Dave had taken a trip to Hamyoung with his Korean friend. She suggested playing on a traditional Korean see-saw. Not wanting to be a stick-in-the-mud, Dave concurred but after only a couple of minutes of "play", he fell off the see-saw and shattered his ankle. After receiving immediate emergency care at Hamyoung Hospital, and enduring a 2 1/2 hour ambulance drive, Dave arrived at a Pusan Hospital at approximately 10:30pm on Friday, October 3rd, 1997. On Wednesday, October 15th, I interviewed him in the hospital.

S: What happened when you arrived at the emergency room in Pusan?

D: Everything seemed fairly normal: doctors and nurses were milling around. But then a little boy brought a puppy into the emergency room. I didn't think that was quite so normal. The nurse seemed to really take to the puppy and it to her. I did notice, however, that after petting and playing with it, she did wash her hands.

Now that wasn't the most amazing part of the emergency room experience. What amazed me most was that the nurse disappeared and my friend, who has no medical experience and who had not washed her hands all day, was asked to assist the doctor in inserting the traction pin into my heel. She was actually helping the doctors DRILL A HOLE INTO MY HEEL!!!

S: What exactly was she doing to assist?

D: She was holding the drilling instrument at the appropriate angle while the doctor drilled a hole in my foot. The nurse was NOWHERE to be seen. My friend has NO medical experience whatsoever and her hands were as dirty as SIN!

S: What happened next?

D: Then the Department Chairman from my college, Dr. Chun, arrived to sign me in; otherwise I would not have been able to get a room. As a foreigner, you must have your employer sign you in. Then I got my room and I was in traction for a week.

S: What was your room like?

D: The first room was similar in room size to an American hospital room. Five patients and two attendants stayed in that room: the five patients in beds; two attendants on cots. There was about one foot between each bed. The room was so crowded that people were constantly hitting my traction bar. Constantly!

S: How long were you in that room?

D: I stayed there for a day & half until my Korean friends convinced me to ask to be moved.

S: Was the second room more spacious?

D: The room I moved into was the same size but had only 4 patients and 1 attendant so there was more room but the big bonus was that I was in the corner so people were not constantly walking by, hitting my traction bar. My parents told me traction is not used anymore in the U.S. but here I was in traction for a week so the swelling could go down.

S: While you were in traction and fully immobile, were the nurses attentive?

D: Actually, the nurses are here only to give injections and medication. Other than that, you don't see them. That's why you need a family member, friend or 24-hour attendant with you if you can't move.

S: So what did you do?

D: I hired out. Apparently, the hospital has phone numbers for these organizations and the attendants are not hard to get. My Korean friends spoke to the hospital staff and within a couple hours the caregiver arrived.

S: Are these caregivers trained health professionals?

D: No, these people are not health care professionals and have no professional training.

S: How much did it cost to have an attendant?

D: 50,000 won every 24 hours.

S: Was that covered under your medical insurance?

D: No, that came out of my own pocket - I had to incur the cost because I was immobile.

S: Were you happy with your attendant?

D: Well, I had three different attendants. My Korean friends insisted upon firing the first two. I was confused but they said my attendants lied to them about the money I was paying them. They said all the money goes to the organization they worked for (which does not seem very likely unless they are very VERY nice people) and that I should pay for their food and expenses while on the job. My friends discovered other discrepancies between what they said and what they did as well. Maybe the ajeemas thought they could get away with it because my friends are young and don't have experience in this field. Anyways, they oppsoyo'ed the first two. The third lady was far superior to the previous two. She was much more gentle and attentive. I can now say I've lived: I was given a sponge bath by a gentle Korean woman. (The second attendant's sponge baths were a little rough!)

S: So you had your operation a week after the initial accident?

D: Yes, but beforehand I had to agree to pay 30% of the total bill to get the chief orthopedic surgeon to operate on me; otherwise it would have been a regular surgeon. I asked if the regular surgeon would do as good a job and then decided that 30% of the final cost was worth it for "The Chief."

S: Do you remember anything about the operation?

D: Well, actually, as I was being wheeled to the O.R., I remember humming the theme song to "Mash". Then they left me alone in the operating room for 5 minutes. I think that's generally not allowed in most hospitals because patients can become suicidal just before an operation. At that time, being an avid Star Trek fan, I said jokingly to myself: "Perhaps today is a good day to die". (Snicker)

S: And did your friend assist with this operation?

D: I don't remember the operation itself, but no, she was not brought in.

S: What's the next thing you remember?

