When he grows up, I'm gonna tell him it's because he was stubborn and refused to follow what I said, which, by the way, had become last night's bedtime story.
My son loves water and whenever I give him a shower, he would take the opportunity to disobey me to continue playing with the water (because he knows I'm the only person who would layan what he wants).
Me: Baby K! Enough! Finish!
Baby K: (Grunts in disapproval)
Me: Sudah!
Baby K: (Makes angry face)
Me: Baby K!
Baby K: (runs away from me and falls down --> loud cry)
He was bleeding at the chin and in the mouth.
I picked him up and calmly tried to stop the bleeding.
Mother, as expected, panicked.
I soothed my baby and changed him. Changed my clothes and off we went to Hospital XXX.
Baby K was quite fine, actually. Had a good cry for probably 10 minutes. After that, he was more clingy and menangis mengada-ngada.
Saw the doctor, and he said Baby K needed to be admitted so the stitching could be done in the OT (operating theatre).
Me: What?! Can't you just give some medications that make him sleepy?
Nurse: Tak boleh, Kak. Kalau bagi tidur pun, dia mesti jaga punya.
Me: Is it deep?
Doctor: It's quite deep.
Me: How much is the total cost?
Doctor: About RM4k. So, when was his last meal?
I refused admission. Paid RM56 for nothing.
Went to a government hospital instead. Because I know they are more reluctant to admit patients unnecessarily.
By this time, my son was already happily running around. He chased after the cat and the cockroach, he even played hide and seek. Tak padan dengan baju berdarah-darah.
Our number was called. The doctor said, he would send us to procedure room for 'skinglue'.
Me: Boleh pakai skinglue?
Doctor: Boleh.
Me: Because, I went to a private hospital just now, and the doctor wanted to do it under general anaesthesia.
Doctor: No need.
Me: I think so too!
Doctor: Okay, pergi bilik sebelah ambil Panadol. Lepas tu pergi Bilik 13.
I skipped the Panadol part because, well, I nak cepat and my son didn't look like he was in so much pain. Haha. Sorry, Baby K, tapi satu kerja lah pulak Mommy nak paksa awak minum ubat!
So, masuk je Bilik 13, Baby K screamed and cried. Tak buat apa-apa lagi dah berdrama...
Mommy tak kira, Mommy tekan bahu kuat-kuat. Mommy tahu itu semua lakonan saja. Habis je the procedure, keluar Bilik 13, automatic Baby K senyap lalu ajak main lagi... (-___-")
Me: Dah siap. Anything else?
Doctor: Ini prescription ubat.
Me: Apa tu?
Doctor: Panadol.
Me: Tak apalah. I beli sendiri. I dah ada dekat rumah. Thank you!
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When we were small, my parents never brought me or my siblings to government clinics/ hospitals if we fell sick. So, I grew up thinking- (1) there was no govenment clinic. (2) there was only government hospital, and they are for really, really sick patients.
Now, I have many doctor friends. And I also found out you only have to RM1 for a visit to the government clinic/ hospital.
I have nothing against the government hospital because I think, they are there to help the rakyat. And in my opinion, the rakyat should not abuse the facilities!
Me, for example, I could afford to go to the private hospital, so I went there.
But, I was not happy with the doctor's recommendations, so I went to the government hospital instead.
However, all the while I was there waiting for our turn, I felt so guilty! I felt like I was robbing other people's needs. They might need to see doctor more urgently than we had to. I felt like they had to wait longer because my son and I took a number. I also felt like I was misusing the service.
And that's why I refuse to take the Panadol the doctor had prescribed for Baby K.
For RM1, my son received skinglue and SteriStrip, which I know, should cost a lot more than that. I could buy the Panadol from the pharmacy, I even could buy the flavoured medicine.
How can I accept the Panadol, when I knew, at that time, the people in the East Coast were in a huge flood, which destroyed the hospitals and their pharmacies and all the medicines?
My act may be small, but I hope I could somehow, contribute. Contribute so that they would have leftover medicines for the people who are really in need. Contribute so that the people who really could not afford to see the GP, could see the doctor faster.
Although, I can argue, the facilities are for people from all walks of life, besides, I pay my taxes, but I think, our society is so used of taking instead of giving, don't you think? We love to take, take, take.
We don't prioritize our needs.
"Let's go to the RM1 Clinic! So, I can use the money I save to buy that handbag..."
Seriously, you would rather spend your money on a handbag, instead on your health?
And please don't complaint about the waiting time...
With RM1, my son got satisfactory treatment. I didn't mind the 3 hour wait. In fact, I was so happy that my son didn't need to be admitted. Sakit sikit je tu...
I'm such a cool mom! If I wasn't there, I'm sure Mother or my husband would have simply followed the doctor's orders and made my son go through unnecessary procedure.
3 comments:
I was once too of the opinion that private hospitals are the top line in medical care. Not anymore, after several encounters.
One was for my last delivery. Asked them what happened shd I encounter major complications?
Answer: We'll send you by ambulance to the nearest hospital.
Me: TQ. I'll drive there on my own.
Next was when my cucu had a major cut on his finger. This well known private hospital outrightly refused treatment even tho' when called earlier they said they have an attending othopedic. Lies.
We rushed our cucu to a govt hospital when he wad admitted and duly was attented to.
Yes, our govt hospitals are still the best for treatment and attitude. Nvr mind the long wait, the treatment we get are worth it. The medication they give out are top of the line too.
oh my goodness. same situation happened to me last week.
My daughter fell down and had a cut. Went to one private hospital at kota damansara and the dr wanted to do minor surgery total cost about RM5K like that.
And then i demanded for a tissue glue and they gave in. and the cost was rm500.
What I pissed off most was upon knowing we had insurance covered, terus cakap nak buat surgery without inspection.
Well, to me, I think, the private hospitals emphasize more on comfort and their patients', in this case, their patients' parents' happiness.
Because, you know, some parents couldn't stand seeing their children in pain. When they see their children cry, they might think the doctors are being too rough and start blaming the doctors.
And, to try to understand the doctors' situation, sometimes, the emergency doctors at private hospitals don't have enough supports like those in government hospitals. Try imagining doing it all alone without other doctors on standby and relying only on the nurses and parents to hold the kids down. So, to play safe, they would want to admit first and give the worst possible scenarios, because they don't want their patients feel cheated if the plans become different. The next morning, when the specialists from the respective departments actually reassess the injury, their approach might just be the same like the government hospitals, skinglue, no need stitching.
I hope I don't give bad impressions on the doctors. They've studied for years to become one and I am not an expert to question their doings. I'm sure everybody is trying to give their best, different approaches don't necessarily mean one trumps the other.
Like I said, government hospitals are usually reluctant for admissions simply because they have too many other patients who need the beds more that the others. I'm sure, if ours were like the ones in the first world countries, where government hospitals are almost equivalent to the private hospitals (in terms of number of beds and doctors to patients ratio), they might decide for admissions too.
Nevertheless, I am glad our country provide a system that allows rakyat the access to the healthcare.
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