It's official, Korea hates me! ...or do I hate Korea? I don't know, but either way, we DON'T get along.
I FINALLY got healthy, only to ruin myself worse. Snowboarding last weekend, I went big on a jump. Not going fast enough, I landed on the flat (let me repeat I did not crash!! At least not until after). Upon impact, my knee gave out. It felt like my femur (thigh bone) went behind my tibia (lower leg bone). Not good. I can't decide if the reason I continuously hurt myself is because I'm awesome and I go BIG, I'm getting old and my body is telling me to F-off, or cause I just do stupid shit. No need to answer, it was a rhetorical question. :) ANYhow..... Luckily, there was Grenade Korea snowboard competition going on, so after pulling myself together and collecting my board that slid half way down the park from taking it off from the intense pain in my knee. I slid my butt down the hill 15 ft. to watch the comp. Let me say, it was a pretty sweet way to go out. They provided free Somaks (beer and soju) and kimbop (think sushi roll except no fish, only veggies and maybe some spam) for lunch! Any other person would have got a ski ambulance ride down to the infirmary, but not me! Ohhh, no! I just parked it on the snow, used my board to elevate my knee, a buddy got me a bag with chunks of snow, and I drank beer for the pain until my bus back to Seoul.
When I got back to Seoul, I went to the ER. My supervisor at work provided the teachers with a card with a hospital address in Korean for a taxi driver incase of an emergency. Sweet, right?!! Well, to get to the hospital, yes. When the hospital's ER speaks no, or very limited English, no. My service included having odjuma's (Korean Grandmas) help me get service because the front desk people wouldn't even look or acknowledge me. Finally, got service, was pushed in before all the korean people waiting..ok, now thinking this might not be so bad....to get a doctor who spoke a tiny bit of English, who had to keep looking up words on his computer...tells me no broken bones, should heal in a week. Really, doctor?!!!! Do you have your PHD in Idiocracy?!! I can not walk or put much pressure on my leg and you are going to tell me I will be healed in a week? He gives me no pain medication, no crutches, only a push out of the hospital in my wheel chair into a cab.
The next day, I hobbled my self to work (because, again, zero sick/crippled days) and had Adeline, my Korean "savior" co-teacher find a orthopedic doctor. I got in the following day (Tues), because they wouldn't see me after i got there too late on Monday after they ALREADY knew I was coming at that time! And they lady was obviously annoyed, because she's spewing out Korean in the whiniest voice and her body language is just ridiculous. Yes, I don't speak your language lady but I'm not a f-ing idiot. I called Adeline for them to talk to her because they can't tell me about whatever they are whining about. Adeline tells me, it's too late and they have too many people already waiting. I maaaaybe start crying from the pain and frustration and now the jokes on the lady because she now feels bad. HA!! Good. She should feel bad! (Korea has literally brought the worst out in me.) I come back the next day, to see the doctor, have an x-ray and a painful injury massage, electro-treatment, and my legged iced. Doctor finds nothing wrong with my x-ray. Thinks an MRI is expensive and I should be fine if I come in and have the electro-treatment done as often as possible. I get back to work, to have Adeline tell me, after talking to the doctor, that I should see a different one at the Foreigners clinic because this doctor is old and there has been lots of technology advances. This made me laugh. Korea is soooo superficial. It's all about your looks, your age, your weight, how you dress, etc. I take her advice, because A. I would like to be able to communicate with my doctor and B. I want an MRI done so I know what's wrong with my knee! Thursday, I remind you I hurt my knee Sunday, I go to this foreigner clinic at a major hospital (which is the same hospital I went to for the ER). The doctor looks at my X-ray from the last doctor, sees something, wants an MRI done, prescribes me pain meds, and tells me I need to wear a knee brace. I think, "OK!!! We are getting somewhere!" I get escorted off to another small room where a guy proceeds to make a brace for my knee. Well.....let me just tell you, or no, let me show you what I came out with....
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| I got myself a fancy pair of hospital shorts, too. |
A full on toe to butt cheek cast!!!!! And they told me that I had to wear it until my next appointment. I asked if I could take it off to take a shower and they said no. I asked if my appointment was the next day they said no, it wasn't until March 2nd! A WEEK with this thing AND no shower! Ya, right!!! When I got back into the foreigner clinic the nurses were amazed that I came back like that. I'm pretty sure they did it just to laugh at me! The nurse asked how I was getting home, I said I was going to get a cab but I don't think I'd fit anymore. The cast was RIDICULOUS!!! Very unpractical. Luckily, it was only half a cast and it was ace bandaged on, like a splint and when i finally managed to make it home and up my 3 flights of stairs, it lasted about an hour before I took it off. Ya, right, i was going to sport that around, it's freezing here! I wouldn't have been able to put pants on, or a sock over my toes, I couldn't sit on the toilet to pee, not even mention how the heck I'd get to school plus, my school is 3 levels. It's horrible just getting around with the crutches.
So, long story short (but not really), after I made fun of John for braking himself at the mountain, I broke myself. Go figure....
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