Korean Healthcare, Miracles, The Great Healer...

So, if you know me, you know I've been pretty sick.  This is the low-down of what happened.... (Disclaimer: this is going to be a VERY long post)


In the middle of June I started getting sick.  Just a cold, it seemed.  Sore throat, sinus infection, cough... the works.  No big deal, right?  I went to the doctor after about 5 or 6 days of feeling bad and it not getting better.  Diagnosis: bronchitis, sinus infection, tonsillitis, double ear infection.  He gave me 3-days meds, a shot in the bum, and sent me on my way.  3 days later I'm still not better, back to the doc... 3 days meds, shot in the bum.  This cycle went on for about 2 weeks.  Then, I went to an ENT in my city.  He did the same thing, but gave me asthma meds as well.  Again, this went on for 2 weeks.  The ENT put me on bedrest twice.  The first time, my boss would not let me take the bedrest and forced me to work.  The second time happened to fall on a Friday, so I did the bedrest starting Friday night, after I had to teach all day (again, the boss wouldn't let me off work).  At the end of this bedrest, I felt worse than I had all week.  My fever was 40.6C (104ish F, I think).


On Sunday, July 18th, (the last day of 2nd bedrest) I texted some friends in Seoul asking about hospitals there because I knew something was majorly wrong.  I knew this before this point, but had been unable to go to the hospital because of my boss threatening to cancel my visa... long story that I probably shouldn't get into until I am no longer employed by him....


The amazing Willy L. saved the day.  I just have to say that my dear friend Liz L. has an incredibly selfless servant for a husband.  There aren't too many (single) men around like him, just saying.  He was one of the people I texted.  He called me back, asked where I lived, got in the car, drove 1 and a half hours to my apartment, picked me up, drove 1 hour and 45 minutes to the Emergency Room, stayed in the hospital all day with me, translated everything for me, paid for my ER visit and medicines, and bought me Strawberry juice to top it all off.  :)  Amazing.  I'm beyond blessed by knowing this family.


At the ER, I had 2 young doctors.  The ER doc did a test for the Strep bacteria.  You see, 98% of tonsillitis cases are caused by one of 7 (I think) forms of the Strep bacteria.  You treat Strep with a certain antibiotic.  The other 2% of cases are caused by about 100 other kinds of bacteria, and cannot be treated with the same antibiotics as Strep.  Well, I was negative for the Strep bacteria.  Since most tonsillitis cases are caused by Strep, the docs I saw in my city treated me for the Strep bacteria... which I didn't have.  Needless to say, all of the treatments I had received for the 32 days before going to the hospital were useless (in the words of the doc I saw the following day).  The ER doc sent me upstairs to see the young ENT doc.  She, for nearly 30 minutes, shoved a large, sharp, metal suction device into my tonsils to try and suction the infection out.... this ended promptly when I grabbed her hand and threatened to break it if she didn't stop.  It hurt SOOOOOOO bad!!!!  She said she wanted to give me a certain antibiotic, but I'm allergic to it.  She sent me back down to the ER, said she'd look in her medical books as to what else she could give me.  She came back, saying she had no idea how to treat me because she was a young doctor, and told me to come back first thing the next day (Monday), and see her professor who 1) is fluent in English, and 2) would definitely know how to treat me.  So, I got a shot in the bum, 1 days worth of meds, and was sent home with orders to come back the next day.  I stayed at my friend Kate's apartment, a 5 minute walk from the hospital.  She's on holiday in Europe for 2 months, and asked me to keep her apartment on the weekends and my vacation.


Sunday night I didn't sleep at all because the pain was so intense.  I called one of my bestie's in the States, Ruthie.  So so so sweet.  I was bawling because it was so incredibly awful.  I couldn't endure anymore, and couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.  She so gently comforted me, and prayed for me.  I'm incredibly blessed to call her my friend and Sister in Christ.


The adventure really starts on Monday...


 First things first, Dr. Yoo and the international clinic at Soon Chun Hyang Hospital in Hannamdong are AWESOME.  I HIGHLY recommend them to all foreigners in the Seoul/Gyeonggido area.  So, Monday, I get to the professor's clinic at 9am (when it opens).  He sees me sitting in the waiting room and pulls me into his office without even asking my name, and before all the patients who had appointments.  He checks the records from the previous day, orders a bunch of blood tests, and tells me that I need to be in the hospital for at least a week.  He said, "I pulled you in here first because I'm very concerned about you.  Your skin is gray.  Your tonsils are so swollen that you can't eat, drink, and it's hard for you to breath.  You can't get nutrition.  You have pneumonia.  Your ear drum is ruptured from the infection.  I'm really concerned."


