just another American teacher in SK

I’ve been away from the blog for a few days ~ I have been getting progressively more sick in the past week.  It started with the coughing and wheezing, for which I was given an inhaler and a bunch of weird drugs.  After more days of non-stop runny nose and insomnia, I went back to the doctor.  They switched the prescription, which resulted in a charming combination of headaches, nausea, fever, dizziness, vomiting, and diarrhea. 

I made an appointment at the International Clinic at ASAN Medical Center in Seoul for Tuesday. The response from the school authority was “You go to the hospital here. You go here, no travel to Seoul.”  My response was, “No.  I am going to the International Clinic in Seoul.  Tomorrow.  I’m leaving at noon.”  
It must be clear that I am being completely unreasonable ~ I mean, who would chose to see a physician trained at Harvard Medical School when there is a local quack conveniently located just a few miles away?
Sorry ~ it just ain’t an option.  Scold me, put a “bad note” in my file, put me on probation, fire me …  I don’t care.

ASAN Medical Center is Korea’s largest hospital complex and the International Clinic is recognized as the best for foreign clients.  It was a pleasurable experience from the moment I was greeted in English by the security guard, escorted to the Clinic by an English-speaking volunteer, assisted by English-speaking nurses, and counseled (in flawless English) by the physician.

Thank god I had enough foresight to go to the local clinic a third time to request a medical report and a list of medications they had prescribed so I could show it to the doctor at ASAN.  She read the report and read the list of meds, looked at me and asked if I brought the drugs with me. When I gave them to her, she threw them all in the trash.

After a thorough exam, she has prescribed Sudafed and an antibiotic. I had another series of tests and a chest x-ray, and I feel better already.  Well, I still kinda feel like shit, but just spending a hour at a REAL medical facility does wonders.

It’s been a long day.  I’m going to take some Sudafed and an antibiotic and top it off with a codeine (my doc promises a good night’s sleep tonight).   Tomorrow is a new day.

Peace out ~ N

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 10:59 pm and is filed under 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.