So so so… My life is TOO interesting and I mean
that in the most honest tone I can vocally present! Now, I know several people
who have lived in various nations around the world and their stories and tales
are fascinating. But, they don’t involve any epic levels of tragedy, chaos and
misfortune like mine!
Why you may ask, why Tory Cook, are your experience in Korea on such a unique and utterly
monumental scale. Why are your tribulations on a scale that would make the
filming of ‘Troy’ or ‘Gone With The Wind’ look like low-budget grade school
productions of long dead Broadway musicals? ‘Perhaps you seek psychotic
scenarios and schizophrenic situations. Or maybe it’s your infatuation with the
dysfunctional that leads to these mishaps?’
Chance has to stick to certain perimeters, you
think? Why, then why am I constantly in and out of the hospital!?! I do nothing
to get there, really (well… most of the time.), yet I have frequented most of
the major hospitals and medical centers in the Seoul Metro area and more to
come! Let me run down these twisted situations and I’ll let you decide. Am I
being shat on by fate? Did dear old Daddy do something malicious to someone
when he was here back in the 1980′s and now they’re working some dark magic to
pay HIM back, yet I’m catching the brunt of their wrath?
AT SOME DENTIST IN CHUNGSAN VILLAGE, ILSAN-GU,
GOYANG CITY, KOREA
In a failed attempt to find out why I had a
freakin’ lump on my neck, I made a trip to hang out with a ‘sadist with a
dental degree’. Recalling upon an earlier experience in my childhood, where I
refused to have a rotten molar removed, hence causing the tooth to abscess and
my entire neck and half my face to swell, I thought to myself, ‘Hey, this
chipped molar in the back of my mouth now might be the cause of more neck
swelling now!’ (Oh boy, how little did I know about medicine!)?
So, following the referral and advice of our
school’s lovely ‘somo-nim’, I let some ‘dentist’ have a whack at fixing my
dental woes. He gave me a very liberal drop of Novocain and preceded to pull
that fucking tooth with what I swear was a pair of grandpa’s rusty pliers from
the ‘shed out back’, in turn crushing the tooth (while still ‘in root’). I
don’t think there have been movies or hidden surveillance cameras filming an
actual murder to produce the mind blowing cries I let out that day!…… and no
one in the office or on the dental staff blinked an eye.
That unforgettable experience left laid up in bed
for about a week, with a swollen noggin for about just as long. Naturally, the
bloody bump on my neck remained, leaving me relieved to have taken care of the
tooth, but still nervous as to what was going on with my body. Had I only know
what kinds of inhumane pain and
suffering was to come, all at the hands of people working in what some people
call ‘medicine’, I think I would have been on the first jet out of Asia. But
then, that would’ve been logical….
YONSEI UNIVERSITY SEVERANCE HOSPITAL
It was here where I underwent almost $500.00 (out of
my pocket) worth of testing to find out what the hell was going on with my
neck. My journey to this seemingly civilized educational medical facility
actually began at my local doctor (whose son I was teaching at the time and I
have to say (sorry doc), was the fattest doctor’s child I personally have ever
seen in my life!) She spoke no English, which is probably good because I had no
idea what information she’d gathered from the ultrasound she took of my neck.
So soon after would I get to place the missing piece to that sinister puzzle.
Through several notes and translators, she referred me to the ‘International Clinic’ at Yonsei University Severance Hospital, which
was supposed to be the best in Korea.
So, I went to this center and had my neck twisted,
prodded, extracted and mutilated by a bunch of medical residents, carrying only
about $100 US in my pocket (hey, Korea is cheap, I only paid $20 to have my
tooth ripped from my skeleton!). Well, with no comprehensive health insurance
because I was working in a babysitting slavery circle under the cover of a
private English academy and the amazing procedure of hospitals to not disclose
cost until after they’ve raped you with needles and plastic gloves, I realized
I was short of cash… really short!
After a marathon of phone calls and short of
signing my soul over to some jerk American doctor who thought he was the bee’s
knees because he got his MD from Yonsei University (sorry Korea but Yonsei Med
School doesn’t strike much in my mind for international prestige!). My head
teacher finally came through with a credit card call; of course, that loan
would later blossom into serious debt, a confrontation with an old man probably
decomposing at the bottom of the Han River now and accusations of being a
heroin addict (Couldn’t make it all up if I really tried and made three wishes
on a star!).
