So I went to the ER last night, and I must say I am ambivalent about the experience.
Yesterday, I found myself struggling to breathe in a way I've never felt before. Harsh coughing, raw throat, light headed, metallic taste in my mouth, all arriving in the span of five minutes or less. Needless to say when it didn't go away after 20 minutes and I felt light headed I decided it was time to test 119.
Dialing 119 is easy and immediately gets a response. However, when the Korean operator discovers you're a waygook, they automatically put you on with a volunteer translation hotline. I admit, the transition was rough and it took several minutes of struggling to hear the operator over a glitch in the recorded message before I was able to speak to someone (there is something unnerving about calling an emergency number and not being able to get in touch with someone who speaks your language). When we finally were able to speak the operator was friendly, understanding, and asked if I needed him to call an ambulance (turns out the translators are not connected to an emergency agency, but they will call one for you). Feeling only slightly stronger than before, I decided I should see a doctor and asked my operator where to go. He recommended Pusan National University Hospital.
PNU? Hell that's next door! I thought and quickly got dressed and hopped into the first cab asking for "Pusan Dae Beyong-won" the driver nodded and we sped off into the night.
Well, to my surprise, Pusan National University Hospital is NOWHERE NEAR Pusan National University (Damn you IRONY!!!!!)
No PNU hospital is near Toesong Subway... two stops from Busan Station, on the other side of the city. But $15 cab rides aside, I was simply happy to be at a hospital.
PNU hospital is one of Busan's finest hospitals. Yet, for a country so committed to English education, finding people capable of helping an English speaker after 5pm is surprisingly difficult. However, after 20 minutes of miming and calling various translation hotlines, I got signed into the ER and verified my insurance.
Korean ER's aren't like those back home. I was surprised by how many people were there. Most of the beds were full of various patients, some old, some young, many with family members bringing them snacks. The adjusshi in the bed opposite me nibbled on kimbap as he sat with his IV.
I've honestly had few encounters with hospitals myself. So when I got set into a hospital bed in the ER I didn't know what to expect. I suppose I should have anticipated the small bed size, but being six inches too tall for Korea doesn't always settle in until your feet are hanging off your hospital bed.
There were a couple hospital staff members proficient with English. They explained they'd do several tests to verify my symptoms. Given how long it took for me to get to the hospital the wheezing had subsided, but I decided I'd come to far to not get checked out. The hospital did several blood tests, some cardiographs, an chest x-ray, a CAT scan of my lungs, even gave me an IV drip for my time there! All in all I was in the ER for about three hours. By the end of it, I was feeling better, but no closer to finding out how I'd gone from healthy to fearing for my life in less than 10 minutes.
Given my hospital stay had already cost me $200 I decided I was healthy enough to go home and do all the follow up tests in the outpatient center the following day. My ER doctor wanted to keep me for various blood tests over the next six hours, but I declined since my lungs were my concern and they were feeling better. My doctor assured me she would make a note of my condition and invited me back the following day for tests with the cardiologist and a pulmenology specialist (which I'll write about another time). I took the subway home feeling a little miffed that I'd come no closer to discovering what had suddenly sent me spiraling into a sickly state but I had a great deal to reflect on as well.
Modern Korean medicine is excellent and thorough, they don't waste time to test you and eliminate possibilities right off the bat. Though learning what the results of those tests are is difficult with many doctors who do not speak much English. In this manner I must say I'm extremely grateful to a PNU hospital cardiograph technician who said his name was Pill. He was the only person that night who spoke fluent English and we chatted a bit about his time in Maryland as he showed me my cardiograph results and why the doctors were interested in them. He not only was able to show my what they were testing, but also describe why they were concerned in a way I found reassuring. Having answers is empowering and feeling like you know what's going on is very important in being comfortable in a medical situation. Pill (if that is your real name) I salute you for the only person I felt had bedside manner (at least in my language).
Secondly, I'm grateful for my medical insurance. Not that I didn't wrack up significant fees at the ER, but insurance helped cover a significant chunk of that. In a similar vein, the expenses I did incur are very manageable. I've heard horror stories of uninsured friends back in the states who found themselves in tens of thousands of dollars in debt over medical emergencies. Though I don't have a strong stance on healthcare benefits and insurance, I am grateful it comes with my job here in Korea.
However, I've come to realize the tenuous tightrope I walk on here in Korea. I've lived in Busan for several months now and I've taken my good health for granted. I was totally unprepared for a medical emergency and found 119 lacking in the help I needed. The translator was friendly and helped as best he could, but he was from Seoul and had no connection to emergency services. This left him at a disadvantage for helping me in Busan find a hospital. Though he did recommend a good hospital, had I known it was so far away I'd probably have chosen a different hospital. I suppose the moral to me is one I'd like to pass to all my expat friends, do your homework. It's scary living alone when no one near you speaks your language. I realized if I had aliphatic shock in my apartment, no one could help me. That is a scary, helpless feeling. So I suppose, know your area, know your hospitals, and decide on what you'll do in an emergency before it happens. (here ends my PSA for today)
Yet, more than anything I'm happy I had a cell phone. Not just for calling 119 and looking up PNU hospital for the cabby to find, but for texting. During my ER ordeal I was able to keep in touch with a close friend who kept me company throughout the experience. Though that might not seem like much, just that little bit of company, of presence, is so reassuring and helpful. Especially, in a situation where trying to communicate your needs is so difficult! That meant the world to me then and now.
Thus was my Korean ER experience (hopefully my last) complete with konglish, cuts, scrapes, and the old ajumma cleaning lady sweeping up discarded plastic caps and tubes with her ordinary straw half-broom (not what you'd expect in an ER, but someone has to pick up). Obviously, I'm doing better and went to my follow up appointments today (more on that later). For now though I figured I'd share being in a hospital bed in Korea.
Stay healthy out there kids!
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