Part I: Being Sick in South Korea

Life abroad has its share of adventures and eye-opening experiences. You meet exotic people and eat interesting --sometimes delicious-- food. You inevitably learn new ways to say "hello" and "thank-you". Even the mundane day-to-day things in a foreign country have their charm. Sometimes when I am walking to work I stop and catch myself thinking: I am on the opposite side of the world; I am surrounded by people of a different culture and heritage who have mysterious traditions; I can't communicate with most of these people; I am REALLY far away from my Mum...Wow.

This summer we hit our 18 month mark in South Korea. With our summer vacations around the corner we got hit by something completely unexpected. 

On July 19, Josh woke up at 5:00am with a terrible headache. He thought he had a migraine so he took an ibuprofen and tried to go back to sleep. Soon, he was vomiting and we decided it would be best for him to call in sick for work. I sent his co-teacher a message letting her know our situation and she asked if he needed to see a doctor. We thought that was a good idea and within 20 minutes two ambulance workers were knocking at our door. We thought the fact that his co-teacher had called an ambulance for what we assumed to be a stomach flu was quite a severe reaction. Regardless, off we went to the Hongseong hospital. Josh was soon running a fever above 39 °C and vomiting almost non-stop. We arrived at the hospital where we were met by Josh's co-teacher (Alice) and her daughter (May) who acted as our translator. We weren't at the Hongseong hospital long before another ambulance was being called to take us to --the bigger-- Dankook University Hospital in Cheonan (approximately one hour away). Everything was happening fast and everything was happening in Korean. I was thankful to have May with us translating as much as she could. All I knew for sure was the doctor suspected that Josh may have had what google translated to be “meningoencephalitis”. This did not sound good to me.

The ambulance ride to Cheonan was the craziest drive I have ever been on. May sat in the back with Josh to translate for the attendants and I sat in the front passenger seat trying ,unsuccessfully, to call our families back in Canada.

We arrived at Dankook University Hospital in record time. Josh was scheduled to have a CAT-scan immediately. It was at this time that I realized I wasn't going to make it for the opening ceremony of English Summer camp at 3pm. Everything was moving so quickly and Josh's brain was swelling.

The doctors suspected meningitis and ordered a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). It was at this time that the fear really started. I had to sign a Korean waiver that seemed to be in regard to liability in case of any spinal tap issues. Next, Josh was given some medicine to prevent vomiting in order that he could have a lumbar puncture.

While we waited for Josh to become stable enough for the spinal tap, a nurse --holding out a jug and paper cup-- said they needed a urine sample. The paper cup was for the first stream, and the jug was for the second. Hospitals in South Korea function very differently from Canadian ones. What happened next was messy. I will spare my audience the details.

Next, a blood sample was taken. They were nearly certain Josh had meningitis. It was either one of two semi-serious forms of the disease, or a third very dangerous and potentially fatal form.

The neurologist returned with the results. What he communicated in Korean affected the nurses and May in such a way that I knew Josh had the dangerous type of meningitis, bacterial. I started to panic and demand to know what results showed. The neurologist --through an accent--, told me “this condition is fatal”. At times like that, words like “can be” are utterly important.