Two weeks later some 미친연
calling herself a doctor answers the phone after about ten phone calls made by
yours truly to try and figure out what all those tests had proven and tells me,
‘You need to make plans to go back to the US. I could provide you with some
professionals here in Seoul to take on your medical case, but you probably
can’t afford it, so why should I bother.’ (AKA: ‘get the fuck out of my country
you dirty American scum, we ain’t givin’ no financial aid this year, see you
next time if you live that long, 씨발놈아!’). Two hours of chaotic anxiety
and confusion would follow before I finally realized just exactly what Hodgkin’s’
Disease was and what I would need to do to get rid of it!
THE NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
After lots of discomfort in this long journey to figure out what was wrong with
me and how to get rid of the lump in my neck; I had gotten my answer… AND BOY
WAS I PISSED!!!! See, I immediately started to think of all the late night
partying and various methods of cellular destruction I’d participated in during
college and all I could say was, ‘You reap what you sow’. But I can honestly
say I don’t think I sowed this one! Damn genetics played the trick of a
lifetime on me and there was nothing I could do to stop it from coming to
fruition. I made plans to return home to the US that same day, but the penny
pincher of a boss of mine decided that I was too big an investment to just let
me fly off and never return (for whatever reason). How was I to know that I’d
be back teaching five weeks later!
As gruesome and challenging going through cancer
diagnostic treatment was, my three weeks in that hospital, the National Medical
Center, were and will always be some of the most amazing times I’ve ever had.
This place was a damn mess to start. First built as a US Army hospital during
the Korean War, the Korean government took over operations after the cease fire
(mind you the Korean War has never ended. They are still technically still at
war!). Only problem with that was that they never bothered to renovate, rebuild
or update anything in the building since! Oh the imagery here! Think of the
show ‘MASH’; mid-July heat, no air conditioning, one fan in a ward with eight
beds (seven of them filled with Korean men, 45 years of age and older and then
me, a 24 year American black guy!).
My neighbor for about two weeks was this awesome
old dude, Mr. Kwan, who took it upon himself to be my personal translator, ethnographic
guide and he even once took me to Catholic Mass (only God knows how he knew
just what I was saying since he never once spoke a word of English to me and I
had never known what to do with those damn ‘eggs in the shell’ at breakfast
time without him; a few months in Korea had not acclimated me to eating
everyday Korean food, especially everyday Korean hospital food!). One thing
about Mr. Kwan that I had to dig thought was that when he would come back to
the room from his smoke break in the stairwell, he smelled strongly of the Mean
Green, the wacky tobaccy, mountain trees…. He never offered or shared.
My nurses were very nice and very understanding of
my rather awkward place. One was actually a very cute nursing student who
couldn’t speak much English, but had amazing handwriting and made it a point to
bring a dry erase board for us to communicate. The Head Ward nurse spoke
amazing English and although she was said she was Korean spoke with a very
strong Filipino accent. And how could I forget the lovely ‘natural redhead’ who
caught me sneaking back into my bed one night after I snuck out of the hospital
to go see a DJ in Itaewon and proceeded to give me a tongue lashing on the
severity of my situation, as she made me kneel and hold my head down in shame
(typical Korean way to say, ‘I’m sorry.’).
It was in that hotbox of hell hospital that I had
two drills put into my back and bone marrow pulled out of my pelvic bone. This
was the most pain I have ever felt in my life and I could imagine one of the
worst pains humans could feel… especially when the local anesthetic wears off
before the needles even go in! I clinched my teeth and damned the soul of the nurse who was holding out on me
with the drugs as she turned her head when I growled and cut my eyes back at
her in disdain. It was in this place that I was not allowed to properly bathe
for seven days due to the gigantic, gaping wounds on my back and hence produced
a bodily stench that I WILL NOT smell again (I’ll cut my own nose off).
Ahh, I sound rather negative, but I did learn a lot
of Korean language, finished some good books and got a month and eight days a
month for the next six months paid leave off of work! That reminds me of my
chemo nurse; I affectionately called her ‘Tweety’ (she had a cute resemblance
to Tweety the cartoon character). Why this chick was assigned my chemo a nurse
who knows, she couldn’t speak, read, write or understand any variation of
English (and many of the medicine labels were printed in English). But, she was
serious trooper and we somehow made it work (and she put up with a lot more
than most dealing with me!).
