Surgery Scheduled

After tracking down a series of doctors, I now finally know my surgery date.

I go in to the hospital Wednesday, May 5th for pre-op. The surgery will be Thursday. No cutting should be involved. They can go up and remove the mass with a scope. I will, however, be knocked out with anesthesia.

If you don't have a weak stomach, you can watch a similar procedure on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNrcmtOkD38

If all goes well, I will be released that afternoon (fingers crossed). Doc says recovery should be between 1-2 weeks. I have already loaded up on DVDs and a dear friend (Andrea) sent me trashy mags from the States for my birthday, so I will be saving those. Also, you can probably expect a few Skype calls :) and many updated blog posts as I am behind on telling you about a few recent trips.

Test results on the mass will take ten days. Chances are very slim it is anything serious. Either way, I will keep you all posted.

Thanks for the love, support and many birthday wishes. You certainly know how to make a girl feel good.

XOXOX

Gretchen

Waiting

Just a quick update-

Talked to the Dr. on the phone today. She is going to try and schedule surgery for next week. I have to go in to her office hours on Friday to sort some things out. It is China so this could all change in the next few hours, but this is what I know for now.

I am also trying to convince work to pay for what the surgery would cost if I did it in the Chinese section of the hospital. It will require an official stamped paper from the hospital and the doctor's signature, so cross your fingers that I can get through all the hoops and red tape.

Once I saw patients laying on the floors in the hallway and had to ask someone to wear gloves before taking my blood- I decided the extra money is worth it, even if it is just for some peace of mind.

Again, thanks for all the support. It means a lot to me.

-Gretchen

Surgery Postponed

The roller coaster that is Chinese health care continues.

As you know, I was preparing for surgery Tuesday. It turns out the doctor has rescheduled/moved me to sometime next week. I say 'sometime' because she hasn't told me when she will get me in.

The reason for the confusion? After meeting with my work's HR Dept. Wednesday, I was told that all medical procedures are covered by insurance as long as they are done at a publicly owned hospital. Private facilities are for rich Chinese and most expats. I went to one just to get a second opinion and had to pay out of pocket.

The surgeon there agreed that I should have the mass taken out and also told me that the pain is not related to my uterus but is instead a different issue. While I would like to stay with that facility because it is very 'Western' and up to standards I am accustomed to, I simply can't afford it.

Allow for a quick diversion: For all those against Obama's health care reform, I say screw you. Choosing health care based on what you can and can't pay for is demoralizing. I work hard, pay taxes and am a good public citizen. Should I not get the best care just because I am not rich? At least Obama is trying to make the system better and more accessible. The changes aren't perfect but at least they are something. When you are in a situation where your health is compromised, perhaps you will understand. Until then, do your homework, which should include more than just watching FOX news tell you what you want to hear, before you stage your ignorant protests . Diversion/rant now over.

I scheduled surgery at Peking Union Medical Hospital. It is one of the best in China and does have a special section for foreigners. All was a 'go' until work called me to tell me "Oops, our insurance actually doesn't cover your care or surgery." It does pay for visits in public hospitals but not to see specialists or have procedures done. WTF?! The incompetence at all levels is staggering. HR told me this at the last minute, so I had to cancel my surgery and figure out a way to pay for it. The hospital requires a deposit up front before they will even so much as look at you and there are not payment plans.

Now that I have figured out the funds, I spent the better part of the day trying to re-schedule the surgery. After 4 hours of continuous busy signals and phone transfers, I decided to haul my ass to the hospital to get in touch with someone, anyone.

There are no nurses for Dr. Yang and no one to schedule her appointments. She only has office hours on Friday and that is done on a first come, first serve basis which can involve hours of waiting- which I will not do again. After begging, I got someone to call her cell phone. As pissed as she is, she agreed to call me back either Tue. or Wed. to talk about rescheduling the surgery. Let's hope this happens as the waiting is killing me.

I will keep you all updated. I also want to thank you for your kind emails, texts and messages. This is a shitty situation and a shitty place to deal with it. However, it is better knowing that I have the support of my loved ones- so thank you all for not being shitty :)

-Gretchen

Surgery

It's been a bit of a rough week here. Rather than send out lots of emails and make lots of phone calls, I have decided to keep everyone updated in one place.

I went to the doctor Tuesday because I have been having constant pain, similar to cramps. It is day and night, no worse, no better.

They did an internal ultrasound and found a mass in my uterus. It's almost 2 centimeters on both sides. As you can see from the picture, it is the shape of an egg.

The doctor told me I will need to have it surgically removed and tested. Needless to say, the prospect of doing that in China scares the hell out of me.

To make a long story short, I went and got a second, third and fourth opinion. I wanted to try to find a facility I felt comfortable with and needed to piece together new information I seem to get whenever I talk to a new doctor.

Some tell me to leave it in for a few months to see if it goes away, some say I should take it out right away. Some tell me the pain is not related to the mass and is a whole other separate issue. Some tell me there is a chance my pain will go away if I have the mass removed.