D: After the operation, I was told I had to pay 60,000 won for medicine that was to go in my I.V. "You need money, you need money, where is your money?" they said. Having just come out of the operation I was groggy but coherent for the most part. I didn't know about these unexpected costs so I didn't have money on hand. My attendant eventually borrowed the 60,000 won from one of my fellow Korean patients. Then they gave me the medication. There are very few bills to be paid in the future: you must pay now. I'll save your life if you pay me the money. I think I know why they do that. If the patients don't pay the bills and skip town, it increases the costs for the hospital and they don't want to pay lawyers to try to get the money from the dead beats.

S: Were you confident in the hospital medical staff?

D: I felt confident with the doctors: they and the nurses were fine.

S: Were you able to communicate with them?

D: In basic medical language I could communicate quite well with the doctors. Only one of the nurses spoke English. The other nurses knew medical terms but could not make sentences.

S: When you were receiving medicine and injections, did you know what you were getting?

D: . I received no explanation other than the one word, "antibiotics". The injections in my hip... I assume they were pain killers. Also, I received about 25 x-rays. I thought it was a bit excessive. I lost count after 20. They did the chest, pelvic, lower leg; numerous x-rays on my broken foot and many on the other for reconstructive purposes.

Again, my attendants took the x-rays while my friend held the x-ray plate at a certain angle. In western hospitals, no one would be allowed in the x-ray room. The attendant & my friend were given no radiation protection. That was a bit of a disappointment because they were endangering other people who didn't need to be endangered.

S: Did you get along with your roommates?

D: Well, there were typical roommate problems. Unfortunately we have a television and no remote control. I personally don't like Korean television whereas the Koreans enjoy it very much and this television goes 19 hours a day. So that's difficult.

S: Are you able to sleep through some of that?

D: No - I cannot sleep through that. I get 5 hours of sleep per night and doze a bit during the day so I'm not dog-tired.

S: How is the food?

D: The food is as good as typical family-run Korean restaurant food.

S: Do you have rice for breakfast?

D: Yes, I have rice and kimchi for breakfast every morning for breakfast; and for lunch and dinner every day.

S: So there's no pancakes, bagels, coffee, eggs and bacon for breakfast?

D: No. Actually, they asked me if I wanted Western-style food and I said no because unless you go to a really expensive restaurant in Korea, the western food is no good. So I opted for the Korean food. I don't eat a lot of spicy food so they gave me mul (water) kimchee. I was disappointed about the special diet: I was supposed to have a special diet but didn't get it as far as I know. I got raw side dishes; I was supposed to have only cooked vegetables. I suspect there was no communication between the doctors and kitchen staff. But I was given various kinds of soup; rice or rice gruel (juke) & various side dishes. So over all, it was okay.

S: What are your impressions of the hospital facilities.

D: Well, this building is at least 30 years old. It seems obvious to me that when it was built the patients; particularly leg injury patients, were not expected to use the bathroom. Two things lead me to this conclusion. First of all, it's a struggle just to reach the toilet. The door to the bathroom is scarcely wide enough to allow a wheelchair in. If one is skilled enough to maneuver through while powering up the incline in the floor, the next challenge is to avoid colliding with garbage cans, recycle bins and cleaning equipment. Secondly, if a patient has any kind of serious injury, the Korean-style toilet is very difficult to deal with, as you can imagine. There is one Korean-style toilet, one more western-style toilet and one urinal so I have to wait in line to go to the toilet.

S: You seem to have handled this whole experience very well. Did you have any exceptionally trying times?

D: I was quite upset one morning when there was no toilet paper in the western-style toilet. The night before there was no toilet paper in the western-style toilet. The next day at 9:30 in the morning there was still no toilet paper so I used what little Korean I know to communicate the need for toilet paper. I compared the hospital's bathroom to a subway station's bathroom where there is never any toilet paper. I asked them in Korean "Is this a hospital?" I don't know if they understood the comparison but ever since then we've had toilet paper. When the foreigners yell or get upset, they jump. When a Korean yells, they say "Ya ya."

S: Based on your experiences, do you have any advice for foreigners in Pusan?

D: Yes. First and foremost, always carry your health insurance card with you. Next, if you are hospitalized, bring a friend or family member to take care of you as the nurses are only here to give injections. The other option is to hire an attendant as I did, but that becomes costly. And finally, expect unexpected expenses. You have to pay in advance for basic supplies like medicine, I.V. needles, cotton gauze and pressure bandages.

S: Your overall reaction to this hospital experience?

D: As I mentioned, the building is very old. In modern circumstances it is not acceptable. I heard that they are building a new one, however. The doctors are fine; the nurses are fine; it's the facitlities that are not so great. I'm sure the new hospital will be more up to date.

S: Thank you very much for your time.

D: No problem: right now, I've got lots of it.