John goes to the hospital

Monday afternoon about 5PM, after a typical busy day at work:
interviewed a candidate for a contractor position, assembled and sent out my team's monthly status report, attended 3 or 4 meetings, handled 100 emails, decided whether to pay an invoice for 36KRMB from a vendor, etc., I got up from my cubicle and walked to the bathroom. On the way back to my cube I suddenly felt like I was going to collapse. After sitting down for another minute I felt a lot worse including some discomfort in my chest. Since a colleague ten years younger than me had just had a heart attack (non-fatal) and I had felt uncomfortable several times over the weekend, I asked our department admin to call an ambulance.

The ambulance arrived in less than 15 minutes although it seemed longer. While waiting I called Sun-Ling and she determined I should go to ZhongShan Hospital, near our apartment in XuJiaHui. I was feeling worse by the minute. The ambulance, a small work van with flashing lights on top, arrived manned by a driver and an attendant. My spirits flagged. They looked more like gas station attendants in their navy blue coveralls then the well-trained EMTs you see on TV in the US.

I needed some help climbing in and one of my team members, Yubo, road along with me. They put an oxygen tube in my nose...sort of....they put an oxygen tube near my nose and I put it in my nose. They hooked a pulse monitor to my finger, and stuck heart monitor sensors on my chest. They gave Yubo a little black pill to put under my tongue - some traditional Chinese medicine that eventually made my lip and gum numb. Kinda like dipping snuff.

The route to the hospital followed the same route of the company bus I usually ride so from lying on my back I mentally charted the journey per toll booth, on ramp, etc. The one attendant asked me if I was feeling better or worse. "Not better, not worse" was the answer. Sun-Ling later asked me did I think I was going to die. "No" I said. I just kept thinking that I did not want to die on the Humin Elevated Highway.

So we eventually got to the hospital and they wheeled me in to the "regular" entrance where Sun-Ling was waiting. After a minute, they put me back in the ambulance and took me to the "foreigners wing" or maybe it's called the "VIP" wing and in a few minutes I was in a bed in a 7th floor room, not in the emergency room, but in a regular room. Soon, a young female doctor came in and asked me some questions. When did you start feeling bad? Etc. Checked me for abdominal pain. I guess she thought I might have appendicitis. Then she took my blood pressure. It was 180/100. Wow! That's not good.

Then a nurse took 2 vials of blood, hooked me up to a saline bag, and gave me a yellow pill - western medicine this time - to put under my tongue. Then I had to pee. That's another story. My first experience with the "urine pot".

Then they moved me off the bed and on to a gurney and wheeled me over to the regular wing to get a CT scan. That gurney ride was terrible. I'm prone to motion sickness and I felt terrible by the time we arrived at the CT scan room. Sun-Ling and Yubo helped push me around as the sole "orderly" was a female about 95 years old. Just joking, she was about 50. Sun-Ling says it's common for family members to help with hospital care. Luckily the CT scan took only few minutes as I was starting to get claustrophobic. Then another nauseating ride back to my room.

The doctor came back and said the initial blood work was OK, but it would be another hour until the results of the CT scan and extended blood work would be known. She measured by BP again: 150/90. I was exhausted and almost fell asleep. Yubo went out for food and water. I did not hear him came back.

The doctor returned. She brought out the EKG machine, hooked me up, and took a reading - OK - no heart attack. The results of the CT scan were also OK The extended blood work showed no kidney problems, etc. My BP was still 150/90.

It was now about 8:30 and I was free to leave. Sun-Ling had a fist full of receipts, my personal medical booklet, and a few boxes of prescription medications for me. It's pay as you go. By this time I was feeling a bit better, knowing that I would not die on foreign soil. ;-) But seriously, my experience gave me another perspective on why we need a solution to quickly get our soldiers safely home from Iraq.

So we left the hospital, Sun-Ling, Yubo, and I. We walked about 50 meters to the main drag and hailed a cab, dropped Yubo off nearby, and were back home around 9PM.

Sun-Ling took this photo of me lying in my bed just before I checked out.