My First Hospital Visit

Two in a half weeks ago, I came down with one of the worst colds I've had in a long time, possibly ever.  A few days later, the worst over, I was still tired.  When a week and then another passed, I began to get worried about my total lack of energy, and called up the office in Chengdu for help and advice.

Today, Jenny (Chen Ling) accompanied me to the hospital to have a full blood work-up done.  The hospital, a large building that combined doctors offices with emergency care, was full of people walking to and from various places, slips in hand while trying to discover where to go for what they needed.

We first had to wait for my test slips before any exams of any sort could be done.  Even though Jenny stood there and had been the third person in line at the table, due to more and more elderly people coming over, out of respect, they were helped first.  It seemed like such a long wait that I sat down, bemused at the unwritten rules that were being followed without frustrations or complaints.

Once Jenny had the slips, we made our way downstairs to the testing and lab area.  People were everywhere, either standing in line, cutting, or on their way to a different line.

For the liver function test a full vial of blood was needed.  As I got into line, I noticed that this would be my grand performance of the day - the door to the patients room was left open for all to see, turning everyone into a two-minute performer.  At first the idea of everyone watching to see how the laowai (foreigner) took to a needle started to make me nervous.  Then I realized how interesting it actually was that no one really cared.

The cue moved slow, but the time went by faster than I had expected with the interactions between myself and a toddler that was being held by her mom.  I made faces and tickled her toes, which prompted squirrely movements and little shrieks of laughter.  Soon our amusement was making others smile, some of them trying to get her to call me 'ayi' (auntie).  

As the line dwindled and I became next, I dug out my camera and asked Jenny to take some pictures.  This was, after all, my first hospital visit in China, and a totally unique one at that.

I worried, once the rubber was around my upper arm and the nurse motioned for me to ball my fingers up into a fist, about being stuck.  I never used to fear needles, but went through a roue with a needle (and a nurse who couldn't find my vein) several years ago, leaving my arm bruised for a week.  To my surprise, while Jenny was snapping pictures and I watched my arm, I didn't even notice the entry.  I had to look to even see if she had done anything, she was that smooth.  I was so impressed that I asked Jenny to tell the nurse that she was the best practitioner to ever give me a poke.  

With my tests done, Jenny and I sat down for twenty minutes while we waited for some of the results.   While sitting there we talked about how we hate it when people cut in line and giggled at a man that came back to his wife after having his finger pricked, complaining how hard they had stuck him amidst moans, the two of us looking at each other and trying not to laugh.