I have been hospitalized twice since being here in the Dominican Republic.
I just left (for hopefully my last time) after a 4 day stay.
After discovering I have a parasite and a serious intestinal infection, I am on meds and bed rest for a week. Since I can’t stand, eat, or do anything except lay here on my sleeping pad, I decided I could muster up enough energy to write this blog for you!
Going to the hospital in America is scary enough as it is, but going to a hospital in a 3rd world country takes everything to a whole new level. Although the vast majority of you will never be in this situation, I figured I would help you out. You know, just in case. Because you just never know.
Here are 3 practical steps to surviving a hospital stay in a 3rd world country:
1. Accept the fact that you are strange.
After a slightly terrifying taxi ride through the city with two of my squad mates, we ended up at the hospital. It would be similar to a scenario in the game Crazy Taxi, if you’ve ever played. We proceed to sit in the waiting room for another 3 hours, while being watched by every eye in the room. People are very intrigued by my pale skin, blue eyes, nose rings, tattoos, and the overall obvious fact that I’m American. So although I was sick, I was happy to be of entertainment for the rest of the waiting room.
This can be quite a self-esteem booster. I mean, everyone in the room is staring at me, I must be interesting, right?
They finally called me back into the ER, and brought what felt like the entire hospital staff in my room to see the “Americana”. At this point, I didn’t care who was looking at me, as long as someone figured out what was wrong with my body.
So, when you find yourself in the hospital of a 3rd world country, be aware that you will be the topic of discussion and will loose your right to have a name. You will be called the “American”.
Luckily, we finally found a doctor who spoke English the second time I was hospitalized, and he finally figured out what was wrong with me. (The first time was a total dud. Waste of time and money, and I ultimately got worse, hense the second visit.)
2. Don’t have American sized expectations.
After being looked at by every staff member in the ER, they finally started attempting to figure out what was wrong with me. Although the first visit was a dud, and I ended up getting worse. The second visit was better, and I was blessed to find a doctor who semi-spoke English, who began to figure out what was wrong with me.
A nurse came in and took some blood, another nurse came in with what I’m pretty sure was the biggest needle ever created and gave me an I.V., and then made me pee in a cup. All seems semi-normal, until you remember the fact that I’m in a 3rd world hospital.
There are no heart monitors. No oxygen monitors. No blood pressure cuffs that go on every hour. No buttons to call your nurse. No automatic adjustable beds. And nobody who speaks English. There wasn’t even a window in my hospital room that I lived in for 4 days (against fire code, just saying!).
In fact, there was no rolling thing to hold my I.V., so when they wanted a urine sample, my teammate had to hold my I.V. bag for me from outside the stall. TMI? Well my friend, this is real life.
And to top things off, you might not even know what medications they’re giving you. I didn’t. I still don’t know what was given to me. I know one of the shots felt like fire going through my veins, but other than that I’ve got no clue. But I’m still alive, so hey it must’ve been okay, right?
At first this all freaked me out. A lot. Then I remembered that I am not in America anymore. They are poor, and they are doing the best they can with what they have. I am used to the amazing technology that is offered in the States, but in most countries that equipment is unheard of.
When you’re unthankful for what you’re given in the country, you come across as just another stuck up American. And we don’t want that. Let’s always remember to represent Murica’ well.
In my case I just said “gracias”, and smiled frequently, in hopes that they were doing good things to me.
3. Rejoice when the bill is less than you spend on Starbucks per month.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. And I love Starbucks.
When I walked out of the hospital the first time, 14 hours later, my bill was a total of $89 American dollars. That included the visit, the stay, the medication, and everything else. Can you even believe that? Looking at an ER costs more than that in the States.
Granted it wasn’t the greatest accommodations, but for $89, I can’t complain too much.
The second time after 4 days, and many tests, it was less than $800. Which is still unheard of. 1 of the tests I was given would have been more than that in America.
I had quite a large amounts of medications I had to pick up at the pharmacy after being discharged, and without running it through my insurance it was a total of $70. I worked in a pharmacy in the States, and let me tell you, getting anything without insurance would be way more than that. Mine would have been several thousand, easily.
So at the end of the day, remember you get what you pay for. I paid less than $900 for 5 total days in the ER, including medications afterward.
They finally found out that I had a parasite, along with a bacterial intestinal infection. This means no eating, drinking, or moving for a week. Which also means lots of time to pray, and watch episodes of the Big Bang Theory.
Although it sucks to be stuck in bed for the next week, I am blessed to have a great Dominican grandma making me soup and juice, and people all around the world praying for me. I am going to be okay, and have a great story to tell. All is well, and I will survive! 🙂
