The Emergency Room
In the middle of the night before the morning we were to leave for the beach in Goa I realized I was seriously ill. Fortunately, we were staying at a charming India hotel/guest house run by a lovely family. They arranged for a doctor’s appointment for me for 7 am Sunday morning (try that in the US) and a car and driver to take us there. The doctor a kindly seeming older man took one look at me, asked a few questions and prodded me a bit then wrote an order for the private hospital nearby to admit me. The hospital was a large modern facility, indistinguishable from any American one. Within five minutes of arriving at the emergency room and giving them his note they had me strapped into a saline IV and on an antibiotic. I had a serious e.coli infection.
Within an hour Jim completed some paperwork and they had us ensconced in what they called an attendant room. That is a hospital room that also contains a guest bed, a comfy couch, chair and TV and private bathroom with shower. Jim checked out of the hotel and moved in with me in the hospital.
I can’t begin to say how impressed I am with the care I received. Medically it was on par with any American hospital. Of course, I wasn’t having a heart transplant! But in terms of service it was way above anything I’ve seen in the US. The doctor who treated me, the head of the gastroenterology department, was smart and seemed very up things. Also, of course very young. As was all of the staff. And they all spoke English, some better than others, but it was reassuring. I’m sure Jim will blog later about the medical aspect.
My only problem in the first few days was food. As a vegetarian facility no meat obviously, but also no eggs. So the two things that appealed to me i.e. chicken soup and a soft boiled egg were not in the cards. Then they had their own notions of what constituted a bland diet for someone in my condition. It consisted mostly of various kinds of porridge made of dal, that I found inedible. I was able to get bananas and yogurt so lived on that for serveral days. I lost ten pounds. But I don’t think it will replace Canyon Ranch.
In any case I was more or less cured after three days and we’re back at the hotel in Jaipur. We’ve decided to stay on here for a few days since this is rather a lovely area of India and then on to Mumbai. I’m sorry about blowing off Goa, but we got to see some of the best of the Indian people. Very kind and caring and willing to go the extra mile to help. Also if you're going to be sick in India Jaipur is a great place to do it. The air is clean and the city is lovely and by Indian standards uncrowded.
A few little things about non medical differences. They give you real pajamas! Top and bottom. And they cover everything. No little skimpy gown that hangs open in the back. And slippers. They bring constant snacks during the day and have a real schedule for meals that they adhere to so you know what to expect when. However, unless you get a higher authority to intercede you can only get tea at tea time. Ten am and four pm. The British may be gone from India but their habits linger on.
All in all an interesting adventure and we got to see a part of India not many Americans see. We're spending a couple of extra days in Jaipur and then on to Mumbai.
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