Yesterday (March 30, 2015), Nieve and I visited an Intestinal Specialist to see what could be done for my Ulcerative Colitis (UC) as it has been acting up lately.
He said that I would need to have a blood test done and then a colonoscopy.
I knew all of this was not going to result in any benefit for me other than to make sure that I had no cancerous growth occurring in my intestines. The only benefit is to the medical system to convince themselves I was correctly diagnosed as having UC.
Today (March 31, 2015), I had to go in for a blood test. No problem.
There was a very long lineup of people waiting to have their blood tests done. But it was moving quite quickly so no problem.
 |
A little blurry but you get the idea |
I waited a very short time and had my blood taken. The nurse then said you need to give a urine sample ("orina" in Español). So, she gave me a sample container and I left.
I went outside and looked for a place to sit and wait for the urge; however, I started to feel another urge (i.e., to have a bowl movement).
With UC, such an event means a bathroom is needed immediately. The closest bathroom was closed because it was being cleaned. Oh, great!
I looked for another but there were just hallways and no signs regarding a bathroom. I returned to the closed bathroom and asked the attendant where another bathroom was. He said something in Spanish, but it was beyond my level of comprehension. Eventually after me saying "Donde" ("where") several times he pointed in the direction of the lobby. I hustle my tail over to the lobby and madly search for the bathroom.
I finally found one and fortunately it was not occupied. But unfortunately, before I found the bathroom I messed my pants. It wasn't a big mess but enough to be unpleasant.
I entered the bathroom and there was shit on the toilet seat and guess what, there was no toilet paper. Keep in mind this is a HOSPITAL. Can you believe this?!
So, innovating, I used my hand to clean myself up and wash my hand in the sink. Fine, problem solved. Guess what, no soap or disinfectant. Keep in mind this is a HOSPITAL, I think!
Now I know what it must have been like in the dark ages before they had toilet paper and soap. I guess we are really spoiled. Too spoiled because this is a killer for me. I will never be using the IESS hospital system other than for emergencies while I live in this country. And I may reconsider even using the IESS hospitals for that.
If they cannot even maintain their bathrooms properly it doesn't give me much faith in the rest of the system.
The good news is the other hospitals in this country are maintained as one would expect in a civilized country. Mount Sinai and Hospital del Rio are examples of private hospitals that I know of and they are both maintained as we would expect.
However, if I decide to pay as I go and an emergency surfaces, the cost could be significant. So, if I am to stay in this country I guess I will have to use the IESS hospital, but only for emergencies as do other expats. Here's hoping I never have to do that or at least not for a long time so as to give the system a chance to improve.
Getting back to the urine sample, I managed to accomplish this task. So, in my uncomfortable state I returned the sample to the place for analysis. The attendant says "Oh, you need to provide a stool sample" (in Spanish). First time I have heard this. I wish I had known that before as I could have taken care of that at the same time I did the urine sample.
The nurse who took my blood gave me one sample container not two. Great! Well, I was done for the day. The stool sample was going to wait until later.
ASIDE: Ecuadorians refer to "poop" as "caca". The official Spanish appears to be "Heces" (as indicated on the medical sample tag).
Now that I am home and showered I feel much better. But, changes are definitely required for me to be happy.
Back in the hospital, in my frustrated state, I was ready to pull the plug and move back to Canada right then and there. But, now that I have had time to regroup, there are other options to explore here before doing that. Another reason is that I would rather not have to put Tiger through a long return trip to Canada as it was pretty tough on him on the trip down to Ecuador.
UPDATE APRIL 2015:
I had occasion to return to the IESS hospital and this time the main bathroom on the main floor was open and it was very clean and contained all the necessary things we are accustomed to (soap, toilet paper, etc.). So, I guess the poor conditions that happened to me were just an unusual circumstance that I hope I never have to repeat.
