400 bill. I told them that was all I had which was true. They turned me down and took nothing. I don’t understand because $250 is better than nothing. Oh well.

Saeyoon’s father came to get me and he took me to get some chicken. We then went to visit friends of his. Why? I don’t know. I sat there staring at the TV for an hour while they socialized. It was weird but since he was doing me a favor I didn’t say anything.

We then looked for an ATM machine that takes foreign cards. I had transferred money to my American account because he paid my hospital bill the first time. (I didn’t want him to, but he insisted that it had to be paid right away). We finally found a machine but I have a $400 a day daily limit so I’ll have to go a few days in a row to give him all the money I owe him.

We finally came to Saeyoon’s place and it was just me, her mother, and her father. I just sat in a chair and tried to disappear. Her mother went in her room and watched TV and her father watched TV in the living room. It was just as bad as being in the hospital. Her father doesn’t live here but he was here because I was here. He asked me if I wanted to go to his mothers but I turned him down.

Saeyoon came in about 7 and we talked a bit. She is very run down and I told her she needs some balance in her life and can’t be so busy that’s she’s always tired. She is such a child in some ways. I also told her that I think many times (but not always) she is quite thoughtless. I told her that I was hurt she left me at the hospital alone so often when she is my only “loved one” here. She knows she was wrong but sometimes she just can’t do what’s right. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if we will be able to work through this, but I do want more considerate treatment. She told me she knows that I wouldn’t have treated her like she treated me if it was she in the hospital. I laughed and said I thought that too.

So we shall see. The reality is I have nowhere else to go at the moment. I have a job starting June 1st if I want it but I don’t get the place to live until then. I haven’t saved any money which was one of my objectives when coming here. I need to smarten up this time. I know I’ve said that before but his if for real. I can’t go anywhere without some money in my pocket.

So here I sit, this morning of Sunday May 13th wondering how my day will go. I have no exciting plans and I know I will have no privacy. Her mother is nice but speaks little to no English. My Korean doesn’t exist. Saeyoon and I are not on the most solid ground at the moment. This is quite the mess I’ve gotten myself into, Ollie.

But, as always, it could be worse. At least there are people who care enough to look after me. I suppose that’s better than being totally alone. I know I should be grateful for things instead of complaining but I can’t help it.

We shall see what we shall see. I think I need to stay here and finally save money. I think that’s reality regardless of Saeyoon and I. Maybe we’ll survive this and maybe we won’t but I’ll be okay because I always am. Of course I hope for good and positive resolutions but we can’t always get what we want.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. I’ve learned first hand about Korean hospitals. I’ve learned that taking care of someone here means being with them 24 hours (which is way too much). It means crowded rooms and no privacy unless you have the big bucks for a private room (and they are not cheap). It means a lot of sitting and waiting. And oh yes, I couldn’t eat the food. I ordered in pizza a few times, had BBQ chicken once, and ate bread and strawberries and watermelon. Not the best diet in the world, but we make do with what we have..