The night we got back from the hospital, Joe looked into the medical information distributed by his kids' international school especially for expats. There were several hospitals in the area that "cater" to foreigners but since Zion was all bandaged up we decided not to get a second opinion. The next evening on the way to pick my mom up from the airport (she took a short trip to Taiwan), Zion's bandage came off and started to bleed again so we decided to go to the hospital the next day. After talking to a friend I found out that they have a glue to keep cuts closed in the US so I wanted to find out if that was available here.
We went to the same Children's Hospital where he was bandaged up but this time to the 3rd floor for VIP service. Unfortunately, we arrived during lunchtime and they were closed from 12-1. The receptionist offered to call the Specialist and we would need to pay $85 instead of $50 but we could get immediate service. But when she called her she was in surgery and wouldn't be done for another hour so we decided just to wait until 1pm. We were told we would be seen by doctors on the 3rd floor but the treatment would be done with the "general population" on the first floor under the direction of the 3rd floor doctors.
When the office opened we paid $50 and were immediately brought down to the 1st floor and past 2 waiting rooms full of people. They have a guard that lets in 2 patients at a time so we were now 3rd in line instead of behind everyone else in the waiting rooms. I was confused because I had thought that we were going to be seen by the 3rd floor doctors not the same doctors that treated Zion on the day of the cut. I thought maybe the 3rd floor doctors could offer more sympathy and more treatment options like the glue I mentioned above.
Eventually when it was our turn the doctor tried to take off his bandage but after a minute of struggling with it she sent us to the treatment room to get it removed. We then went to the treatment room (again, cutting in front of everyone else in line) and then cut back in line for her again. After more waiting she finally saw us and because there was a piece of gauze that covered the wound she sent us back to the room for it to be removed and cleaned then she would drop by to take a look and give further instruction. Of course we were to pay for the treatment first. I was fuming by then. I didn't go to the VIP service desk so that I can pay to cut in line! I want to speak to a doctor! So after much fuss and arguing not only with the employees of the VIP department but also with my own mother! They were finally able to get the head doctor to meet with us in the treatment room.
Thank the Lord that she was exactly what I was hoping for. She was kind, patient and thorough. She explained to me that the glue would not be appropriate for use on the fingertip and used mostly on facial injuries. After answering all questions and alleviating all my concerns Zion was bandaged up again. We were prescribed 2 more bandage changes and paid for them.
The next 2 visits went fairly smoothly. We got to cut in line again. I even brought Noah to see about his mosquito bites. He's had quite a few that have severely swelled up and one that was as big as his hand. All the medication I tried (Anti-Itch Cream, Hydrocortizone and Zyrtec) did not help. They prescribed Calamine Lotion for the itch and 2 creams to be used together for the inflammation. And to my surprise, the anti-inflammatories really worked!!
Unfortunately, we were quite busy these few days, I didn't get to take any photos. But here's and image I found online that shows the type of lines we paid to bypass.
Oh, I did get to sneak in an hour back massage before my mom left!
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