ER and Plastc Surgery

So, here I am, at Chung-Gung hospital in Ba-du, waiting for Richard to have his thumb saved. It's just the beginning of a two to three hour wait while he is in surgery. When Richard called from the basement this afternoon, "Katrina, we need to go to the hospital," I didn't think too much about it. He didn't sound like he was too much pain, there was very little blood and he walked up to the neighbor to ask him to move Richard's van for us so I could drive out. We left the lights on and a chicken in the oven. Six and half hours later, Richard is probably getting a steel pin in his left thumb or maybe having part of it amputated, the kids are at the grandparents', and the chicken is being eaten by the neighbors.


Richard says he cannot remember what happened exactly, just that the bandsaw was higher than he should have left it and he must have reached over it. I had suggested he wear protective metal gloves or put a cover over the saw, but up until now it had been fine. NZ Health and Safety officers would have palpatations if they saw the kind of safety gear used (or not) here in Taiwan. What can you do? At least the health care here is fast. We came to the ER and stayed here until Richard's breakfast had digested and they found a surgeon to operate. I am not sure if other countries could boast such efficiency. It's Sunday night and I am the only one waiting in the surgery waiting room.

There may not be many foreigners turning up in this branch of Chung-Gung. I say this because I have been "hello" 'd several times already, and just now had a man sit down beside me and look at me for a few minutes before stating, "bye bye" and leaving. The staff have been very nice so far. The great thing about hospitals in Taiwan is, you will always find someone who speaks English.

*In Taiwan, you need to have someone in the hospital to look after you, as there is nobody to look after the basic needs of patients (toilet, food, drink, nose-blowing...) If your family does not have someone available to stay fulltime, you will try to hire a 24-hour assistant to stay with the patient.

***This was written on Sunday night.  It's now Thursday.  Richard had cut through bone, nerve, vein, tendon.  The plastic surgeon put it back on, with a pin in the thumb that will come out in a month.  The damage is about 5cm in length, and when you think of the size of a thumb, that is quite a wound.  We have to watch for infection, and he starts rehab/physio on Friday.  Just a FYI, the whole thing including a night in hospital cost just over 4,000TWD (about 200NZD).  I get to show my sense of duty and love by showering him and helping dress the wound.

And the neighbors really enjoyed the chicken :)