All Better

Though his nose is still dripping, Titus seems to be feeling good!  

On Tuesday we again spoke with a Western doctor in Beijing, who, based on Titus's symptoms, recommended that Titus see a doctor. The main concern was Titus's persistent vomiting (I later realized that he was just vomiting because the mucus in his throat was causing him to gag). 

We were referred to a Chinese doctor in Changsha who apparently had received some training in Western medicine. At the hospital, Bitsy (our team leader who is proficient in Chinese) and I checked in, receiving a hand-written scratch piece of paper that said "child". I paid about $1.20 USD at the next window.

We then walked through the outdoor courtyard, a waiting area filled with patients. Most of the children sat with IVs in their heads or hands, as their mother or father held a metal pole from which the IV med was hung. A middle-aged woman lay on a stretcher bed.

The pediatric ward was dark and dingy. Rows of pew-like benches lined the center of the hall, with a track for hanging IVs running its length. Can you imagine a room filled with kids and babies who have tubes running to their hands and heads? I guess Chinese love IVs.

In a smaller room, a man dressed in a white coat and face mask sat at a desk, towards the rear of the room. The only other objects in the room were a rusty-legged exam bed covered with a grayish sheet, a trash can, a sink, and a 1950s-style hand-washing chart. In line, mothers of screaming babies said "Don't cry. The foreign baby isn't crying."

With other patients pressed around us, Dr. Yu listened to Titus's heart and lungs, and tried to get the tongue compressor in for a look down the throat. He used a regular silver flashlight to check Titus's ears, and determined that Titus simply had a cold. Tylenol was prescribed for the fever, amoxicillin for the cold.

After ascending the crowded stairs, we entered the pharmacy, which looked more like a bus station. Long lines of patients pushed towards several glass windows from which medicines were picked up a paid for. After waiting in three different lines, and paying, it was determined that the amoxicillin was unavailable. So we got our money back and left.

Back on our street, Xin Min Lu, we stopped at a drug store adjacent to our bus stop, where the amoxicillin was sold for another $1.20 USD. But I never gave Titus the amoxicillin -- he was looking better -- and I read that the American Academy of Pediatrics advises against giving kids under six any OTC cold medicines (ok I know amoxicillin isn't a cold med), and yeah, antibiotics are perhaps overused, and our American nurse friend suggested that I NOT give it to him.

Instead, Titus got to hangout in the steamy bathroom to help loosen the mucus. On Sunday night he wouldn't relax unless being rocked and soothed with singing; I stayed up all night holding him. Monday night I wised up and let him sleep in our bed. We were both much more rested in the morning.

Positives from this experience:

1.  successfully navigated the Chinese health care system and located a local doctor with some Western training

2.  friends showed their love: 

-  while cooking us lunch, I could hear our new Chinese friend fervently interceding for Titus from the kitchen

-  our team leader willingly dealt with the communication stress and forged the line-waiting at the hospital

-  our teammates cooked dinner and brought it over on Monday

-  other workers (who have kids) in Changsha called to offer advice and ask how Titus was doing

Tuesday morning: Feeling more decongested after taking a shower with Mama, wrapped in a towel and a blanket, checking out Mama's mascara

Wednesday: Feeling much better and playing with Drew's language tutor at our apartment (this tutor visits us every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon)

Thank you again for thinking of Titus through this sickness!

Tomorrow we're having some Turks over for pizza; oughta be superfun.

Rachel & Drew