So, I had my appendix taken out the other day… in Russia! And this is the story of my experience…
It started Tuesday night directly after Bible study. As soon as we began to head out, I felt a pain in my stomach, more like a cramp, so I decided that when I got home, it would be bedtime for me. Well, after trying to sleep off the pain for a few hours, I found myself instead in more pain and with very little sleep, so I got up and tried various methods-I’ll spare the details- to make myself feel better, but I just couldn’t get rid of the ache. At this point, I began to get frustrated and had one of those “Is this every going to end?”feelings.
So, I called my parents to ask them what to do. During this conversation my dad asked me various questions about the pain in my stomach and began to have a tiny suspicion of appendicitis from my description, but his guess was the stomach flu or something that I ate from the night. He said that I could call him in a few hours to tell him whether the pain had changed. At this point, the pain was all over my stomach, but there was more pain in the area that my appendix is (or was). He wanted to see if the pain would become more targeted to the one area as the time progressed.
Well, it did. By late morning, my dad was pretty set on my going to the hospital. Fortunately, I had contacted the school and was waiting for a doctor to make a house visit anyways so that I could have a doctor’s excuse for missing school that day. Well, when she got there in the afternoon with Mosha-an amazing Russian teacher that I owe much- to translate, she examined me and also decided that the hospital was where I needed to be. So, she called the paramedics (I’m assuming that is who these people were), and they checked me out too. As they were examining me, Mosha called in to one of the best hospitals here in Moscow and convinced them to take me. She was very proud of herself to get me in, and I am very thankful for her to have done so as well!
So, I packed up my bag with a few commodities, and they walked me down to an ambulance, which I rode to the hospital in. Once at the hospital, I was taken to a doctor who could not have been any older than 25, 26 maybe, and he examined my stomach and gave Mosha and I a list of different examinations that I needed to have to determine the problem. This was the fun part.
It would be a fair statement to say that we are a little more modest in the US when it comes to exposing ourselves, because I definitely felt very “exposed” in most of the tests that I underwent. Let’s just say that Mosha and I became very close, very fast. So, urine and blood samples were taken, and I also had a chest x-ray, ultra sound, and female exam. Then, there was plenty of feeling around on my tummy. After all of this, however, they decided that it was in fact necessary to have surgery because there was a pretty good chance that it was appendicitis.
So, Mosha was kind enough to translate the document that I had to sign as I wrote what it said in English, and I signed the document in English and Russian saying I would have surgery, and it was off to surgery for me… sort of.
Next, I was taken into a room where they had me undress and lay on one of the rolling tables under a sheet. I was then taken to a regular ole doctor’s office where I waited for about an hour to be taken into surgery. It was interesting to lay in the office under the sheet while doctors came in and out socializing. While I was in and out of sleep in that hour, thoughts went through my head of the realization that I was about to have surgery in a foreign country, and not only surgery, but my first surgery. However, I didn’t really care too much at this point. I just wanted to be out of the office and in the surgery room so that they could cut out that silly appendix of mine!
Well, they finally took me in, and they had me sign another document in Russian that said something about total anesthesia. While I don’t usually like signing things that I can’t read, this time I only asked for how long I’d be asleep and then signed the silly thing.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up to the drawling in of a huge breath and a very dry throat from the oxygen mask. The surgery was over. They then proceeded to take me to my room, and on the way I saw the faces of Rick, Leah, Amy, and Mosha. It was 1 AM by this time, and they had been waiting 5 hours for me to get out of surgery. I am so thankful for how good of friends they were and are to me.
From Wednesday until Tuesday, almost a week, I spent in the hospital recovering. During this time I learned how different Russian medical care is than American. First, I didn’t even have to pay for this visit. Because it was an emergency, they had to take me. My dad jokes about how at least it was cheaper in Russia than it would have been in the US with the insurance deductible. Also, their methods of sanitation are different. Enough said. Then, there’s the fact that I had to stay for so long. In the US, I was told, appendicitis patients leave within a day after surgery usually, but not in Russia. Still, there’s just the simple difference of technology. For example, they were still using glass thermometers. My sheets were even from the Soviet time period… kind of interesting.
During this time I also made a few friends. First, there was my roommate Julia. She knew some English, but it had been a while, so it was fun to give her practice in English, and she was such a kind woman. She was always very helpful to me, especially when I needed to communicate a need to the doctors or nurses who did not speak English, which by the way were all of them but one doctor. They actually gave me him as a doctor because he was the only one who spoke English.
My other two friends that I made were Natasha and Natasha. One was 19 and the other was 28. They both told me that they knew English very well at one time, but it had been a while since they had used it very much. So, like Julia, I got to give them practice with English. Not to mention, I got to know them, and they were both lovely. Our talks helped pass the time away in the hospital too, which was nice.
Also, I have to mention during this time that I had some wonderful friends that came and visited me faithfully. I don’t know what I would have done without them. They are what really helped me get through the week in the hospital. First, Mosha took great care of me by translating, visiting me several times, bringing me water and juice, and calling and checking up on me. She even picked me up from the hospital. I am definitely indebted to her, and while she hates it, I won’t ever stop saying thanks to her. Then, Leah came and visited me every single night that I was at the hospital and brought me anything I asked for plus more! She truly was wonderful, and I owe her big too. Even when I got home I found my room clean. How great is she?! Next, Kristin brought me all kinds of goodies and even took off of school to come see me on the first day. This reminds me that I need to return some stuff! Then, Sonya brought me flowers (I also got some from Polina from church. Both of the sets from the girls were roses, and they smelled amazing!) and gave me CDs on her visits to see me. Next, Julie brought some goods with Leah, and she lent me her Pride and Prejudice movie (the 5 hour one that I regrettably didn’t get to watch). Finally, all the others came and visited me a few days as well, and it was so wonderful to know they cared! I think that’s all the thanks and shout outs… J
In conclusion, it wasn’t easy having my first surgery in a foreign country, where few spoke English and where I was not with my family, but I can say that I don’t mind this experience, and in fact, I find it one that I can look back and laugh about. It’s just such an interesting situation to have been in. I know that I learned a lot from it, things I did not expect to learn coming to Russia… and oh the stories to tell from it!