Our first ‘shit show’ session was my third
treatment, the second with Tweety (our first went quite well, even though I
threw up all over the backseats of two different taxis on the way home). Taking
the advice of my nutritionist (who also spoke no English), I made the mistake
of eating a Kimbab roll (what you may know as a California roll) for breakfast
before the session. Bad biz. After about 2 hours of the scheduled 5-hour ‘Drip
of Death’, I threw up. Everywhere! There was so much rice and stomach ‘stuff’
all over the bed, floor, walls, sink, that I hated the sight of it for several
months after.
I’m not one to recount my vomits, no matter how
grand and gushing they might be, but this was a true exception. As I spewed
chunks all over this badly furnished, yet clean clinical office and
consequently covered Tweety’s left leg, this chick, petrified and seemingly at
a loss for how to make the situation right, starts to yell, ‘Oh my God! Oh my
God! What the hell am I supposed to do now?’… all with a perfect American
accent!
ILSAN HOSPITAL AND THE SHINGLES SCARE OF 2004
All passed well at the Medical Center with my
treatments and eight months later I had a new job teaching at a public high
school, with sick days, medical leave and full Ministry of Education sponsored
health insurance (my best friend!). But oh no, life would be too easy if things
like health insurance were just there for, I don’t
know, peace of mind! Silly boy I am!
May 2004: I wake up to a burning pain behind my
left ear and an itch I was able to relieve by intense scratching that drew
blood! Two days later, the rash, pain and itching has quickly spread down my
left arm, across the left side of my upper back and chest. Did I forget the
almost immediate onset of nausea, dementia and migraine headaches? Can’t forget
those! At school on Monday, I tell my mentor teacher that I’ve been through
this craziness of weird bumps and rashes once, ‘You and I are going to the
closest hospital, now!’
He cancels all my classes for the day and we
frantically zoom the quarter mile to the Ilsan Hospital. I explain to the
intake nurse what’s happening, he translates. I am swiftly taken into the
emergency area. Lots of blood is taken, several tests are done (none, I might
add, as painful as those I experienced before, thank God!) None of the medical
residents know what Hodgkin’s’ Disease is I give them my medical history
(translations can really be lazy; in Korean, Hodgkin’s’ Disease is pronounced
‘had-juh-keens dee-jee-zuh’, get it?). They figure since they don’t know what
the condition is, it probably isn’t important and we move on with the tests.
I meet with the Head Dermatologist (a women who
most likely attended medical school in the US, probably wanted to stay there
but her parents dragged her home and knew she was too good a doctor to be
working in that hospital.), and she in perfect, understandable English told me
it was Herpes Zoster, or in the colloquial, SHINGLES! What the #@^! Did I do in
a past life that would deem it necessary that a 25 year old man have to deal
with having Shingles? Neither of my grandparents or anyone else I knew 65 years
of age or older had been diagnosed with such! The doctor, however, was swift
and efficient in explaining how I’d possibly acquired such a strange condition,
as she was truly a good doctor who knew her craft.
Shingles is a disease of the nervous system associated
with the Chicken Pox virus that tends to become active when your immune system
has been somehow extensively compromised (like the side effects of 6 months of
chemotherapy!). It can kill you pretty fast if you don’t catch it because it
spreads and eventually causes brain death. Lucky for me, I was in Korea!
Although she was professionally very cosmopolitan and worldly, she was still
Korean. With that known, she gave me a typical Korean response to how to remedy
my situation (which I’m sure you’ll like):
Normally, we hospitalize Shingles patients for
several days
as we administer the medicines, but you’re a young man.
You’re
strong. Don’t worry about it. Just take these pills
and you can start back at
work in a day.’
To hell with that! I took the week off, with 119 on
speed dial (911 in Korea). I’d made a dignified plea (alright, I kind of
begged) to be admitted in the hospital for the week, partially because the
hospital was brand new and had ‘hotel comparable amenities’, but school and the
doctor didn’t feel it ‘necessary’.
So, in an attempt to save my life, the chemo ended
up gave me shingles, which also almost took my life (and only God knows what
else I got from the National Medical Center!). Modern medicine really is
inhumane; it nearly killed me, twice (for second occurrence, see BONE MARROW
TRANSPLANT AT WAKE FOREST BAPTIST HOSPITAL)!
