Doctor, doctor give me the news!

Getting sick in a country where you don’t speak the language proves it’s own challenges! Over the past 2 weeks I’ve been to the doctor twice. This is not typical for me, if fact I didn’t expect to see the doctor here at all, but things happen and plans change.

            Two weeks ago I had a terrible cold, coughing, sore throat, headache, the works; I woke one morning and could barely breathe. I decided it best to stay home and rest. By that evening I had not recovered and knew that I wouldn’t make it to work the next day. My contract states that I am required to visit the doctor and get a certificate for being sick more than one day. The next day I showed up at our provider’s door asking for services. Interteach is a health provider located in Kazakhstan, Germany, and several other Central Asian locations. The people are great, but no one seems to speak English (not surprising, just challenging).

            I went in prepared with Google Translate and screen shots already of certain phrases I knew I would need. The man at the front was a bit exasperated to begin with and once he found out that I didn’t speak English he became frustrated. He was able to use Translate to get the basics out of the way and got me set up with a new file. Then onto the doctor, who, I was told, did not speak any English either and asked if I could provide a translator (um, no?!?! I just need to talk to him I feel like crap!). I convinced them that we could communicate using Google Translate too. This seemed to satiate their needs and I was allowed into his office.

            I sat in a chair next to his desk and Levi sat on the medical bed behind me. The assistant set him up on the website and we were off. He was a great doctor, asking all the right questions and getting me what I needed. We had to wait for the certificate to be filled out so we sat chatting a bit. He was excited to use the Translate service and ask a lot of questions about America. At the end, when we stood to leave, the doctor stood up with his fist on his heart and proclaimed loudly, “viva America!” We smiled, thanked him and left the office.

            Last week I started having stomach issues and by Wednesday I was unable to stand for longer than a few minutes due to the cramping. I went back to the doctor to figure out this new problem. The man at the front recognized me right away, and tried to help those around me first and then scurried off to find my file. The filing system in the office seems a bit chaotic with folders stuck randomly in letter labeled boxes. The assistant pulls the right box with someone’s last initial but then spends five minutes scouring the pile of folders to find the right one. My file must have wandered off because I’m pretty sure the guy left the building to find it! (maybe they had it in a billing section since I had just been there?!?!). Once he had the file he led me right into the doctor’s office – no questions, no waiting, no paperwork.

            The doctor was glad to see me and immediately stopped what he was doing to talk with me. He couldn’t remember how to get to the Google Translate page, so he called someone in to help him out. Once that was up we were on a roll. I gave him my symptoms and he starting asking a lot of questions. There was no examination, no looking at my tongue or taking my temperature, just questions.  He hit the nail on the head with every question though, and easily diagnosed me with acute intestinal inflammation. I had denied a prescription the week before because there’s not much that can be done for a viral cold, but this time I knew drugs would help. He wrote out a prescription for 3 different medicines, gave me the directions for each and sent me on my way. Again with the “viva America!”

            The pharmacy is only a few blocks away and even though I was feeling like crud I made the walk. Half way there I remembered that I had hung up my coat on the coat rack inside the door and had left it there. Levi volunteered to return later and pick it up. Upon arriving at the pharmacy, we went in, handed the lady the prescription, she filled it and we were done (what? No paying?!?!? Crazy!). I spent the next 4 days in bed and by Sunday evening I was feeling better and ready to venture away from the flat.

            Even though I had to visit twice to that place I am thankful for Google Translate and the willingness of the doctor to see me. It’s been almost a week and I’m feeling so much better and I’m back at work. It’s good to know that I can get the help I need when I need it.