Our Fourth of July
Landon spent this week as a little sicky child. He had a bad night on Wednesday night with fever and waking up every hour or so crying and just wanting to be held so that was a fun night. When he woke up, he would yell for water, and in the morning, he wanted some juice. He gulped down several gulps and then almost immediately threw it up, and then threw up again a little later. His fever went down with Motrin and he bounced back like he always does with medication for an hour or so. Then we spent the rest of the day napping/watching movies/ sluggishly wandering around. Austin had called the number we are supposed to call when we need a doctor and they were working on finding us a place that would take insurance and had English speaking helpers/doctors. They finally got back to me around noon and by the time I called the hospital of my choice to make an appointment for Landon, we had to make one for the next day, Friday the 4th of July!
Meanwhile, Landon seemed to perk up a little when he woke up on Friday. No more vomiting or diarrhea. I headed to the doctor more as a precaution in case he took a turn for the worse, because we had a trip to Jeju Island planned and were leaving Sunday. Also, he was supposed to get his lungs checked out after having pneumonia about 6 weeks ago. We took the train to the doctor, and Landon was a little tired but near his normal activity level- at a hospital. The smaller clinics don't have English services, so we went to a big university hospital where they had an outpatient clinic. Koreans are just amazing. There was a nurse who greeted me at the door by name and introduced herself as my helper for the day. She went to high school in the U.S. so she spoke English very well and knew the set up of how appointments and lab tests go which was invaluable.
In the pediatric area were lots of sicky kids, one girl in particular was running around but coughing up a storm right around Landon. I hate that part of going to the doctor. There was a cute play area with a slide that Landon played on while we waited for our appointment. The pediatrician also worked on the pediatric floor of the hospital so our appointment was delayed because there was an emergency on the floor. It wasn't really a problem, though because Landon was just playing on the play area. This little boy came up to me and said in pretty good English "Excuse me, it says, No Shoes." Oops. Landon had his shoes on. I took his shoes off and he continued playing. This little boy started talking to me asking Landon's name and age, and he told me he was 8 (7 in the U.S.). Landon was talking to me yelling "Slide" and lots of other words I don't remember. The little boy commented that Landon was not speaking English. I explained that he was trying, but he couldn't make all the sounds he needed to yet. That seemed to make sense to him.
It was our turn at the doctor's. She listened to my garbled explanation of what was wrong, and she took everything I said very seriously. Because there was no cough or runny nose or anything, and the only other symptoms were GI symptoms, she was worried about an infection in his guts. She explained to me that usually it is viral and so antibiotics wouldn't do anything, but it could be bacterial (and his fever and other symptoms pointed to that) so she wanted to do a blood test to see if it was bacterial or viral. She also wanted a urine sample to check for dehydration and rule out urinary tract infection and a stool sample if possible to identify the bacteria causing the infection (she was worried about salmonella and E. Coli.) His lungs and ears turned out clear, but his throat looked inflamed she said.
Next we went off to pay and collect the specimen containers. Before you actually get any tests or medications, you have to pay up front. They don't contract with foreign insurance so we had to pay out of pocket and then we will submit a claim. What is nice is that our insurance is trying to contact them to arrange for a direct payment for next time because we have a 0 deductible for medical care outside the U.S. After that, we went to the blood collecting room. They called down the IV line specialist from the pediatric floor to draw his blood which I was thankful for. Landon did NOT like being held down and having a needle stuck in his arm for a prolonged period of time, but he got over it in about 2 minutes after that. They also put this cute sticky bag over his peeing apparatus to collect urine. I was wondering how I was going to get a urine sample from my boy who is not yet potty trained.
All through this, our nurse guide was talking with the other nurses and telling everyone at the hospital what the doctor had ordered so I just had to follow her around to all the different places and smile and take care of Landon. I don't know what I would have done without her. After finishing up the sample collecting downstairs, our guide took us to the International Clinic which was on an upper floor of the hospital. There was a lounge in the clinic with nice leather couches, a big screen TV, drinks, and a nice view. We stayed in there for a couple hours waiting for Landon to pee (I had to go sit him on the potty to get him to finally go) and then waiting for the test results to come back. We watched most of a Rockies vs. Dodgers baseball game. Then it was back to the doctor's office. They even called us at the last minute so we didn't have to wait too long downstairs.
Turns out he didn't have a urinary tract infection, but he did have a bacterial infection of some sort according to the blood tests. The doctor wanted us to come back the next day with a stool sample, but I told her he probably wouldn't go again for awhile because he wasn't eating very much. It was a good call because it took him 2.5 days to go again after that. She prescribed antibiotics, electrolyte drink mixes and tylenol for the fever and we have a follow up after we get back from Jeju.
I think my favorite part of our experience was the pharmacy. They had these automatic machines so you could input your prescriptions that way. Also, the way they packaged antibiotics was genius! In the U.S., they take the amoxicillin powder and rehydrate it with water in a big bottle and then you have to keep it in the fridge and syringe out what you need for every dose. In Korea, they mixed the amoxicillin with something to help with the diarrhea/dehydration and dosed it into individual plastic packets. They gave me two little bottles and I put the dose in the bottle, put as much water as I want in it, shake it up and give it to him. SO much easier than worrying about keeping meds cold.
Landon still does not like the taste of the antibiotics. I was bribing him with candy, but that is not working either. He still spits out most of it as I'm shoveling it back in his mouth. It is all-out war. I know he swallows much of it each time, but it always makes a mess all over me and him as he wriggles trying to get away.
The good news is that Landon is feeling much better, and his starting to return to his previous eating and drinking habits. I don't think he is drinking enough water, but he will drink tons of water if it is out of my water bottle. He has not thrown up or had the runs lately, and is back to his energetic self. We only have 5 more days of antibiotics! Yay!
