zondag 28 april 2013

Treasure hunt - hospital style

Last Friday I went to HK yet again, yes, again!!!!
I needed to take a blood test a few days before my check up so I was very glad I could catch a ride with Anastasia into town. No such luck on Friday so back to the train it was.
I'm sad to report that I pulled a total preggy brain move :( I had a ticket for Wednesday but I forgot to change it to Friday...... I did not realize this until I was told I could not get onto the train since my ticket had expired. F*^&%#$%~~! There I was in the middle of the Canton fair with no valid ticket and an appointment in HK at 11.15. I hurried over to the Shenzhen train and was in luck to get a ticket for 8.24. Had I not be so pregnant and stupid, I could have caught an earlier train. Well, that was not to be and now I was seriously pressed for time.

Lexie is prepared for Queens/Kings Day!
The good news is that you don't live in South East Asia for almost 6 years without learning a thing or two about being quick in crowds. I walked trough the train and I waited at a door that opened right next to the stairs on the platform. That is bottle neck number one, passed without a hitch.
Down the stairs, down the hall and onto the check out machines, aka bottle neck number 2. I was one of the first ones there so no waiting to go through. So far so good.
I walked to the passport check as fast as belly would let me. I scouted out the special lane and the foreigner lane. The special lane seemed shorter and only older asian looking guys were in it. Guaranteed to pass the check up quickly and so it was indeed. Bottle neck 3 passed and going strong.

Her highness :)
Bottle neck 4 wasn't much of a challenge since I can pass through the automated check up with my HK card. More walking..... belly cramping up a bit on one side..... Onto the platform to wait for the metro.
Woohooo, Luohu passed in 25 minutes!! A whole lot better than 45 last time!
I arrived at HongHum station around 11.00. I'm seven months pregnant now so given that my last toilet visit was on the Shenzhen train a toilet break was granted, first thing first, right? I caught a cab straight away and drove off at 11.07. We pulled up at the main building at 11.15 sharp. The check ups are in the ambulatory day care centre, a short walk away. I was on the 4th floor by 11.17. Phew, not too bad.

Group pic
The check up went well. No anti bodies were found in my blood (I'm Rh- and Lexie is Rh+) and both doctor and nurse were very nice. I told the doc that my skin was driving me crazy with itchiness and she prescribed a cream. She also ordered a blood test to check out that my liver is still functioning well. I'm pretty sure it is because the itching is definitely humidity and pollution related. Doc agreed but let me take the test just to be sure. I also asked her about hospital policy after giving birth and she told me I can have the baby with me, hurrah :) That should make feeding a whole lot easier than last time when Lexie was 'locked up' in the nursery until our release from the hospital.

She then went on to tell me that the policy on the Rhogum shots has changed. Rhogum is a medicine to stop antibodies from forming. The old rule was one shot at 30 weeks and another one at 36 weeks. New policy is at 28 and 34 weeks. I'm exactly 28 this weeks so finally some good timing!! She called the doc to ask if I could have the shot the same day as I was already there. Luckily it was OK because I was dreading another hospital run just for one shot....... The treasure hunt was about to begin!!!

-Go to 2nd floor pharmacy to hand in recipe for cream
-Stay on 2nd floor for blood test
-Wait for cream
-Go to main building E1 to pay for Rhogum
-Stay in main building, go to B3 for injection

Hehehe, if only ;) some steps got added:

-Leave 2nd floor since there are still 40 numbers ahead of you
-At B3 get told you need to go pick up the Rhogum yourself
-Stay in main building, go to pharmacy on F1 to hand in recipe
-Wait for Rhogum and be thankful you got a "urgent" to go with your order
-Pick up Rhogum without further queueing (hurrah for "urgent" sticker)
-Go back to B3
-Tell the nurse to be quick please since you haven't eaten yet
-Get crackers and milk from nurse :)
-Get injection from doctor
-Say thanks and go back to ambulatory day care centre to pick up cream
-Pick up cream after queueing(where was that handy "urgent" sticker??)
-Go back to main building to take a cab back to the station

I didn't actually pay for the shot, it is just administration I guess. I did get a nice slip that stated 0 dollars on it. The cream was free too.

What a morning!! I was completely done by the time I sat down in my seat on the train. Yes, I managed to buy that ticket in advance at the right time and more importantly, day...... I also bought all train tickets needed for my next check up in two weeks.

Yesterday we had a small Queens/Kings day celebration for all the Dutch kids in GZ.

1 opmerking:

Unknown zei

Glad to hear that you've got everything under control :-)