I went to have my crown replaced and ended up having my appendix taken out. (hospital day one)
It all started last night when one of my numerous crowns fell off. I rang a friend and asked if they could accompany me to the hospital to have it replaced. They could. So the next morning I met them at the hospital. All went well, and I asked them if they had a few more minutes as I needed something else to be checked out. I had had thus discomfort in my lower right abdomen. I had ignored this for about a month fearing appendicitis and not wanting an operation in Jiangkou! However, I reckoned now was as good a time as any, so off we trotted to the doctor. He pushed and prodded. It hurt. Off to the CAT scanner, but not before paying 450 rmb
Outside was the printing machine. It printed your CAT scan whilst you waited. It was about thre degrees outside and about the same inside. You need a good coat if you are waiting!
These are the two scan I got out of the machine. I also had to wait for a report from the CAT scan men. If you can read these and know what they mean, don't tell me if there is anything else wrong! I don't want to know unless it is serious!
So we headed back to the doctor who quickly read the report and made a decision. He told me but I did not understand. My Chinese friend was a little lost for words. I guessed appendicitis, wrote it into google translate and they confirmed with me. Off we went to the ward! I sat down at the warming table (see previous post) and began to talk to the doctor through my interpreters. One was my friend and the other was the Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO) from school. There were two choices, antibiotics, with the risk of a recurrence or an op. Yikes! I didn't know and asked the doctor. He took me to the examination room and pressed a little. Didn't seem to hurt much. He then pressed beside my navel and quickly released the pressure. That hurt...a lot. He said that due to this he would recommend an operation but hat it would have to be my choice. I accepted his judgement. Then came the shock. It was maybe twelve o clock and they said they would operate in the afternoon, maybe three o'clock. Blimey! I hadn't expected that. Europe was a sleep and there was no one to talk to. MY decision. Well I know that leaving an appendix can be bad so I said yes, and the ball started to roll. I asked the FAO to take me home and picked up a bag of 'stuff'. I went back and was led to a ward. I had seen cleaner! But this is a small town. I put on my hospital jamas and waited. One of the English teachers was with me and explained what was happening. Eventually a nurse arrived and a person in a white coat. A intravenous needle was inserted and I was off to the theater. They lay me down on a very narrow table with a sort of sideboard for my arm. Next thing I remember was maybe four of them trying to lift me onto my bed. After that I woke up with my phone in my hand like I had been texting. No idea how it got there. The first thought was "I am still alive". I sat up. my belly hurt a little but not too much. Just needed to be careful. eventually some doctors came to see me and I twirled around and sat up. They looked surprised! Apparently people in this hospital don't usually do that. They need help and then moan about the pain. Maybe that was a good sign. They prodded a bit but it just felt a little bruised. I think I went back to sleep after that. I woke up and one of the deputy principals was there. He said he would stay with me overnight. He did. He slept on the bed next to me! I had to wake him up every now and again to accompany me to the toilet. I was on a drip and someone needed to hold the drip bag up whilst I had a wee. I am so thankful that I didn't yet need a number 2!, because squatting there doing hat with someone standing next to me was not something I relished! well that day was over. My goal for the next day was to wake up alive!
Quite amazed that there even was a CAT scanner in Jiangkou, it is such a small place!
So we headed back to the doctor who quickly read the report and made a decision. He told me but I did not understand. My Chinese friend was a little lost for words. I guessed appendicitis, wrote it into google translate and they confirmed with me. Off we went to the ward! I sat down at the warming table (see previous post) and began to talk to the doctor through my interpreters. One was my friend and the other was the Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO) from school. There were two choices, antibiotics, with the risk of a recurrence or an op. Yikes! I didn't know and asked the doctor. He took me to the examination room and pressed a little. Didn't seem to hurt much. He then pressed beside my navel and quickly released the pressure. That hurt...a lot. He said that due to this he would recommend an operation but hat it would have to be my choice. I accepted his judgement. Then came the shock. It was maybe twelve o clock and they said they would operate in the afternoon, maybe three o'clock. Blimey! I hadn't expected that. Europe was a sleep and there was no one to talk to. MY decision. Well I know that leaving an appendix can be bad so I said yes, and the ball started to roll. I asked the FAO to take me home and picked up a bag of 'stuff'. I went back and was led to a ward. I had seen cleaner! But this is a small town. I put on my hospital jamas and waited. One of the English teachers was with me and explained what was happening. Eventually a nurse arrived and a person in a white coat. A intravenous needle was inserted and I was off to the theater. They lay me down on a very narrow table with a sort of sideboard for my arm. Next thing I remember was maybe four of them trying to lift me onto my bed. After that I woke up with my phone in my hand like I had been texting. No idea how it got there. The first thought was "I am still alive". I sat up. my belly hurt a little but not too much. Just needed to be careful. eventually some doctors came to see me and I twirled around and sat up. They looked surprised! Apparently people in this hospital don't usually do that. They need help and then moan about the pain. Maybe that was a good sign. They prodded a bit but it just felt a little bruised. I think I went back to sleep after that. I woke up and one of the deputy principals was there. He said he would stay with me overnight. He did. He slept on the bed next to me! I had to wake him up every now and again to accompany me to the toilet. I was on a drip and someone needed to hold the drip bag up whilst I had a wee. I am so thankful that I didn't yet need a number 2!, because squatting there doing hat with someone standing next to me was not something I relished! well that day was over. My goal for the next day was to wake up alive!
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