Monday in GZ- Good morning doctor

Another unique experience in China for us!

Last night, Juna woke up screaming and crying. She could barely breathe. So congested and miserable. We finally got her to sleep and we all managed about 8 hours, WOW! That is a record for our stay so far in China. THe baby slept until 7am and boy were we grateful.

I got her out of her crib and noticed her cough had gotten even more congested. She was also tugging at her ears. Oh oh! Bad sign.

We got everyone ready for breakfast. Which means heat up the hot pot. Oh, for those about to travel- do you know what a hot pot is? I didn't. It's a plastic kettle on a hot plate. You fill with water, press a button, and it heats up boiling hot within minutes. You pour about 2 oz of the hot water to 3 oz of bottled water. At least that is what Juna likes and might be a good place to start for you. Daddy feeds while I shower and get ready. Then I play with Buggie while Dad gets ready. Then we head downstairs.

At White Swan, there is a room attendant on every floor. He will rush out to push the elevator button for you, then direct you into the elevator. He or she is there for your every need. It may not happen quickly- the Chinese are not people who rush or like to be rushed. Let them lead by their pace. I often find myself acting in American mode and rushing them along- and I'm a nice person! I just forget to SLOW DOWN and let them lead.

After getting downstairs, we had another fabulous buffet breakfast. We stuff our faces because we don't know what the day will bring, food wise. SOme good, some horrible. Best to stock up while you can.

I just had a bad feeling at breakfast. I went up to the table of our travel group and asked for advice. I was told there is a medical clinic here on the 3rd floor. They will not give antibiotics, only Chinese medicine. But someone from our group offered medicine.

Now, let this be a lesson about rumors and info you read online. I was grateful for the offer for medicine, but I wanted a professional's opinion on Juna's condition. So we headed to the 3rd floor. Sure enough, there was a doctor's office right here in the White Swan. My thinking is that she could tell me what was wrong, then I could get antibiotics from my travel mates. Yeah, like I'm a doctor and know what I'm doing....

It's tiny. One waiting room, one exam room. It's clean. A bit worn down, but nothing extreme. There was a nurse/interpreter and the doctor who only spoke Cantonese. The doctor was a lovely older lady grandmotherly type.

They started with the routine questions. What was wrong and is she peeing and pooping? The doctor looked in her ears- infected. Listened to her chest- bronchitis. We were told it is a very minor infection, but will get worse without treatment. So this is when I braced myself- what kind of treatment?

Antibiotics! See! Find these things out first hand. Or just trust what I am telling you on this blog. And, after talking to another daddy, you can get antibiotics in Nanchang as well.

So then the nurse got out the ear drops and showed us how to put them in Juna's ears. She told us the doctor said she does not want Juna eating any more eggs, as eggs give the ears energy. Tee hee. I am sure that got WAY lost in translation. Then the nurse went behind a counter and we watched her mix the medicine. She took pills and crushed them and put them into little paper sleeves. Then she filled four bottles with various liquids. The crushed pills are vitamins C and B "to help absorb the antibiotics." We are to take a cup and mix the liquid antibiotics with the vitamins, then spoon feed them to Juna three times per day. The ear drops are for one week. We are to see our doctor when we get home and show her all the paper information on what Juna has been taking. We read the info- it's all stuff we've given Boo back home. THe only difference being the vitamins.

The doctor praised us for getting her in early. In a few more days, it would have turned for the worse. Well, in a few more days, we'll be on an airplane. That was my thinking- get a doctor now so our flight home isn't worse than expected.

There is another family with us who had a hospital experience. Their baby had a stomach bug and became too weak to drink her bottle. She was a baby who was weak to begin with. They went to three different hospitals- not sure why? Maybe they were sent there. They said the conditions were horrible. Kids just peeing in the hallways. Dirty gloves. Really unsanitary conditions in comparison to the US. However, their baby is now 100 percent better after two rounds of IVs and medications.

So there you go- if your little one gets sick, see a doctor. Even if you have antibiotics with you, it's nice to know just what is infected in there. If your doctor was like mine, and did not want to give you antibiotics to take over- no worries. They have them here- same kind as in the USA. My doctor just felt that it is not right to give a baby medication if you don't truly know what's wrong and don't know if the baby needs it or not.

Oh, and if the baby appears sick before coming home- go to a doctor. Don't have a sick baby on the flight home. The total cost for the visit and medicine was 40 USD.

Well worth it!

Alright, pics coming in the next post.