From the classroom into the hospital.
BY ALAIN CHARTRAND
During my second visit I saw a lead apron hanging on the wall and insisted they use it every time, much to the annoyance of the X-ray technicians. I guess no one else uses it. They reviewed the X-rays and told me my arm should heal well and that I didn’t have a hairline fracture in my back after all.
Charlotte suggested I go to the hospital in Sanxia to seek a second opinion. (I think it’s common here to do that.) She convinced me with a story about a friend of hers who had to see seven different doctors to find out whether or not she had cancer! Four doctors said she did and three said she didn’t. That’s not really the kind of story to give you confidence in the health care system.
The Sanxia doctor said my arm was broken in two places and confirmed that I had a hairline fracture in my back, but said it would heal by itself in four to six weeks.
Two weeks and a day later I went back to the Jung He hospital to check on my progress. The doctor told me I needed to have an operation to insert a metal bracket under my skin to keep the bones aligned. I was glad I had gotten extra health insurance. I would need to keep the bracket for at least a year, then could leave in on or take it out. I had the doctor book the surgery for the next day and reserve a hospital bed for the next three days for observation. I called Jasmine and Charlotte to let them know.
Charlotte asked me how old the doctor was. He was 35. She told me to cancel the scheduled operation and get another opinion from a different hospital to make sure an operation was really necessary. This seemed a little over the edge to me. In Canada, if the doctor says you need an operation, then you need an operation. Who was I to doubt him? But my health is very important and it didn’t hurt to check. I called Jasmine who took time off from work to go to the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) with me.
The NTUH doctor told me that I in fact did NOT need an operation. He assumed that the Jung He hospital doctor just wanted to make it absolutely 100%. He said that without the operation, I MIGHT lose up to 10% maneuverability, but it wasn’t worth the risk of an unneeded surgery.
I’m going back to the NTUH hospital this Friday to see if I can get this cast off and get back to normal. So many hospitals and complications and all in Chinese! I like to think my Chinese is pretty good but when it comes to serious stuff like this, it just doesn’t cut it.
To further complicate matters, two days ago when stepping off the bus onto the sidewalk, I slipped and fell. Everyone on the bus had seen the fall and they were all staring at me. How embarrassing! I had been wearing my Crocs because I couldn’t tie the laces on my normal shoes. So I just need to be careful. A lot more careful.
And what’s with these sidewalks made of tile? Don’t they know it’s dangerous? Why can’t they just use cement? That’s it for now, I hope this letter finds you with better health and luck than me. iT!
Alain Chartrand teaches English in Taipei, the capital city of the small island of Taiwan. He lives there with his wife, Jasmine. Alain has been writing for TWW since its inception in 2005.
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