PLASTIC SURGERY AND THE SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
HOSPITAL
Well, this leads me to the most eventful St.
Patrick’s Day I have ever had (and the one Korean medical trauma I think I am
solely responsible for!). Now, with my knowledge of hospitals, that night I was
prepared to receive the best service and treatment without the pain and
bullshit from before and I was going to get it!
It was St. Patty’s Day, 2006. The crew and I were
watching a crappy expat band play at a crappy club and I was not impressed (It
should be noted though, that the cover was $20, all you can drink, all night…
even Jack Daniel’s!). A friend known for complicating the most docile of
situations starts hitting on some butt ugly chick dancing by herself. Her boyfriend shows up, gets pissed off and starts yelling
at the crew because we’re responsible for my friend and his stupidity… somehow!
We have a standoff between wanna be Ken and Barbie and myself and three of the
craziest Korean guys I’ve ever met (the ‘crew’). The situation calms, partially
because we’ve all drank so much that we forget why we’re yelling and four of
the seven participants finish their drinks and naturally need a refill.
After I get my refill of Jack on the rocks with a
splash of Chilsung cider, I go to the bathroom. I don’t remember using the
bathroom, but I do remember opening the bathroom door, taking a step and then…
blank! I “wake up” standing outside the club on the street holding my face as
blood drips endlessly from my hand. I bend over as to not get any on the new
Emerald green shirt I’d just bought the day before. My friends, the ‘crew’ ask,
‘who?’ I respond, ‘who what?’ After much confusion and everyone’s realization
that I’d just been sucker punched by someone too afraid to go head to head with
a drunk traveling with a posse of even drunker socio-paths, we hop in a cab and
make our way to Seoul National University Hospital.
Like I said, I wanted the best treatment and service
possible at 3am in the morning (It was only one block from my apartment, they
had some of the best facilities in East Asia and a 24-hour on-call plastic
surgeon). I may have been drunk and delirious, yes! But illogical and
irrational… never! I wish we had a video camera that night because I would
easily win a best actor award for how I behaved in that hospital! I walked in throwing
commands in English and Korean (the poor nurse didn’t know if to listen to me
or attending doctor!). My crowning moment, of course, occurred with the
realization that I must have been hit with something sharp, like a ring or
jagged metal, because that’s when I started to demand for the plastic surgeon.
‘I have the fucking money! You get the best person
in this damn city on my face now! My face! My face! What the fuck did some
fucker do to my face! One of you bastards are gonna die if I have another
damn scar on my fucking face!’ (All amidst a deluge of tears and 80-proof drool
running from the corners of my mouth)
Okay… maybe sometimes my intoxicated melodrama is
too much, sometimes. They finally get me stitched up and the hell out of their
hospital, reminding me that I have to go back to get the stitches taken out on
the next Friday, but if I want I can go to another hospital and they can take
them out too. I stand by my demands for medical excellence and decide I’ll go
back next Friday. Besides, they won’t recognize me (to many Koreans, all
Americans, black, white, Latino, native American, look the same… go figure).
Once at home, I rant and rave for another hour to the crew about having another
scar, explaining the bandage across half my face to school (I’m now teaching
elementary school, happy happy fun fun!) and trying to convince them to go back
to the club, find someone with a bloody ring and ‘bring them back to me’!)
I returned to the hospital and had the stitches
removed. Upon leaving, I stopped by the cashier and submitted my insurance, to
be reimbursed the $300 I paid that night and had a very nice conversation in
Korean with the cashier about how much better life in the countryside is
compared to living in a large city. At least this medical visit was somewhat
normal.
There was one more trip to the hospital in Korea,
another physical injury, another situation I really didn’t have much control
over (kind of). But, I think I already told you about that one and since my
foot starts to hurt when I talk about that experience, you’ll have to reread it
if you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about (see PENTAPORT ROCK for medical experiences in the city of Incheon,
Korea!).
So, what’s next? No more hospitals, I hope. If you
came up with an answer to my little dilemma with hospitals and fucking Korea,
let me know, please! I got about $20,000 worth of procedures, treatments and
medication tied up somewhere between my ears and my anus! At least I can say it
was money well spent, right?
Seoul, Korea (Summer, 2006)