ER: Singapore Style

While I had intended to write about last weekend's activities, life had other plans. I've just had my first experience with the Singapore health care system so I must share...

I started feeling ill Wed afternoon and quickly went downhill. I had a low-grade fever and thought it was just a little stomach bug. By Thursday evening when I felt much worse and was experiencing symptoms I had never had before (let's just say that there was blood involved) I went on webmd.com and after listing my symptoms, a little red box popped up that said, "Seek medical attention immediately." Leaving Brian with the girls, I took a taxi to Gleneagles Hospital and spent a couple hours in their emergency clinic.

Overall, it was a fine experience. The nurses and doctor who saw me all asked if I had left Singapore anytime in the last 2 weeks and that led me to believe that they suspected contaminated food or water was to blame. The doctor asked a few questions and encouraged me to see a gastroenterologist because my severe symptoms concerned him. He also asked, "Would you like to be admitted into the hospital?" I had never been asked my opinion on the matter so I found it funny. Of course I declined. They ran a couple blood tests -- a blood count and one to look at my renal function and the results showed that I had a bacterial infection. The good news is that they gave me antibiotics and referred me to the gastro specialist for a visit today.

This morning I went to see Dr. Wai. The practice looked like a business office-- no scrubs to be found in this place. The nurses wore suit jackets with skirts and heels and my doctor came out in a dress shirt with a bow tie. I'm not sure what a GI doctor is doing working in the Asian Liver Transplant group but either way, he was friendly and thorough. His first question was, "Where are you from in the US?" and when I replied, "Texas," the follow-up was "Oh, Texas! So, what do you think of Bush? Like him? Hate him?" Fairly predictable I suppose. He spent some time in Michigan while in school and he was full of observations about the different regions in the US. The conversation made me realize that I really do need to get to know some local folks (aside from taxi drivers) because it's fascinating to listen to their perspectives. Anyway, he looked at my lab results and list of symptoms and while they can be indicative of some nasty diseases, it's most likely just a bacterial infection wreaking havoc on my system. After a couple doses of antibiotics, I'm already feeling better and I'll go back Tuesday for a follow-up.

Looking back, I'm thankful that I was the first one to get sick because now I have some clue about how their system works and no one else had to figure it out with me. I'm also glad that I know what a bacterial infection might look like, because if it had happened to one of the girls first, I would have been freaking out. And as long as I wash my hands well, no one else in the family should be affected. While I'll likely never know what made me sick, the doctor stressed that bad food is uncommon in Singapore and that I should not fear a recurrence.

The big bummer is that Brian is at the Chingay Chinese New Year Parade with Megan and Elizabeth while I'm at home with Emily. I can hear the fireworks while I'm typing :(

Stay tuned as I'll share pictures soon from our long holiday weekend - the Singapore Zoo was great fun!