I go the blood test area of the hospital (with a really awesome translator in tow- every patient in the international clinic is assigned a translator to go everywhere with you in the hospital), and the wait is about an hour.  While I'm waiting, I call my boss to tell him that I have to be in the hospital for the week.  This, needless to say, did not go over well.  After about 45 minutes to an hour of him cursing, telling me I'm going to be fired if I miss one day of work, telling me I'm going to make him bankrupt, that I had to wait to be hospitalized until my vacation 2 weeks later, that the doctor just wants money and that I'm not really that sick and I'm stupid for believe the doctor, and many other very hurtful things, and me sobbing the entire time, the nurse calls my number and I tell my boss that I have to go.  The interpreter was next to me the entire time and heard the whole conversation since my phone was turned up really loud (my ears were clogged from the infection).  I get my blood drawn, and go back to Dr. Yoo's office.


I sit in the waiting room with my eyes closed because I'm about to pass out.  The interpreter went into the doc's office and tells him everything that my boss said.  Dr. Yoo brings me back into the office.  The first words out of his mouth are, "I hate your boss.  I want to speak to him now.  Call him."  At this point, I'm completely confused and he tells me that the interpreter told him everything.  I call my boss, and the only words I got out were, "Hi.  The doctor wants to talk to you." before to doctor took the phone out of my hand.  He then proceeds to curse my boss out, in Korean, and yells at him for a solid 20 minutes.  He hands me the phone back, and tells me the jist of what he said to my boss.  My boss then tells me that I have 2 days, and that if I'm not back by Wednesday, then I am fired.  I negotiate with him and ask him that if I can get a sub for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, could I not be fired.  He said that was ok, but my salary would be deducted for the whole week.  Ok, whatev.  That is against my contract (and all of this with my boss is highly illegal anyhow), but at this point I don't care.  I just want to feel better.


My wonderful friend, HyunJung, found a sub for me.  Her friend travelled 3 hours ONE-WAY everyday just so I wouldn't lose my job!  This guy had never even met me!  How amazing that God provided and orchestrated it all.  :)  I'm so incredibly blessed and amazed by my God.  Truly, truly.


In Korea, payment for everything medical is due upfront and hospital stays require a deposit.  Like, a 2000USD deposit.  My boss had only paid me 1/2 my salary for the prior 2 months, so, this wasn't an option.  In Korea they have this great little thing called an Out-patient hospital stay.  You get the same care you would get as an in-patient, cept no food and you get to stay in your own bed.  It's WAY cheaper than an in-patient stay.  So, that's what I opted for.  I got pumped full of 6 IV bags over an 8ish hour time period, was given a prescription for 1 days meds with an order to come back the next day.  This went on through Saturday.


I don't know if I said this before in this post, but I hadn't been able to eat or drink anything during this entire 5ish week period.  God blessed me with the ability to eat on my 25th birthday, and supernatural energy.  So amazed, still, that He did that for me.  Because I hadn't been able to eat, the doc gave me some kind of nutrition in an IV bag (no idea what, but it was bright yellow) and a bag of saline.  By Monday night, I could get some Pho down (thanks, Michele Bigney!!!), Tuesday- Chicken Soup (thanks, Evelyn Chang!!!), and Wednesday- Samgyetang (thanks, Willy L.!!!).  


Tuesday, the doc tells me the results of the blood tests he did on Monday.  One of the tests was to check the amount of bacteria in my blood.  The normal levels is 0.01-0.21... mine was 20.97... 100 times HIGHER than the norm.  This combined with my high levels of white blood cells, fever, and some kind of inflammation test being really high, he told me that my body was in sepsis, and that if I had waited a couple of days to come to him, I probably would have died from septic shock.  Hearing this changes your perspective...


I was released from the hospital on Saturday, July 24th.  I was sent home with a 100 day supply of antibiotics, and some other meds.  Dr. Yoo said it would take about 3 months for me to get 100% better. I dropped out of seminary for the semester, and for the Fall semester.  


I have been completely amazed and humbled by his incredible grace, mercy, sovereignty, and healing power.  He could have let me listen to my boss and wait to be hospitalized, resulting in my death.  He could have let the infection get to that point before I even got to the hospital, resulting in my death.  He could have let me get fired, resulting in my Visa being cancelled and a whole lot more stress and problems.  He didn't.  He didn't do any of these things.  He CHOSE to heal me, provide for me, and extend His grace and mercy upon my life.  I can't help but ask why?  What does He want me to do with this life He has saved time and time again through so many circumstances?  I can't help but be amazed, and yearn to live for Him even more.


This song has become even more powerful in these last few weeks.  Singing about God as Healer has a brand new meaning...





Our God- Chris Tomlin


Water You turned into wine
Open the eyes of the blind
There’s no one like You
None like You
Into the darkness You shine
Out of the ashes we rise
There’s no one like You
None like You

CHORUS
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

Into the darkness you shining
Out of the ashes we Rise
There’s no One like You
None like You.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

BRIDGE
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
What can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who can ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?
Then what can stand against?

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God, Our God…