So many
things happened on this day that it can only be attributed to God and the power
of prayer. I want to really thank everyone who was praying for us because God
answered your prayers. My relative and his wife told us of a Western hospital
in Beijing in which it is very easy to be admitted and hard to leave. This
seemed to be the exact opposite of Chinese hospitals. It sounded great so far
until we heard the catch: they charge Western prices. To give you an idea of
the Chinese costs up to this point, we paid somewhere between 200-300 dollars
for everything. The scans, blood work, overnight stay, medication, and IVs. The
scoffing and rudeness came free apparently. We weren’t sure of what the prices
would be at the Western hospital, but we were told that seeing the doctor would
be between 100-200 dollars. It was sounding more and more like America, but we
didn’t have much choice and booked an appointment.
Upon arriving to the hospital, we met with the
doctor where I actually got a chance to explain my symptoms. Previous to this,
I was never able to really explain things fully because of constant
interruptions of “Everything is perfectly fine.” “You are just tired from
traveling.” and “You just aren’t used to Asian food.” I was also able to
personally explain things because all of the doctors and staff spoke very good
English. After explaining my symptoms, the doctor looked over my tests and
concurred with the others that everything was fine (which I was pretty tired of
hearing at this point). We then began telling her our story and how we needed
to be admitted. Luckily, there was a bed available for me, and we started on
the paperwork for admission.
I should
add here that at this point, I really think that my recovery would have been
quicker in a hotel because I was able to eat slight bits and drink a little bit
of water. I was only admitted for the visa issue.
By the
time the paperwork was done and everything finished. The doctor wrote a note
and gave it to Hannah and my relatives. It was around 3:30PM, and the visa
office closed at 5PM. They had to go from the hospital to the police station to
register us. They then had to go to the visa office. For those of you familiar
with the DMV, both the police and visa offices can be similar experiences not
to mention the stop-and-go traffic you have to wade through to just get there.
I knew there wasn’t going to be enough time. As they were leaving, I was
praying for a miracle. (I obviously stayed in the hospital.) It turns out that
they had very little traffic on their way and no lines at the police station.
They arrived at the visa office 40 minutes late as they were closing the gates.
However, after explaining the situation, they reopened for us. Apparently, what
they told us before about being admitted wasn’t really true. The lady said that
she couldn’t extend our visas and was trying to think of ways to get me out of
the country. But, seeing as I still couldn’t stand or sit for more than 3
minutes, there didn’t seem to be much of a choice. After much persistence from
my relatives (I’m told they were quite insisting) they relented and made an
exception. For those who are acquainted with the wonders of bureaucracy, you
can appreciate how rarely exceptions happen. The only catch was that they had
to take our passports to process a new visa which would take 10 days. When I
heard the news, I was overjoyed. 10 more days in China was a much better
alternative than rotting in a jail.
We decided
to stay the night in the hospital just in case immigration decided to call and
check on if I really was there. The next day, we picked up the bill and
staggered a bit at the price. Luckily, I was persuaded to buy traveler’s
insurance before leaving on our trip which SHOULD cover up to 100,000 US
dollars in case of medical emergency. I’m pretty sure my situation will
qualify, but we will have to wait to hear back from the claim.
My
relatives in China were so amazing to us. Not only did they go out of their
ways to translate and take of us in the hospitals, but they also took us into
their home to wait out the time until our passports came back. They fed us and
kept us entertained with conversation. We are forever indebted to their
hospitality and kindness.
My
recovery was slow (as I’m writing this I would say that I’m at about 98%).
However, I made marked improvements most days. It is very easy to see progress
when you’ve felt like you were knocking on death’s door. Apparently I got the
wrong door though since all the tests came back “perfectly normal.” The
dizziness faded one day, then the nausea another day, the hot flashes another
etc. There were still difficult times of doubt and depression. I struggled with
persisting symptoms as I had never had anything that lasted more than 48 hours
before. The doctors had me on a diet of stuff my stomach doesn’t have to work
to digest. This basically means no acidic foods, no spicy foods, and no oily
foods. To put it simply, no taste. Plain oatmeal, boiled eggs, and bread became
my diet for about 2 weeks. Every day, I was able to eat slightly more and
gained more strength. When I felt well enough for a walk, Hannah and I walked a
city block. (You can see from the picture that it was a unusually less-polluted day.) I promptly went back and had to take a 2-hour nap. Eventually, I my
strength returned and I was able to be upright for the majority of the day.
When our
passports came back, we took a look at our visas. We were kind of hoping for a
10-year visa to China but were a bit surprised when our visa was good until the
next day. That gave us the remainder of the day to book a flight out of China.
After some stress and running around, we got a flight to Italy and from there
to Bulgaria where Hannah’s parents picked us up and drove us to Macedonia. We
were a bit scared leaving China though. Obviously, my whole situation was not
normal immigration procedure. Even though we did everything legally, there were
still holes that could have been questioned. For example, there was no record
of us being in China between the 10th and the 20th. In
America, that would warrant a “Please come with me sir” into a side room with
where I would get to see some intimidating men questioning me. Again, maybe
Hollywood has ruined my mind, but these were our thoughts. China isn’t always
the most friendly of places to be in trouble. The lady at immigration took my
passport and saw the 72-hour visa, then the other visa on a different page.
After looking puzzled for what I’m sure felt longer than it actually was, she stamped
it and waved me through.
As we
were flying out on the plane, Hannah and I had the feeling of the Americans
escaping Iran in the movie Argo. We
were joking that an announcement would come over the loudspeakers something
like this. “You may now use Facebook and Google as we have officially cleared Chinese
airspace.”
And so
ends the epic saga. It wasn’t what we intended, but it was by far a better
story than the usual “I saw the Forbidden City” that everyone comes back with.
Not many tourists get the full 4-hospital experience along with souvenir
pictures of their internal organs. God taught us so much from the whole
experience, and I can honestly say now that I’m glad it happened, but I hope it
doesn’t happen again!
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