Chinese Hospital

It's late here, so lucky for you guys I'm going to keep it short and sweet. I went to the hospital today! No, no emergency. Here's the story: I came down with a cold upon leaving Wisconsin. Obviously it was my body rejecting leaving the Motherland. I had about two days in Connecticut before leaving for China. My boss suggested I see a doctor if I thought I needed to, but the morning of my last day before leaving, I really did feel fine. Sure, I had a cold, but it was only a cold. Then, around 2:00 in the afternoon, it moved to my ears. I had a lot of earaches as a kid, so I knew I was most likely in for it, but at that time in the day, there was not much to be done. I hoped for the best.

Getting up in the air didn't hurt too badly, but during descending, my ears hurt like crazy. Lots of pressure, and pain when they finally did pop. My hearing has not been good in either ear since landing, and my hearing was much worse in my right ear, which started leaking puss at dinner a few nights ago. Yup. I had had this before as a kid so I wasn't terrified, but I knew it wasn't a good sign.

My options were to ride it out and spend the next week+ not being able to hear people talking to me quietly from across a table, staying sick with a cold and ear infection, and have a potentially painful flight home, ooooorrr get it checked out and hopefully walk away with some antibiotics.

The vendors at the factory arranged for me to be taken to a hospital in a larger city nearby, about 30 minutes away. Luckily I was taken by a driver (which are basically skilled daredevils here) and a woman, Nancy, working for the company who had lived in the States for a few years and who speaks excellent English. She said local hospitals were frightening, but that this one would be good.

Sure enough, this VIP had been taken to the right place.



The doctor spoke fairly good English, too, and Nancy helped to translate what he didn't know. It actually helped to have had ear infections in the past, because I knew what to ask. It was fairly straightforward and normal, except at one point the doctor took a call on his iPhone, which had a cell phone cover with a sports car on it, and halfway through my appointment, his last patient walked in and they had a nice little chat about the meds she had just picked up.

Speaking of meds, let me introduce to you PILL MOUNTAIN, brought to you by a middle ear infection.



I had hoped for antibiotics, and boy did I ever get them. 12 pills and one ear drop per day.



Look at these cute lil' guys.



Ok, so that wasn't short. My posts never are. I want you all to know that I would be posting more, except in most places in China, one cannot get facebook or Blogger or any other Google thangs. Google it? Not in China, you don't. It's some kind of government law. But I have learned that this is a kind of lawless place, where you can drive on the wrong side of the road for a block if the oncoming traffic is clear. And health laws and building codes? Nope. Don't need 'em. Somehow the strictest rule I've encountered so far has also been waived at this particular internet connection at the hotel, and I'm able to facebook and blog. This hotel is a kind of lawless place in a place of lawlessness.

With that little number, I'll sign off. I might catch up on blogging about some sightseeing we did the other day if I wake up at 5:30am tomorrow (common due to jet lag).