The Right Eye Catastrophe

The school day is over. I walk out of the building and feel the wind come rushing through my hair. It's one of those supermodel moments where your hair is flowing in the right direction and you feel like you could end up on the cover of Vogue. A second passes and then it hits..."AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" My right eye feels like a pebble the size of a pea has just flown into it. Tears follow. Supermodel moment has ended. Disaster has struck.

It's happened before. Wearing rigid gas permeable contacts has always been a bit tricky. I can get all decked out for a night on the town and then take two steps outside and a little bit of wind causes running mascara and a new hairdo reminiscent of a bird's nest. Yikes! At least this latest wind terror happened after school.

The tears continue as I ride the bus back to my apartment. People are staring but I'm not sure if it's because I'm a waguk or because I'm crying. At home, I decide to take my contacts out and wear my glasses for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, the eye discomfort continues even without the contacts. Oh dear. It takes hours for me to fall asleep. 4 hours later....

I wake up, look in the mirror and...AHHHHH!!! I look awful. My eye is completely red and I will probably scare the children at school. I attempt to put in my contacts. Stupid idea. Well, I guess I'll wear my glasses today.

I see the head teacher and she says "you better concern about your eye. I will have Danny take you to the doctor today." The preschoolers' parents are coming soon and I don't want to look like a scary monster when they come in.
I head to my classes. The preschoolers laugh and point at me. Ha ha! Teacher looks funny! Later in the day my older kids ask "why teacher why?" I explain using big gestures. They laugh. It's soooo funny.

The school day ends and Danny, the General Manager, who was also the man who met me at the hotel on my first day in Korea, asks me to follow him to the eye doctor. I have no idea how much this visit will cost and am slightly concerned. We reach the office. They have a sign about contacts that lists RGP so I point when they ask if I wear contacts (or at least I think they ask this). We are directed to sit down.

30 seconds later we are called into the doctor's office. I sit down. The helper pushes my face forward into the eye magnifying machine and the doctor looks. He pauses and asks Danny a few questions in Korean. Danny turns to me.
"Have you had this problem before?"
"No."
"He thinks you had this before yesterday."
Then the doctor speaks.
"You have a...a...a....scratch on your...." He pulls out a picture of the eye.
I respond "cornea?"
"Yes! And behind the eye is....is....is...inframed."
"It's inflamed?"
"Yes! Which is caused by the...the...scratch. No contacts for week. And I prescribe... antibiotics to take..." He ponders. "6 times a day. You come back in two days."

Lovely. He says a few things to Danny and we head back to the check-in counter.
"How much will this cost Danny?"
"I think 200,000 won."
That's $200! Oh crap. So much for saving money in Korea. I tell Danny that I am not carrying that much money on me today so he covers it. Then I see that he is only handing over 1,000 won bills.
"Danny, how much did it cost?"
"3,700 won."
I begin to laugh. He laughs nervously. "I have 3700 won."
That's about $3.50 in the U.S.
We head downstairs to pick up the prescriptions. The pharmacist speaks English but tells Danny how I should take the medicine in Korean.
Danny turns to me..."Take these pills each day. Make sure to eat before taking. These drops go in six times a day. Wait 5 minutes, flush and put in these drops."
Ok. So I now have 3 mystery pills in each pack (there are 6 packs) and 2 bottles of mysterious drops to put in my eye. Grand total: about $5.00. I LOVE KOREAN HEALTH CARE!!!

I begin the rounds of drops and pills and return with Danny to the eye doctor 2 days later.
"The eye is getting better. Come back on Monday."
After I get out of the eye examination chair I am pulled by the helper to another chair. She tilts my head back and drops eye drops in both of my eyes. I am freaking out! Then she turns on a heat lamp and says "5 minutes."
"Danny...what's happening?" Did they just give me the drops that make your eyes dilate? I'm supposed to meet a friend for dinner and a blind person walking through the subway of Seoul is not the smartest idea.
The helper says "therapy." Then she speaks Korean to Danny.
"The drops and lamp are heat therapy for yellow dust."
"Ah."
5 minutes pass.

We head downstairs for more medication.
I ask the pharmacist to confirm how I am supposed to take each medication.
"No. No. Take the pills three times a day!" Whatever the pills are I should be taking them three times a day, not just once. Oops.

I continue the medication. My eye feels better and is no longer an alarming shade of red.
Monday arrives and I decide that since it's what I think will be the final check-up, I can go on my own. I arrive at the check-in desk. "Marybet?"
"Yes."
The ladies look for Danny. Slight concern appears on their faces.
They gesture for me to sit down. 3 minutes later I am again sitting in the eye examination chair.
The doctor speaks. "Your eye is healed. When you come in first time your eye had scratch." I think he practiced some English over the weekend. Impressive. "Now, no scratch. Drops....4 times a day. No pills. And I write new prescription. Come back Thursday."
"Will I be able to wear my contacts again or do I need new ones?"
"No new but not until next Tuesday."

I pay at the counter and say good-bye in Korean. Hooray! I didn't need Danny to translate!

I visit the pharmacist and she asks "how were you able to speak with the doctor?"
"With hand gestures and very little English. He speaks a bit of English too though."
She nods, hands me my new prescription and says good-bye and have a good day! She's a cool pharmacist.

Again, I continue the meds and drops. On Thursday, I finally head back for my last visit.
The girls at the counter giggle when I ask "How are you today?"
One responds, "Fine?" She looks at me like that might not be the right word.
"That's perfect!" She is happy.

The doctor is happy today. "Your eye is healed. No more antibiotics but continue drops for.... for....7 days."

I check out. My eye is healed! I don't need new contacts. And in total I paid around $40 for 4 visits, 3 eye drop medications, and 6 days worth of pills 3 times a day. I say good-bye and thank you to my pharmacist friend. She wishes me luck and to visit her sometime.

I must say the cost of health care here is pretty good. It kind of makes you wonder, why is it so expensive in the U.S.? Hmm...