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 :)

The fishbone

Yesterday was just another Friday - getting weekend orders out, trying to catch up on emails, then picking up Kyle and taking him to dance class.  While Kyle was doing his bridges and tumbles (Chinese traditional dance move introduction), I ran off to "do a Santa", picking up a few presents for the kids and dropping them into the back of the car before going back to wait for Kyle. 

The other moms and I were watching the kids on the TV monitor and chatting about gifts we have had (or not) from our husbands when my phone rang.  It was my motherinlaw in distress.  In the background I could hear Hannah screaming.  MIL asked me to go home as Hannah had seemed to have a fish bone stuck and was now very upset.  We got Kyle out of the dance class and got him dressed ready for the sprint home.  Kyle asked all the other moms, is my sister dying?  The nice mom helping him get dressed reassured him, and we grabbed our umbrellas and headed out the door.

Luckily, it's only five minutes at a run back to the house.  Kyle was running and grumping, "How dare grandma do that to my cute sister.  If she dies I will be really mad at grandma.  I will tell her she can't do that again!  Oh my knees are breaking but my sister is dying.  Why did she feed her BONES!?!?!"  I tried to tell him that grandma surely didn't feed Hannah bones on purpose and I was sure Hannah was running round or something to have this happen.  Anyway, my dear boy ran all the way for the first time ever.  All to save his little sister.

We got to the door and Richard was there, taking Hannah downstairs.  Kyle was relieved to see Hannah actually breathing and just crying, no longer screaming.  I got in the van with Richard and Hannah and Kyle went upstairs.  We took Hannah to the doctor to get her throat checked.  They obviously weren't too concerned, as we had to wait in the line like everyone else.  I guess the fact Hannah got herself a magazine and lay on the floor with it did show she wasn't at death's door. Her throat was fine, no bleeding or scratches.  Hannah got a good scream or two in when the doctor put some medicine on the red spot just to make sure there would be no infection.  I called the dance school to let them know all was well, then we drove back around the corner home.

When I asked grandma whether Kyle had told her off, she laughed and replied, "No, he came in and saw no other kids here, and stated:  Great, I am alone, nobody will fight with me!"  So much for the brotherly concern.  As it turns out, Hannah had been running around during dinner.  I hope that is a lesson she will remember for at least a few days!