Throughout the weekend it was apparent that things are not getting better. I have been on 2 courses of antibiotics, have 2 forms of steroids for my lungs, and have cut out indoor social events as I cannot be around cigarette smoke. Actually, cut out most everything as I can't be around cigarette smoke. More than smoke, I just can't always breathe. It's scary and my lungs hurt. Really hurt, really bad. I start coughing and gasping till there are tears and then I'm fine for a bit and everything looks normal.
I started wondering if I should just go see the dr right away. I didn't. I waited til Monday as I wanted to find someplace that would take my insurance.
It turns out that there is no place that actually takes my insurance.
Before I fully understood that, though, I made my way to the university hospital. There is an area where foreigners need to check in, so I did that. The way it works here, is you give them a deposit before you go to the doctor. They give you the papers they need and you go back when you're all done and either get a refund or pay the difference. The deposit is 1,000 crowns. I took care of the finance stuff and then tried to follow her instructions to the actual doctor's office (it's a HUGE complex!). I failed and was literally walking in circles. Somehow I ended up on the wrong floor in the wrong building surrounded by doors and corridors and words I didn't understand. I found someone in hospital uniform, showed her my paperwork and she led me in the right direction.
After a wait I was examined by a young doctor who called in another doctor. They sent me straight down to the emergency clinic where I waited again... Once they cleared the ambulances and stretchers I was given a bed, an EKG, blood tests, and x-rays and told to sit again... I did for a few hours (or so it seemed). More ambulances, more emergencies. The wheezing and raspy breathing continued - and the security and administration staff kept tossing off pitying looks.
A young guy in a uniform came out of the clinic, pointed at me, smiled and snapped his fingers. The doctor followed as I rose to follow and explained to me I needed to get in to the ambulance and this guy would take me where I needed to go. I hadn't coughed during our brief exposure and so I think he had the impression that I was fine - he pointed where I should sit, I did, and he left for a bit.
When he returned he started off at a nice slow pace... I was seated immediately behind him on the other side of the plexi glass, in such a way that he could see my profile in his rear view mirror. For the first 2 minutes everything was fine. Then I started coughing. Hard. I grabbed the medical mask one of the ER doctors had put on me and pulled it back up over my face. And then I was coughing more and more fiercely and couldn't catch my breathe. Sometimes I can' stand up, but I was already sitting and felt like I was going to fall, when I realized he was taking corners like a madman and I wasn't buckled in - I really was sliding around on the edge of my chair. As I reached out to brace myself he slammed on the brakes, ran around the ambulance, threw the door open and helped me out. (I found out later my chart was marked as being potentially life-threatening... that explains why he freaked out.. silently, but it was still a freak out.)
Once I had both my feet on the ground he grabbed my hard by my upper arm and started pulling - really pulling, not just guiding or leading, but pulling me in to the building - we rushed through (still coughing, still pulling) the lobby and a corridor to find the right elevator. He slammed the button, the doors opened, and we both stepped on. My coughing stopped, the doors closed and he let go. I looked up and met some very concerned eyes - I pulled the medical mask down to smile and let him know I was ok. I realized we were standing as far apart from each other as possible given the confined space. The floors clicked past and as the doors started to open he grabbed me again... I made it about 5 meters before another coughing fit and then he wasn't just pulling, he was dragging me down the hall, around the corner, and down another hall where he started yelling for the nurses. I couldn't breath, my eyes were teary and I couldn't see but I could hear that everyone was yelling at each other. I regained my composure and walked forward to see the driver holding my file and the staff refusing to take it. The nurses were looking at me shaking their heads and yelling at the driver. I started coughing again, my eyes teared up the yelling continued, and then I cried. Not much, but enough - one of the nurses saw and she came over, took my by the shoulder and showed me to a room.
I thought she was leading me to the exam room, but no. Apparently I was in the pneumonia clinic and they weren't admitting me - she put me in the doctor break room and then left.
After a while another doctor came in apologizing that there wasn't a doctor to see in the clinic. She was there to examine but didn't want to do it in their lunch room, so she brought me in to the doctor's computer labs... there were about 10 computers, a kettle, a machine to view xrays, a fridge and some other equipment. She sat me down in the big comfy chair and had me strip to the waist. There was another doctor in the room.
All in all in was a really odd experience. And this is getting rather lengthy - the quick summary (ha!)
I was seen by 2 specialists and in the emergency room, had an ambulance ride, blood tests and xrays and the total cost was just under $100 - the cost of my medication (3 piils and an inhaler) just under $200. Total cost.
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I was subsequently required to return to the hospital 3 times during the week - more exams, more bloodwork, more frustration. The costs remain comparatively low, the aggravation high... nurses and receptionists tend to yell. I'm tired of it. The preliminary diagnosis - faryngitis and most likely some form of pneumonia - the continued testing is to determine what type of pneumonia as it hasn't been responsive to the first 2 antibiotics. It's responding now. I can breathe. I'm not great but I'm not dying either. I go back on Thursday.
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