Broken Arm!

Teresa breaks her arm, and gets healthcare in a system that doesn’t seem broken. Speaking of breaks, “Adventures in Korea” took a break for the summer that extended farther in the fall than intended.  We’re back now with an update about our biggest new experience in Korea–our encounter with its healthcare system.  Our son David, a Korean wedding, and our first typhoon also make appearances.

David visited us here in Korea from late August to late September.  On one of the last days he was here, we took a trip to Seoul that included a hike in the national park that borders Seoul on the northwest.  The hike went fine, but coming down a steep and wet road from the park, Teresa slipped and fell.

A few weeks later, we went to see a doctor because Teresa’s arm was still hurting, and learned that Teresa had broken it and would need surgery. (Teresa broke her arm in the same place just before we left for Korea in February so the bone may have been weakened.) Teresa is fine now, but will have her arm in a cast for another month, and have a couple of months of physical therapy after that.  In addition, she has lost some mobility in her hand because of irritation to a nerve near the break.  However, we expect this mobility to return as the break and the area around it heals.

Our single significant experience with the Korean healthcare system was overwhelmingly positive.  The doctor seemed very knowledgeable, and the care Teresa received at the hospital was excellent.  We noticed several differences from US healthcare.  First, it was very efficient.  When the doctor determined Teresa needed surgery, we went through all of the pre-operative tests in just a few hours, and the surgery was scheduled for two days later (indeed, the doctor wanted to operate the following day).

More importantly, it was very kind, particularly from the nursing staff.  It’s not that we haven’t encountered kind nurses in US hospitals.  But in our experience, they always seem to be stressed and pressed for time, even when they are trying to be caring. In Korea, there were at least twice as many nurses per patients on our hospital floor, with the result that all the nurses were very relaxed and helpful. 

There’s also a different ethos that adds to sense of relaxation: patients seem less medicalized.  The biggest example of this difference is the way Korea hospital patients are allowed and even encouraged to go outside the hospital.  Patients walk around in their hospital pajamas, often with their IV poles alongside them.  Teresa did the same, and we ate several meals on little patio tables set up just in front of the hospital.  Some patients would even cross the street, as Teresa also did once she lost her IV pole and she wanted to see what was available for takeout at a juk restaurant across from the hospital.  One of the more odd sights is the number of patients–they were always men–who would go outside the hospital for a smoke, often with IVs in tow.  I cannot recommend this practice, but it does give a sense of the freedom given to patients.

Two other differences: hospital stays are longer, and treatment is less expensive.  From a discussion I had with someone who had a similar injury treated with surgery in the US, I think our hospital bill was about 1/3 of the US amount.  Perhaps not coincidentally, when we asked our doctor about Teresa’s length of stay compared to how long we expect she would have been in the hospital in the US, he suggested because hospitalization was cheaper in Korea, doctors felt less need to send patients home. 

 Our doctor spoke pretty good English, and the nurses had some to a lot of English.  But the hospital we went to–which has a specialization in serving foreign patients–has translators who will attend in person or by phone for any interaction with hospital staff.  So language was never a problem.

The day after Teresa’s discharge, we attended our first Korean wedding.  We know the bride, who is staff at Mason Korea.

Earlier in the month, we experienced our first typhoon–or really the outer bands of one.  It wasn’t much, but we did rescue a Mason Korea banner and enjoyed moody sky and the strong wind.

We enjoyed having our son David with us for over a month, and we think he enjoyed Korea.  He certainly enjoyed the food.

While he was here, David did the usual hiking (including the ill-fated hike on which Teresa broke her arm) and enjoying Songdo’s parks.  He also tutored English at the same school his sister did when she was here.  And he conducted interviews for his senior thesis in sociology, a comparative study around gender and gaming in the US and Korea–which also gave him a good excuse to hang out at PC bangs.

Now David is gone and fall has come.  Good weather marks the changing of the season–the days are clear and the temperatures moderate.  But we know for sure the season has changed, since the Triple Street mall has taken down the fake palm trees, and put in the fake maples.

Though we haven’t been in Korea a full year yet, we’ve now experienced each fake-tree season at Triple Street.  The white winter wonderland trees, the fake cherries, the palm trees, and now the maples.  And so time moves on in our home in Korea.