TheBanyanTree: Transition 15 - Seeing a doctor in China

[Pat M]

Transition 15

Seeing a doctor in China





I was up at 5:30 am to be ready for my 6:30 am taxi and had just put my
porridge into the microwave when I heard the 'ting, ting' of my cell phone
receiving a text message. It was from Frank. "Don't eat or drink anything."
Just in time!

The taxi driver arrived early; I heard his honk six floors below and hurried
downstairs and outside into the dark. I saw the red glow of his cigarette
before I saw him standing outside his car. Before getting in, I pulled a
scrap of paper from my pocket with the license plate number of the taxi I
was to take and compared it to the plate on the car. Zhangho had told me the
driver didn't know any English.
"Hao le (good)," I said, and climbed into the back seat.
I semi-dozed as the driver sped through the quiet streets and onto the
expressway. The traffic was minimal at this time of the day and the drive
was actually pleasant.There were few blaring horns or pedestrians taking
their lives into their hands by crossing the road.
If you're interested in seeing the traffic in China, look at these videos.
Try to imagine what it's like to cross the road here; it's very stressful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLOmimJnxjE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj4LrSxjTIM&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_G9fFEqwnM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-ZlHXs4Q8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLEfpcOzmM

I arrived at the hospital earlier than expected, no doubt because of the
early hour and minimal traffic. Frank and I were to meet in the foyer of the
main entrance so I found a seat to wait. As usual, I was the only foreigner
and noticed many curious glances.

It was only 8:00 am and yet the place was quickly coming to life. Throngs of
people surged through the main doors. I wanted to take some photos of the
crowds and took out my camera but a guard near the entrance spotted me and
shook his head. (Frank later told me he thought it was because it was a
military hospital.)

Ting. Ting. I received a text message from Frank. He was going to be late
but I didn't mind; I felt fortunate I had him to help me. Seeing a doctor in
Xian would have been impossible without his help. There were no English
signs at the hospital and likely no one who knew more than a few words of
English.

My cell phone rang just as I heard Frank say, "There you are. I was just
calling you."

He told me he was taking me to a special area used only for top military
personnel and foreigners. As we walked, I gave him details of my symptoms so
he'd be able to speak with the doctor on my behalf.

"In this hospital, they treat foreigners very well," he told me. "You will
be treated as if you are an army general and will be given top priority.
You'll get in to see a doctor quickly, he'll give you some medicine and then
we'll be done."

 "I don't think it's going to be like that," I said. "This might be
neurological and it might take awhile for the doctor to figure out what is
going on."

At the nurses' station, he spoke to the nurse at the desk who had me
register as a patient of the hospital and pay a small fee. She gave me a
hospital card. Frank explained my symptoms to her and she wrote them down in
a small book which she gave to me. I then had to pay the fee to see the
doctor---55 yuan, about $8.00. The payment office was some distance away on
another floor so Frank had me sit in the waiting room while he went off to
make the payment. When he returned, we reviewed my symptoms again. In five
minutes, I was called to go see the doctor.

"That was fast!" I quipped, surprised.

"Yes, like I said, you get top priority here. You pay more than others but
you get to go first. (The usual fee is about 8 yuan or just over a $1.00 to
see a doctor.) You'll see a neurologist. He's an old doctor with a lot of
experience. I think that's a good thing."

"Me, too."

A nurse led us down two floors to the neurologist's office. About 10
people stood outside his open door. Inside, the doctor was speaking with the
current patient who sat on a chair next to his desk. There were three
doctors-in-training in the room also and the older doctor was soliciting
their opinions on how to handle the case. (Even without understanding
Chinese, I could figure that out.) The patient had no privacy.

My nurse popped her head into the doctor's office and said something. When
the current patient left, she shepherded me into the doctor's office. Under
normal circumstances, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to put me at the front
of the line but I was terrified, and that changed everything. I needed to
find out what the problem was in order to know whether or not to book a
flight home to Canada, and even though it wasn't fair to the other patients,
I felt minimal guilt.

The doctor was elderly but kind, and he knew a few words of English. I gave
him my 'record' book and receipt and Frank explained my symptoms. The doctor
gave me many tests and he examined the interior of my right eye very
carefully (most of my symptoms are on the right side). I was facing the open
door and the waiting patients crowded around it, curious to find out what
was wrong with 'the foreigner'.
When the doctor told me to stick out my tongue, I glanced at all the
spectators, put it out for a minute and then pulled it back in quickly. I
didn't want a dozen people looking at my tongue! I tried again and again
felt too inhibited. The doctor and his team chuckled and shut the door.
Privacy! I felt very special indeed.
The doctor spent a long time testing various reflexes, comparing sensitivity
on my left side to my right side etc. I had to climb on the table and
perform various movements with my right and left lower legs and feet, as he
and his students watched. Finally, he indicated I could sit in the chair by
his desk again.

     He took my medical report book and wrote in it while asking his young
team questions and commenting on their responses. Then he filled out several
papers and gave me all of the paperwork. It appears that doctors in China do
not keep records on their patients; there are simply too many people.
Patients must keep their own records.

"How many tests do I need," I asked Frank when we left. "Four?"

