I think perhaps it wasn't the best book to be reading in a hospital setting. But I will say this, my entire bill at the local Chinese hospital, including seeing the specialist, lab work, and two prescriptions, came to 34.8 RMB, which is less than $6 USD. If I'd gone to the international expat clinic which occupies the same building, ten floors higher, but utilizes the exact same doctors for the most part, the bill would have been at least twenty times higher. It's nice to know I have that option, but I'll save it for something more serious. Or not. I'm getting used to the Chinese way of treating maladies.
As I was leaving, I passed the Jaundice Clinic and the Liver Disease Clinic. It made me so grateful that my only ailment at that moment was a little throbbing on the back of my now-bandaged leg. Things can always be worse (as the Michael Crichton book pointed out to me repeatedly).
And because evidently the theme today is health care, I had to share this flier I got today from a different expat medical clinic here in Shanghai (which we went to exactly once, the bill was quite high). I know, I know, women's health is important and testing is vitally important (my MIL is a breast cancer survivor), but I have to say their idea and my idea of the best gift for Mother's Day are vastly different. But maybe you've always wanted a stool sample or a chlamydia test instead of breakfast in bed and a hand-made card on Mother's Day? If so, it's a bargain price at roughly $800 USD right now! Celebrate!
And speaking of things that can be bad for your health... While we were in America in February, I ordered a ten pound box of Tangerine Jelly Belly candies directly from the company. This is my favorite candy ever. Seriously. I wondered how long I could make them last. The answer was 79 days. Or forever if I never eat those last seven jelly beans. We are leaving for a trip to Macau and Hong Kong tomorrow, to tag along on a business trip for Michael. I know all the places I can stock up on them while we're there, which is a good thing as I've not yet found them in Shanghai. Yes, you can buy a mixed flavor package of Jelly Belly candies here, but the only flavor I'm interested in is Tangerine. So I have to find a candy shop which sells the flavors individually.
And just a quick note to follow up on my Failure post. I will indeed be posting photos of the big project which pulled me down the rabbit hole away from my other responsibilities as I said I would. I personally did not take photos, but there was a professional photographer there and I've still not received the images back (so be patient, Dad!). You'll see them when I see them!
They have these health check packages in Korea, too (although I haven't seen them marketed for Mother's Day.) It's really common here to order meals in a 'set' (eg, lunch set, dinner set, breakfast set - like what we'd call a 'combo meal:')we refer to those checkup packages as a 'health set.' ; )
ReplyDeleteMy boys both love Uniglo, and #2 is also a huge fan of dance - discovered how much he loved it when he was in the school musical in 9th grade - I think I may have to go find that shirt for him!
Hope the leg heals up quickly!