Being on the World Race, I have had the opportunity, no, the pleasure, of going to two different hospitals for teammates. Josi went to the hospital our last week in India, and now Ashley has been in the hospital in Nepal for the last three days. Having been with teammates through third-world healthcare, I feel that I have knowledge on what’s acceptable and what’s not.
Here in Nepal with Ashley, she has an IV, which was first inserted into her left hand, and has now been moved to her right. I’ve learned that air bubbles in an IV are bad, and if the fluid in the bottle that’s connected to the IV gets too low, blood will go into the IV and push back the fluid. This is always comforting.
Yes, the prices here are much more affordable. What would a three-night stay, an x-ray, blood tests, stool and urine tests, and a CT Scan cost in America? Thousands. Here, it’s only a few hundred. Not to mention all the drugs that they’ve been pumping through her system. Although the healthcare is crazy cheap, the quality reflects the cost.
Ashley had pain and nausea, but instead of giving her vicatin or a strong anti-vomiting medicine, they gave her ibuprofen. She had to deal with her pain and was given hardly anything to help her. She could have recovered in less than a day in America, which adds frustration to pain.
The other striking difference between healthcare here versus America has been medicine. To get a patient medicine, be it a syringe, vials of medicine, or tablets, the nurse will write out what is needed and how much, then hand the paper to me. I go down four flights of stairs to the cash counter where I give the person behind the desk the paper. He or she will type and print out another paper that has an amount on it. I give them stated amount of Nepali rupees, and then go to the pharmacy. There, I hand them both slips of paper and they look on the shelves behind them for the needed supplies. Once I receive them, I go back up to Ashley’s hospital room, call the nurse in, and her drugs are administered. It’s quite the process.
There are so many things that we take for granted in America.
Anyway, Ashley is going to be okay. She will be released from the hospital today.
The moral of this story is: Don’t get sick on the world race. But if you do, you will be taken care of, your patience will be stretched, and your bank account won’t be completely obliterated. There are always things to be thankful for.
