Well we spent the last three days in Beijing, at the hospital! This is a big holiday week, but that's definitely not what we were doing, in fact we had to time our trip to the E.R. around the holiday! There are 530 million people traveling this week. As teachers here with the Church we have a special medical service called SOS out of Beijing. We had been talking to them every day last week because Ernie has a kidney stone. We went to the local hospital here in Tianjin and that was scary. It was like L.A. General. So SOS wanted us to go to Beijing on Fri. the start of the holiday, and we felt we could wait longer.. Sunday night Ernie had a fever and chills so we decided we should probably go on Mon.
Hospitals here have a "Pay as you go" policy and SOS told us to bring 10,000 yuan with us, that's about $650. U.S, of which we didn't have on hand and the ATM won't give out to you. While I was at the ATM getting a measly 3,000. yuan Ernie was home having a quick talk with the Lord.."We can't do this." Just then SOS called and said our insurance through the Church would cover everything. What a blessing. A member of our Church here offered their driver and we were off before we even had time to think about it!
I just thought we'd go..have a CAT scan and come home. I don't really know what I was thinking because of course they kept us after the CAT scan! For 4 days I've worn/slept in the same clothes. My travel pants that don't wrinkle, but my blouse is sure wrinkled!! At least Ernie had hospital PJ's. The Beijing hospital was like being in Cedars of Lebanon in Beverly Hills! Everyone spoke English! The E.R. doctor was from the states and has been here 10 years. So the CAT scan showed a big stone ,1cm, with an infection behind it. They admitted Ernie Mon. evening. The room had a pull out hide-a-bed for me,nice bathroom and shower and the food is catered by Aramack a U.S. company, so it was good and a good quantity. Ernie shared. Although they also had bread,cheese,butter and jam available in the patient pantry down the hall. Apparently this is the hospital where the high class people go!, but not in our wing.
Because the right kidney is enlarged they put a stint in Wed. between the kidney and bladder, a 10 min. procedure. Tuesday we just hung out all day waiting for the urologist to come see us. (the hospital had 3 cases of DVD's we could watch) Of course, they had an emergency surgery on someone when Ernie was scheduled for his procedure so it put him back a few hours. But he finally got that done and had a good nights sleep and he was discharged today. He was on morphine a lot of the time and that made him a little more loopier than usual. But the stone is still there. We have to go back to another hospital in Beijing next Fri, I think, to have the stone "exploded". They sent him home with percocet and antibiotics. He's so worried because we have to teach this Sat. and Sun. and he doesn't want to miss it!
Everyone has been wonderful! The Church has an area president in Beijing,who was in the states this week, but his wife is here and she called us everyday and she also called the girls and e-mailed them for us. Her driver came to the hospital and took us to the train station so we could get home. We took the Bullet train to and from Beijing. That's an experience all by itself! So MANY people!
Anyway, we're home and home never smelled so good! (we have a constant sewer smell) Love you all !!! Pat/Mom
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