I do know the following: I am too young to have a polyp, the size of the mass is of some concern, pain is abnormal and the chance of this being anything other than an inconvenience is very slim.

About 10% of women have some sort of mass in their uterus. Most never find it unless they are having trouble getting pregnant as it typically doesn't cause pain. My pain just happened to lead me to this discovery, which I will take as a blessing.

It has been a long, draining, frustrating, scary, overwhelming process. I have consulted specialists here and people back in the States. I feel as informed as I can, even though no one has the answers- yet.

After talking with my family and Devon, I have decided to go ahead and take care of the most obvious problem first. I go in Tuesday to have surgery. Yes, it will be at a Chinese facility, but it does have a special section especially for foreigners. It is cleaner and more trustworthy than the place for locals, which is both sad and reassuring.

I considered coming home to do this but honestly I simply don't have insurance there and my wealth comes in love rather than money.

A friend and Chinese colleague are going to go with me to the hospital for the surgery. Both are very vocal and will speak up if they see anything less than standard. They will also make sure I get home OK as I will be put under anesthesia for the procedure which is called a hysteroscopy.

They don't have to cut me open. Instead the doctor will use a scope to check out the inside of my uterus and remove the mass. It will then take ten days to get the test results back. Recovery takes between 1-2 weeks. Feel free to hop online and keep me entertained!

I will keep you posted as often as I can with new information. Let's cross our fingers and hope everything turns out OK.

With Love,

Gretchen

Temple Fairs

This post is a little late. I got distracted with work battles and sandstorms. Now, it's time to get back to reminders about why I love living here.

As I talked about in a previous post, China recently celebrated its biggest holiday- the Lunar New year or Spring Festival. Besides family gatherings, food and fireworks, there's something else this holiday has to offer. I took some time to go to 2 different types of Temple Fairs denoted by the countless red lanterns and crowds.

I love this panda picture. These are guys are selling crap- crap typically found at state fairs, similar to the stuff you win at games. You know what I'm talking about- the stuff that lasts about a week and then ends up in the trash. Amazingly, this crap, was incredibly popular with people at the temple fair.

They call it a temple fair because it literally takes place in a temple. This one has no religious overtones- resembles more of the fair than the temple. Historically, it draws craftsman, cooks and entertainers together for people to enjoy.

If I could mail these home to my nieces and nephews I would- if for no other reason than to annoy my sisters. When the wind blows through them the wheels turn and click on soda can tops. This is all handmade with bamboo and twine- super cool, super noisy.

These look like glass but are actually made out of melted sugar blown through a straw. He can do different animals like a rooster and mouse. I wouldn't recommend eating them unless garlic breath and sugar sound appetizing.

For entertainment, this man puts on a picture show inside the box. Its all to the beat of the drum and cymbals he plays while moving around the posters that I paid to discover were colored in with crayon and had super nationalistic sentiments.

Below, is another form of entertainment at this temple fair. This man has trained a mouse to run his homemade obstacle course. Have to say, it was mesmerizing. The girl with her mouth hanging open in the picture seems to agree.

Then of course you have to have Chinese acrobats. Here's everyone watching a man toss, balance and bounce a ceramic jug.

Love this picture of the baby and her Mom watching the performance. For some people, especially migrant workers, this is the only break they get from work for the entire year.

After all the shopping and things to see, one gets hungry. You are supposed to eat a steaming bowl of porridge. You can add different ingredients, although I have no idea what they are. Like most things Chinese, the porridge is supposed to bring good luck.

I just loved the dragon pot full of boiling water. Steam comes out its mouth. Wish I could find one of these to take back to the states, just not sure where it would fit in my kitchen.

This was probably the safest looking and smelling food at the fair. To get the full experience, I suggest you take a moment, click on the link and view this video I shot. Nothing says China quite like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Oa7Q6gJTo

The other temple fair I visited had a different crowd. They came in hopes of earning blessings for the new year. In fact, those are what's tied to the bottom of this ancient tree.

People also appealed for blessing from the founder of Taoism and Buddhist gods.

This temple was unique because each room you see here is dedicated to a different type of blessing.

This man is hoping for wisdom in the new year. You can tell because the statues in the room are all scholars holding books and debating with each other.

The best part about these rooms, is the plaques outside. The English translations are nothing short of hilarious. They call the rooms "departments". This one is for people who don't want to go morally astray.

No one could figure out what this is supposed to be about or why anyone would want to pray for insects to successfully give birth. HA HA! I have a lot of these plaque pictures, but I think you get the point.

This room was also, shall we say...interesting. You can pray for punishment for your enemies. Want their tongue cut out? What about splaying open their gut? This is the place to go to make all your dreams come true.

The most popular "department" was where people asked for wealth. You had to stand in line to even get in.

It's quite a process. To watch it, click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghKXrYDlqVw

I have to say, most Chinese aren't religious at all. If anything, they are Buddhists, but I have only met a few who practice. Either way, I guess the temple fair is similar to how church pews back home are always full at Christmas.