He leafed through the pages. "Oh my god," he said. "Six. Six tests. Maybe we
here all day." (Frank often speaks Chinglish, enough English to be
understood but grammatically incorrect.)

"I told you it wasn't going to be a short visit." Actually I was very happy
that the doctor was being so thorough.

"This way," he said, guiding me through the crowd. "We must pay first."

There was a cluster of people crowded around the payment counter; there
aren't any orderly lineups in China. Frank is tall which worked to his
advantage. It only took him a few minutes to speak with someone. He came
back to me with a stunned expression.
"These tests cost over 2,100 yuan (a huge amount for a Chinese—for example,
it takes Amy three months to earn that and Zhangho four months). "It's too
expensive. Do you want all of them? I only told you to bring 700 yuan."

"Is one of the tests an MRI?" I asked; that is the test I really wanted.

"I don't know. There is one test with a big machine, but I don't know the
English name for it."

"Hmmm," I paused momentarily. "I'd better have all the tests done, no matter
how much they cost but I'm going to have to go to the bank; I don't have
enough money."

"You can borrow the rest from me," he said, pulling out his wallet.

After he paid, we returned to the fourth floor to speak with the nurse we'd
originally spoken with. She read the list of tests and then asked Frank to
follow her to the area to schedule the tests. Again I sat in the VIP waiting
room.

When Frank returned he said, "There is one test they recommend you don't
have. They insert two needles in your head and then give you electric shocks
all over your body. It is very painful and it will take a long time to get
an appointment." (I've since realized the doctor had requested an
electromyography.)

It only took me a second. "No, I don't want that one!" I'd have to be much
worse before I'd allow anyone to do that to me.

"The nurse arranged for you to have the other big test at 3:00 pm today.
Many people wait weeks or months to have it."

"Great! So I can have all the tests done today?"

"Yes. And you'll find out the results by the end of the day. Let's go and
see if I can get a refund for you."

Off we went, down two flights of stairs to speak to the senior person in
accounting, who was kind enough to authorize the refund of close to 500
yuan. Then, it was back to the wicket to get the cash. Upstairs, downstairs,
left wing, right wing. I was beginning to feel like a yo yo.
"Okay, let's go for the blood tests now."
The area for blood tests reminded me of an old-fashioned bank. Eight nurses
sat behind glass at a long counter. Patients waited in roped-off lanes in
front of each of them. Frank and I joined the shortest line and waited.

When it was my turn, I sat down and placed a needle I'd brought from Canada
on the counter. I had Frank ask the nurse if she could use it. She couldn't
but she took a new needle from a box in her desk and attached it to a vial.
I put my arm through the opening in the glass. She tied it and swabbed it
twice, once with something clear and once with something yellow and with the
gentlest touch, I didn't even feel the needle go in, took my blood.

"Your next test is at three o'clock and after that you can see the doctor to
find out your results. Do you want to go for something to eat?" Frank said.

"Yes, I haven't eaten anything today."

"Alice wants to meet us for lunch. I don't want to; she will tag along with
us all day. Do you want to eat with her?"

"No, it's not good for me when she comes along. She always speaks Chinese
and I sit there with no one to talk to," I said.

As we walked to the underground parking, I began to get an idea of the size
of Xijing hospital; I'd never seen anything like it. The outpatient area
alone has a capacity of 5,000.

As we were driving, Frank's cell rang. "It's Alice. I'm not going to answer
it," he said.

Then mine rang. "Ok, I won't answer mine either."

Frank pulled up to the curb outside a restaurant. When I got out of the car,
I saw a little white car pull up behind us. It looked like Alice's car, but
it couldn't be. Or could it? It was! How in a city of over six million had
she found us?

"It's the second time this has happened," Frank explained. "Another day, she
saw my car and followed me."

"Very strange."

Meanwhile, my mind was racing. What would I say if she asked why I hadn't
answered her phone call?

Frank spoke with her in Chinese.

"She wants to take us to lunch," he said. "To a dumpling place downtown."

I'd been looking forward to some western food and was very disappointed, but
what could we do?
     Later Frank and I returned to the hospital and picked up my blood test
results. Then, we went to another building for my 'big' test. When I saw
'MR' (they missed the I) over the doorway, I felt very happy. There were
many people waiting and the appointments were behind schedule but I was
again put to the front of the line. The nurse called me and gave me plastic
baggies to put over my shoes. She directed me into an area with several
closed doors and people standing around but I had no idea what to do next.
I'd expected to have to change but evidently didn't need to. I had to leave
and find Frank.

       "See what I mean," he said. "No one helps you here. You have to
figure everything out on your own."

"If you weren't here, I wouldn't know what to do."
He asked the front desk nurse some questions and then showed me where I
needed to go. Minutes later I was called in.
The MRI went well; ordinarily, I might have felt a little panicky in such a
small space but I closed my eyes and all I really felt was
gratitude--gratitude that I'd soon know what I was dealing with.

When the test was over, Frank asked how long it would be for the results. He
was told they'd be ready the following day about 2:00 pm.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you again tomorrow," I said. "Thank you so
much for all your help today."

***

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