China vol. 3 "Hospital Visits"

So, about two weeks before we left Jayden got a pretty bad cough. I took him in and got some meds. He showed significant improvement, and continued to get better each day. Then, about a day before we left, I started to cough. It hit me pretty bad on the airplane, so by the time I got here Friday night I was pretty miserable.

So, on Saturday, I decided to go to a Dr. The company's secretary went with me to translate (it was a holiday weekend so the VIP doctors office-the ones that speak English-were closed). It's quite an interesting system. We went in to register, and they gave me a debit type card and a booklet, where they track my comings and goings. Hospitals and doctors don't keep track of your records-you keep track in your booklet and each time you go they fill in a new page.

I registered at the front desk, paid to see the Dr. and then went upstairs to the Dr.'s office. It's one room with a desk and a few chairs. I put my booklet at the bottom of the pile, and waited for my turn. When my booklet got to the top of the pile it was my turn. The Dr. needed a blood test, so I took my debit card thing and went downstairs to pay for the bloodwork, then went to the third floor to have my finger prick. Then the lab tech printed out my results and I took that paper back to the bottom of the pile in the Dr.'s office. After seeing the Dr. again, (the company's secretary that was translating for me wasn't sure what breastfeeding or nursing meant so I had some interesting hand gestures going on to try and explain that!) she wrote my prescription. Then I had to go back downstairs to pay for the prescription, and then over to the pharmacy.

It sounds like a long, drawn out process, but we were probably in and out in an hour and a half. I took Jayden in today to see the VIP Doctor because his cough was getting worse, and we were in and out in under and hour. I was especially shocked that I didn't have to wait at all for the pharmacy! They didn't waste any time printing out my name on the label and whatever else it is they do that takes 45 minutes-an hour every time. And, our visits cost less than $10 each, including the prescriptions! It was truly an experience! I could have done without the super hot sauna it was in there though, and it's only April!