at st luke's hospital, philippines

'twas a dream come true since i was a kid-- to be hospitalized. only i did not think of the specific circumstances.

after 5 days in seoul, i was asked by the insurance company to leave for the philippines for final treatment.

i got admitted at st. luke's medical center. there were more tests and medication. i had my infection treated, my stone and stent removed.

bespren rhonna visited

some 'fancy' meals at the hospital

there was no view...

samsung medical center

after an hour of travel from incheon international airport, we arrived at samsung medical center. there were a lot of people around where we entered. there were patients who seemed to have slept (with beds of course) in the hallway. and i thought, it's just like the philippines it seems. (only to know later, we entered through the emergency department.)

i got registered into the hospital roll. got my official wristband and card. i had my lab tests again. i stayed in a room with an old guy and his wife. (the wife was very good, she tucked my feet in when she noticed i was feeling cold. the airconditioning was on) i was very curious since there was a door inside leading to an office where doctors and nurses popped in and out. and i thought again, is this where i am going to stay?

the local representative of the insurance came around. he was very good and accommodating. he knew that i was alone.

later, i was officially admitted to stay in the hospital. the insurance guy told me i will be transferring to the ward. again i started thinking, so how many patients will be there?

a hospital orderly fetched me. he was taking me to my 'ward'.

and this was what i saw. my view of the ceiling changed. it was not all what it seemed to me earlier during the day...

hospital lobby

a scupture by the entrance

the reception area

a lounging area outside the hospital

my 'ward'

it was a 2-bed room. there was no patient on the other bed though. there was a fridge, mounted flat screen tv on the wall, and toilet and shower

the facilities of the hospital were good. it was SOP to have tissue culture for better prescription of antibiotics. the nurses were responsive and sweet (maybe because i was a friendly patient). they spoke english (limited edition) although the staff from the international department were good english speakers.

i had more tests and some were on a daily basis - blood, urine, xray, scans, ultrasound...they were actually stored later in a CD which they gave me as part of my hospital records.

on my third day, the doctors had to put a stent in my left ureter to make sure my left kidney was draining properly. for the procedure, i asked to be put to sleep.

the food was great! choice of western and korean menu. and they were big servings. i could not still eat much of it though. i only had a taste of it during my last 2 days after i had my double j stent. i was not having much pain after that.

view from my window

at night i could see the moon and the stars. and i thought: am alone and sick in the hospital. oh, how i missed home!

seoul, south korea

welcoming sunrise in seoul. on the ambulance to the hospital at 6 am. this was after getting stuck in immigration for an hour because my insurance failed to arrange for my visa. anyhow, after so many phone calls by the immigration officer, some browsings on his manual and questioning, he finally gave me an application form for visa. it was a special case he said, and warned me to get a visa next time i visit south korea again. i was allowed to stay for 59 days.

seoul at dusk. the han river which divides seoul into north and south. there are about 26 bridges that crosses the river connecting the north and south sides. the north is the old seoul while south covers the later developments. south seoul was where my hospital was located.

the seoul olympic stadium

typical tenement buildings. usually in clusters.

sick and cold

i was at work then. i did not really leave my desk for about 3 hours. and i thought that was the cause. there was a sort of creeping little pain inside my lower back. i must be hungry i thought. i went out for lunch. but when i came back it was still there. tolerable though. i went on with my training session in the afternoon.

that night i made sure to have a good night rest. the next day, i woke up better but still some pain in my left. maybe it was just some sleeping cramp i thought. went to work. had lunch. this time, it was intolerable i had to see my doctor. so i did.

i asked my counterpart to start my afternoon training session, and promised to be back right away.

my doctor gave me some pain relievers. i went back for my training but had to leave earlier because i started feeling feverish.

i had fever that night that i had to take some antipyretic tablets. the fever did not last very long. but still i had pain. in the morning i had fever again. i called my doctor and suggested to go for lab tests. she agreed but since it was almost midday (i had eaten a bit and needed to fast for the blood tests), i thought it best to do the tests the next day.

i had my lab tests til noontime. i went even for ultrasound and xray. it was found out my left kidney was irregular in shape. it seemed swollen. my accompanying doctor and the local urologist suggested for immediate confinement and a procedure to be done in the afternoon. this was a friday and everything has to be arranged soon because the medical specialists usually leave early before the end of the day.

i called my country director right away and told her about my case. it is not really recommended for volunteers to be 'going under the knife' locally unless in emergency cases requiring immediate medical care. she asked if i want to get a second opinion from sos medica mongolia (which is a stand-alone clinic known for expat services). i agreed. it was almost 2 pm.

i was asked to have tests for my blood and urine again. the doctor diagnosed me to have an inflamed left kidney and suspected i might have multi-abscesses. i had to be admitted right away and had to be administered some fluids in my body. i was dehydrated. also i was given antibiotics to take care of my infection. this time, they started making arrangements for my flight to have proper medical care outside of mongolia: seoul, bangkok or manila...

i started informing my volunteer colleagues. my colleagues at secure livelihood had just arrived in uverkhangai aimag, bit down south of the capital, for a networking conference. i was supposed to be with them but unsure of my health status that day, i did not go on the trip. also i did not want to inconvenience the group just in case i got worst. it was a wise decision though.

i spent the night in the clinic. i had a nurse and a doctor around as well. i tried having some chicken soup for supper but it caused me some abdominal pain, that i refrained from eating anything solid after that. the next day, i opted for tea and crackers.

it took a day for the insurance to sort everything for my trip going out of mongolia. it was decided that i will be leaving for seoul, south korea for a better and clearer medical assessment of my case.

saturday, i left mongolia past midnight. transportation to the airport was an ambulance. i was flown via korean air business class. a mongolian doctor from the clinic accompanied me on the flight to seoul. we had monitoring device and other emergency equipment with us although the flight was only going to be for about 3 hours.