So that was our 4th of July. I spent 6 hours going to a doctor's appointment and at a hospital. Austin slept all day preparing for his night shift at work. We went to Burger King and had hamburgers for dinner, and I made an apple pie in a rice cooker. I have still not perfected it how I would like, but when I do I will post the recipe.
Happy 4th!
Meanwhile, Landon seemed to perk up a little when he woke up on Friday. No more vomiting or diarrhea. I headed to the doctor more as a precaution in case he took a turn for the worse, because we had a trip to Jeju Island planned and were leaving Sunday. Also, he was supposed to get his lungs checked out after having pneumonia about 6 weeks ago. We took the train to the doctor, and Landon was a little tired but near his normal activity level- at a hospital. The smaller clinics don't have English services, so we went to a big university hospital where they had an outpatient clinic. Koreans are just amazing. There was a nurse who greeted me at the door by name and introduced herself as my helper for the day. She went to high school in the U.S. so she spoke English very well and knew the set up of how appointments and lab tests go which was invaluable.
In the pediatric area were lots of sicky kids, one girl in particular was running around but coughing up a storm right around Landon. I hate that part of going to the doctor. There was a cute play area with a slide that Landon played on while we waited for our appointment. The pediatrician also worked on the pediatric floor of the hospital so our appointment was delayed because there was an emergency on the floor. It wasn't really a problem, though because Landon was just playing on the play area. This little boy came up to me and said in pretty good English "Excuse me, it says, No Shoes." Oops. Landon had his shoes on. I took his shoes off and he continued playing. This little boy started talking to me asking Landon's name and age, and he told me he was 8 (7 in the U.S.). Landon was talking to me yelling "Slide" and lots of other words I don't remember. The little boy commented that Landon was not speaking English. I explained that he was trying, but he couldn't make all the sounds he needed to yet. That seemed to make sense to him.
 |
| See those girls up there at the top? GREAT nurses and helpers! |
It was our turn at the doctor's. She listened to my garbled explanation of what was wrong, and she took everything I said very seriously. Because there was no cough or runny nose or anything, and the only other symptoms were GI symptoms, she was worried about an infection in his guts. She explained to me that usually it is viral and so antibiotics wouldn't do anything, but it could be bacterial (and his fever and other symptoms pointed to that) so she wanted to do a blood test to see if it was bacterial or viral. She also wanted a urine sample to check for dehydration and rule out urinary tract infection and a stool sample if possible to identify the bacteria causing the infection (she was worried about salmonella and E. Coli.) His lungs and ears turned out clear, but his throat looked inflamed she said.
Next we went off to pay and collect the specimen containers. Before you actually get any tests or medications, you have to pay up front. They don't contract with foreign insurance so we had to pay out of pocket and then we will submit a claim. What is nice is that our insurance is trying to contact them to arrange for a direct payment for next time because we have a 0 deductible for medical care outside the U.S. After that, we went to the blood collecting room. They called down the IV line specialist from the pediatric floor to draw his blood which I was thankful for. Landon did NOT like being held down and having a needle stuck in his arm for a prolonged period of time, but he got over it in about 2 minutes after that. They also put this cute sticky bag over his peeing apparatus to collect urine. I was wondering how I was going to get a urine sample from my boy who is not yet potty trained.
All through this, our nurse guide was talking with the other nurses and telling everyone at the hospital what the doctor had ordered so I just had to follow her around to all the different places and smile and take care of Landon. I don't know what I would have done without her. After finishing up the sample collecting downstairs, our guide took us to the International Clinic which was on an upper floor of the hospital. There was a lounge in the clinic with nice leather couches, a big screen TV, drinks, and a nice view. We stayed in there for a couple hours waiting for Landon to pee (I had to go sit him on the potty to get him to finally go) and then waiting for the test results to come back. We watched most of a Rockies vs. Dodgers baseball game. Then it was back to the doctor's office. They even called us at the last minute so we didn't have to wait too long downstairs.
 |
| The nice lounge couches |
Turns out he didn't have a urinary tract infection, but he did have a bacterial infection of some sort according to the blood tests. The doctor wanted us to come back the next day with a stool sample, but I told her he probably wouldn't go again for awhile because he wasn't eating very much. It was a good call because it took him 2.5 days to go again after that. She prescribed antibiotics, electrolyte drink mixes and tylenol for the fever and we have a follow up after we get back from Jeju.
I think my favorite part of our experience was the pharmacy. They had these automatic machines so you could input your prescriptions that way. Also, the way they packaged antibiotics was genius! In the U.S., they take the amoxicillin powder and rehydrate it with water in a big bottle and then you have to keep it in the fridge and syringe out what you need for every dose. In Korea, they mixed the amoxicillin with something to help with the diarrhea/dehydration and dosed it into individual plastic packets. They gave me two little bottles and I put the dose in the bottle, put as much water as I want in it, shake it up and give it to him. SO much easier than worrying about keeping meds cold.
Landon still does not like the taste of the antibiotics. I was bribing him with candy, but that is not working either. He still spits out most of it as I'm shoveling it back in his mouth. It is all-out war. I know he swallows much of it each time, but it always makes a mess all over me and him as he wriggles trying to get away.
The good news is that Landon is feeling much better, and his starting to return to his previous eating and drinking habits. I don't think he is drinking enough water, but he will drink tons of water if it is out of my water bottle. He has not thrown up or had the runs lately, and is back to his energetic self. We only have 5 more days of antibiotics! Yay!
So that was our 4th of July. I spent 6 hours going to a doctor's appointment and at a hospital. Austin slept all day preparing for his night shift at work. We went to Burger King and had hamburgers for dinner, and I made an apple pie in a rice cooker. I have still not perfected it how I would like, but when I do I will post the recipe.
Happy 4th!
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