back from the hospital (and leave as well)

So I filed an emergency leave in the office so that I can help out with the family when my father was in the hospital for an endoscopy and colonoscopy examination.  My coach said ok but my leave that I filed in the computer is still waiting.  Hell, I just back from my leave and it’s still waiting.  Perfect.

I went to the hospital the night before yesterday and I saw that my parents were there and so was my sister.  There was takeout food from Jollibee (yehey!) wherein I ate it voraciously (I was hungry then).  Later on, my mom and I went home.

The next day my mom and I went back to the hospital early since both procedures would begin at 8am.  But since this is the Philippines, the actual time those blasted procedures began was at 10am. Not only there was another patient being examined before us, but the doctor was nowhere to be found (it turns out she arrived on time and was making rounds when she was informed that endoscopy and colonoscopy would be delayed).  I went with my dad while my mom and sister stayed behind.  My mom is squeamish with almost anything and my sister is sick and tired of watching people being poked with tubes from their mouths or asses.  Why me?  It’s my first time to actually see an actual endoscopy and colonoscopy.  TV’s ok but it sure beats seeing it in person.

So I watched the anesthesiologist putting a small bottle of anesthesia in place of my dad’s IV fluid and the gastroenterologist sprayed lidocaine in my dad’s mouth (which is a very bitter oral anesthesia).  Minutes later, my father fell asleep and the action began.  There was a machine monitoring his pulse,  a third doctor checking his blood pressure every now and then, oxygen for my father while he was unconscious and the last but not the least, the tube used for endoscopy.

The endoscopy was the first and it was fascinating seeing someone’s internal organs (even if it’s your father).  Eventually it became boring since all I can see is pink tissue and mucous.  When the doctor got to the stomach she told me that there was a healed ulcer and will do a biospy to make sure it is just a harmless piece of tissue.  I just nodded.

When that was over, the colonoscopy began and I’m not sure which is more unnerving, a tube going down your throat or a tube going in your ass.  Now I saw another color aside from pink and two things that made the doctor a little nervous.  One was a polyp on where she commented that my parents are taking turns on getting sick.  She also took some samples on that polyp (and even managed to remove it).  The second one made her uneasy.  It was a small mass and she began taking samples of that as well.  Blood was coming out of that mass and I lost track on how many times she did biopsy on that thing.  She must have seen how wide-eyed I was when I saw all the bleeding and said that it’s nothing serious.  Well, duh, you’re getting a piece of tissue of course there would be blood.  As if I never graduated from BS Biology.

At almost 11am, it was over.  What was both amusing and annoying was that the other doctors were now tring to wake my father up.  My father did wake up a few minutes later and whenever he closes his eyes the doctors are shouting at him to wake up.  When he tries to get up one of them would restrain him.  I guess they want him awake not mobile.

Dad was wheeled back to his room in a stretcher.  He spent the next hours sleeping.  My sister and mom went out to buy lunch.  

The bad part came when we paid the bill.  Remind me not to go to a hospital that is accredited by our office’s insurance.  The disaster began when my father made a remark of staying for another day to rest.  My mom said that he can do that at home so he was supposed to be discharged later in the afternoon.  We ended up leaving early in the evening.  We had the bill computed and was advised that the insurance company would be contacted to compute on how much they will pay.  My father thought it was a free thing, but that doesn’t apply to dependents.  So while that is being done, my mom and sis went out to tbe bank and withdrew a few extra cash.

I waited with my dad in his room and I was both pissed and humiliated.  It was past 5 in the afternoon when an aide came in and said that the bill is ready.  I went down to the billing department and I asked the guy on how much it was.  He gave me a sheet and I blinked at the charges.  Five-figure amount for an overnight confinement?  Damn!  Then he showed me on what we are going to actually pay for, I blinked again.  I called my sister and told her how much is being charged (and where the hell they are at that time).  

They got back and I gave them the sheet for the bill.  It was a relief for us to get out of there.  No wonder some people prefer to die instead of being hospitalized, the cost of staying in a private hospital is bad enough to kill you.  Insurance’s great, but can be a pain especially when it comes to paying the hospital bills.

At this time, I need another leave, a much longer one.