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Life in South Korea....Page 4. |  |
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Life in South Korea....Part nine. Strange bedfellows....'Sing-Sing' and Rob. 'Sing-Sing' is a small white fluffy pooch who just oozes energy outside, but once indoors is mellow and relaxed 'rasta' style. Friends call her 'Singy' and she's quite a lady, very sexy but with a dark side. You see she's a classic 'bikers-moll' who constantly flaunts the law. She loves nothing better than long rides on the back of Rob's scooter. Everywhere Rob goes so does 'Singy', but she has to be tied into her basket as she jumps out at every opportunity, even when moving. Strapped into her supermarket basket 'Singy' sits up and pushes her head over Rob's shoulder with the wind in her hair sans helmet, Korean style. 'Singy was given to Rob by a Korean friend and they have become inseparable ever since. Rob describes her as;...."a real trouper who loves life, is as cute as a button and a great companion. As loveable as the teddy back home." For the record 'Sing-Sing' eats 'Purina' dog chow, is fully house trained and prefers foreigners to Koreans and small children. Rob plans to take her back to Canada with him after his tour of duty here. Oh I nearly forgot, he refers to her as his 'girlfriend' but don't let the R.S.P.C.A. know. |
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Life in South Korea ....Part ten. " Woikuk aghi tansang." "Nobody told me there'd be days like this." John Lennon. Deep guttural sounds echoed throughout the labyrinth of delivery cubicals, surgury and post-op rooms as nervous fathers paced the linoleum hallways making eye contact with no one in particular, tortured by their own thoughts yet helpless to offer any assistance whatsoever to the agonising situation confronting them. Groans of pain became screams, followed by silence lulled in accruements of time. The silence broken only by the rhythmic "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" of a baby's magnified heartbeat travelling faster than any techno beat I've heard. This scenario went on seemingly forever as I sat alone, quietly lost in my own thoughts but safe in the knowledge that my wife's voice was not among those bellowing in pain and distress. At exactly 1.04pm, Friday 7th March 2003, my first child, Oscar William Gray came into this world weighing (2.88kg or 6.3 pounds) delivered effortlessly by caesarean section amid the organised chaos of doctors, nurses, hospital staff, sweating fathers, holmeonies, children and ajumma's. The nurse offered him to me for a brief moment before he was whisked away wrapped loosely in surgical green muslin cloth, still covered in 'vernix caseosa.'* As she groggily drifted in and out of consciousness for 20 minutes, catheter still in her open mouth; the language barrier kicked in along with the searing pain. Through our friend and interpreter Susan I discovered that there was no morphine (it's illegal in Korea) and that I was the nurse in charge of patient care, regulating breathing, changing dressings and all the rest. With no medical staff on hand, Simonn not improving and Susan called back to work panic was setting in big time. Then my kindergarten supervisor Julie waltzed in and took control of the situation. Soothing words combined with simple manipulation of Simonn's fingers and toes calmed her down. She was in good hands now. Being wheeled to her room still on the post-op bed we stopped to allow Simonn her first look at Oscar, albeit through glass and no physical contact as he was held up like exhibit 'A' for all and sundry to view. The tears flowed as swollen fingers caressed the glass from the outside while Oscar squinted and strained against the harsh hospital lighting oblivious to the outpouring of emotions directly attributed to him. Young Oscar is home now and both he and Simonn are in excellent health. Simonn's mother is here to help out and baby's are baby's. For the record, Oscar was the first western baby born in Hwasun and the first western baby Dr Kim had delivered. Dr Kim Byung Cheol from Hwasun Peace Hospital and his staff were excellent and a special (chong-mal) kamsa-hamneeda to Ms Susan Kim who translated throughout the pregnancy as without her things would have been near impossible. *"Vernix Caseosa. This cheesy or waxy substance that coats the foetus, waterproofs the skin from exposure to amniotic fluid and protects the foetus from scrapes when it bangs into the wall of the uterus." www.babycentre.com |
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Life in South Korea....Part eleven. "It's not over till the fat lady sings." "Young Oscar is home now and is in excellent health." (Gwangju News, page 19, April 2003.) How wrong could I be? All was going as things do with a young baby, but the projectile vomits were a concern as their frequency increased to every meal, then he was hungry and wanted to eat once more; vomit it all out and here we go again. Around the clock it went. Twenty four hours can be a long time especially with a screaming baby. The doctors said "Gastric-Reflux, it's very common, get used to it." Saturday night around 9pm and just after a feed he choked; seriously choked and stopped breathing right in front of our eyes. Not once, but twice. Big slaps on his back brought him back. The look of...."Please help me. I can't breathe." The projectile vomiting had stopped.......his regurgitated milk was thick, like a McDonalds thick shake. Everyday things can be frustrating living in a foreign country especially with the language barrier; add on birth and baby's to the medical equation and things get rather tricky. Immediately we phoned Susan, (work colleague and translator) to explain the urgency of the situation. She was at her aunties birthday party but both she and the birthday aunty were on their way over. Directly to Gwangju Christian Hospital as Susan's aunty was in the know; her boy had been critical years ago and this establishment specialised in infant care. The young doctor spoke good english and was straight onto the problem. Pyloric Stenosis* was diagnosed and after a stool 'probe' and x-ray's Oscar was admitted to intensive care. Oscar was now officially off solids, placed on a drip and stabilized. Further tests would be done Monday. Simonn met the surgeon, Dr Kim Joon Shik with my hagwon owners husband driving and translating. He understood the precidament we were in. Tuesday, all went well. The operation was a sussess. Then the next hurdle. They wanted to move Oscar out of intensive care into a shared room with five other mothers, grandmothers, aunties, uncles, children and the rest of their extended families coming and going at all times. No such thing as visiting hours here. Gwangju Christian Hospital is what you would refer to as a 'traditional' Korean hospital. Family must care for the patients, not nurses. You bring, prepare and cook your own food using your own utensils on the pay stoves provided. Communal toilets and showers are used by all. So what should be ten people to a room (five mothers and five children) soon becomes 30 to 40. The whole set up is very 'third world.' Luckily my work colleague Susan used common sense and realised Simonn and I wouldn't be able to cope. For a start we don't have an extended family in Hwasun, let alone Gwangju to call upon and top of this you have to prepare and sterilize the baby bottles and formula in suspect conditions. Did I mention the 'stench' of gimchee? Once again it's not what you know, but who you know so Dr Kim from Hwasun Peace Hospital made the relevant phone calls and all was sorted; Oscar could reside in the intensive care ward for the duration of his stay. What a relief. Oscar is home now and I can honestly say he's in great health. All the Doctors and nurses at Gwangju Christian Hospital were excellent and went way beyond their duty of care to help us out. Susan and her aunty who dropped everything to provide assistance. K.T. who translated with the surgeon. Dr Kim from Hwasun and Susan's aunty who drove Simonn to and from hospital every day to see Oscar. Having lived in Korea for 16 months so far I have been known to be quite cynical at times, but once again my cynicism had to take a backwards step because when the chips were down; really down, the local Korean people showed their true character. *"Pyloric Stenosis is the narrowing of part of the stomach(the pylorus)that leads to the small intestine, through which food and other stomach contents pass. When an infant has Pyloric Stenosis, the muscles in the pylorus have been enlarged to the point where food is prevented from emptying out of the stomach. Pyloric Stenosis affects 1:500 caucasian baby's; 1:5000 asian and is four times more likely to occur in first born male infants. It occurs from 2-6 weeks after birth. It leads to dehydration, lethargy, constipation and weight loss and if not diagnosed and treated, death. www.medicine.com |
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