I was a little embarrassed that I thought I needed to go to the ER, but it turns out I was not just being dramatic. The whole story made Abe and I laugh, so maybe you will too.
Friday evening Abe and I had a dinner party to go to. I felt normal all day; I had been on an 8 mile bike ride earlier. Suddenly after the shower at 5:30 my tummy felt bad. Thirty minutes later we walked to the apartment in our building for the party. I told Abe I might have to leave early. After about 15 minutes everyone arrived and started grabbing plates and I not only could I not eat, but I couldn't stay any longer. I told Abe to stay but I had to go, but he should stay.
After a couple hours passed my upset tummy turned to pain in my side and back. Finally I sent Zeke to go get Abe. I didn't want to go to the doctor because I was either afraid it would be nothing and I would be embarrassed that I was over-reacting, or that it would be something bad like a burst appendix and I would need surgery. But I was in pain. Daisy told Daddy I sounded like a whining puppy.
Our insurance goes through a third insurance party here called SOS. They translate, set up appointments for us, take care of the bill at the doctor/hospital and later bill our insurance company. We called SOS and they said to go to GNU ER room. When we arrived the admitting people did not want to admit me. They said it was very expensive, along with another word I can't remember. Something like serious, or complicated, or something. After Abe parked he got SOS on the phone to translate. I was thinking good, now they can hurry up and start taking care of me.
But no. The nurse took the phone and went inside to talk for ever. We were like how can this be taking so long? Then she walked out, kept talking, then turned around and walked back in for another eternity. I was all, don't mind me, folks. I'm just here in writhing pain, no biggy.
When she finally came back out she once again said this is very expensive and we need to go to a different hospital. My guess is that they thought these miguks (Korean word for Americans) were not going to be able to afford this expensive hospital. Abe and I were like, fine, whatever, just tell us where the other hospital is. It was not far so we walked to the car to drive to Jeil Hospital. SOS called back and said this was not acceptable and asked us to wait 10 minutes for him to get things worked out with GNU. Keep in mind this is the hospital that we have gone to for many appointments since we have been here for various things like Daisy's leg, a mammogram for me, an inhaler for Eli, skin issues with Zeke, etc. etc. It was far from our first rodeo with GNU. We had no idea why we couldn't be admitted, but Abe and I were like, nope, we're not waiting any longer. We're going somewhere else where we can get admitted.
The GPS showed Jeil was only about 10 minutes away. It was actually by the vet that Frito just had her surgery this summer. But then we got turned down a small side street and another that looked like a seedy alley. The hospital looked like a small, not very well lit building. But what are you gonna do?
They took my alien registration card and my temperature, because Covid. They also told us it would be expensive. We said that was fine, just get me in. I walked through another set of sliding doors to 'triage.' It was a long room full of hospital beds with a work station in the center.
They sat me on the nearest bed for a couple minutes, then had me go to a bed on the opposite side of the room. They got an IV going with a couple fluids and a pain reliever (bring it!).
There were probably 20 beds in there. I mean, sure, they had curtains that you could draw if you were so inclined, but they were not inclined to pull them. Abe and I joked that this was the JPS of Jinju. {JPS is the hospital in FW that people go to who do not have insurance. A lot of riff-raff ends up there. We were the riff-raff of Jinju.}
The nurses were all nice. But then one guy brought me a cup to pee in. I just stared at it; "Am I going to have to pee in that in this bed, in this room, in front of everyone???" I whispered to Abe in horror. He didn't know either so we just left it on the counter behind the bed.
I was feeling nauseous, so they brought me a 'vomit bag.’ Yep, just a little plastic baggy.
I got up and went to another room to take a few x-rays. After I returned a nurse took my temperature. She was shocked that I had a fever. They were all kind of low-key freaked, because, Covid. They quickly moved me to another bed in this big room with 20 beds, but it was on one end and actually had 3 walls. They asked all kinds of questions about if I had left the country (no, not since December), if I had left the city recently (yes, to Namhae) and if I had been to Seoul (yes, in July). Seoul has had high numbers of Covid since the 2nd week of August or so. Bells and whistles went off in this guy's head--when did I go, how long was I there? Finally they realized my fever was due to the pain I was feeling and it was not Covid related. They all breathed a sigh of relief.
After the barrage of questions they presented the dreaded pee cup again, expecting results. I asked if there was a restroom I could use. Glorious day, they did not make me pee in the cup in the bed in front of everyone! Keep in mind I was hooked up to an IV, so as I brought it into the restroom I discovered the stall had a bar across the top of the door and the IV stand was too tall to get in there with me. However, peeing in a stall in a restroom with the door open was much more desirable to peeing in a bed in front of an open room, so I did it. After the pain meds kicked in I got a little rest.
Good news on the pee front. Results came back showing a kidney infection. That was one of the best outcomes we could have had. I waited until all the bags were empty, including a second pain killer bag. They unhooked me, gave me a round of meds for the morning and noon the next day. I was instructed to come back in the morning to see the internal medicine specialist.
Abe and I were a little shocked at the lack of privacy. However, they were efficient. We were out in about 2.5 hours. And here is the kicker. Remember they said it would be expensive? We paid 224,00원, which is around $200. Yes, an ER visit was two hundred bucks. So maybe privacy is overrated?
From our experience, all doctor visits are in the hospital, even things we would go our our PCP for. Whenever they prescribe medication you go to the pharmacy located right there in the hospital and take your meds out the door with you. Each dose of medicine is in an individual little bag. When we get home I write the date in each little bag so you never have to wonder if you took the pills that day it not. Brilliant.
The next morning SOS called us back. They explained the the problem with admittance last night was that GNU ER does not see outpatients on the weekends. So if you have a minor emergency, make sure it only happens on week days. Anyway, they sent us to yet another hospital because they have an agreement with this hospital and our insurance company.
Off we went to hospital number three, Seran Hospital. It was not quite the dark alley that the JPS hospital was in, but it did not look like we would expect a hospital to look like. I'm not sure if it was an actual hospital, but maybe more like an urgent care facility? Regardless, they were nice and had an interpreter waiting for us. Another pee sample (this one was not as traumatizing because I knew I would use an actual restroom) and they also verified a kidney infection. I got a week's worth of antibiotics this time with instructions to come back when I was finished with meds.
I also go another IV of pain meds before we left. I went into a tiny room smaller than my living/dining area with probably 8 beds in it, all with the curtains closed around the beds and lots of shoes on the floor. Because insurance covered this visit I don't know the cost yet, but we paid for a week's worth of antibiotics for about $22. I am guessing the hospital visit is in the same ball park as the night before. America has seriously messed up our health care costs. I would gladly sacrifice a bit of privacy to save thousands of dollars.
To wrap up this long story, I took the rest of Saturday and Sunday easy. By Monday the meds had kicked in and I was back to normal. Let's hope the doctor tells me I'm all fixed when I go back on Friday for follow-up. Which, by the way, is back at hospital number one. SOS chose to send me there for follow up because they have a urologist and hospital number three did not. As long as I am healthy again I don't mind.
*Side note: This is how I remember the events of that Friday night/Saturday morning. Keep in mind I was in intense pain and had received intravenous drugs a couple times, so Abe's version of this account may be slightly different and probably more reliable.🤪
[Sept. 11]
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