- Yvonne, Yes, thanks for posting this. We all enjoyed the story at lunch but unfortunately those reading this didn't get to see the expressions on your face as you told it :-) Rich ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric East" <christianherper@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2006 12:47 PM Subject: [GeoStL] Re: China musings > - > What a story. And what a concept... > being responsible for your actions. > > Eric > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Yvonne Von Der Ahe" <yvda@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 2:37 PM > Subject: [GeoStL] China musings > > >> - >> At lunch today several suggested that I write up what recently happened >> to >> me in China. So here's the story...arrived Beijing from LA on May 18th >> at >> 5:30 am after a 15 hour flight, went to breakfast, then on a tour of the >> Hutong (the old area of Beijing) via rickshaw. At the end of the tour my >> friend, Mary, and I alit from the rickshaw and were standing by the >> driver >> when this car came out of nowhere and struck me (I was not standing in >> the >> traffic lane). I was knocked to the ground and the left front tire of >> the >> car ran over my right foot causing my shoe to come off (tread marks on >> the >> shoe to prove it). I could not stand or bear weight on the foot and my >> right arm was battered and bleeding. The car's driver picked me up and >> placed me in his backseat and took me to the Beijing Friendship Hospital >> which treats foreigners. We were accompanied by the driver's co-worker >> and the local tour guide who acted as the translator. It took over an >> hour to get there as he didn't >> know where it was AND he had another accident on the way there...a fender >> bender, but that's another story). This man was NOT a good driver, but >> after 2 weeks in China I'm convinced that there are few. >> >> On arrival at the hospital, all three went in and obtained a gurney >> which >> I got on then they rolled me into the emergency room. It was a LARGE >> room >> with lots of Chinese people on gurneys surrounded by family members.no >> nurses in sight. Off to the side of the room were several curtained >> cubicles where patients were slowly being seen. In China all care has to >> be prepaid, so the man who had caused my injuries registered me and paid >> the fee. I was then taken to a small room where the doctor (who spoke no >> English) cleaned my bleeding arm and applied some bright blue-green >> liquid >> and a dressing, and ordered x-rays of my foot. By this time a friend of >> the driver had come to the hospital and joined our group. The group >> (driver, co-worker, friend, and tour guide) then took me to the radiology >> department for x-rays (again the service had to be prepaid). The group >> even accompanied me into the x-ray room for the pics and discussed with >> the technician the positioning of my foot. >> We then returned to the doctor with the x-rays and the group had this >> animated conversation with the doctor in Chinese and all ignored me. The >> doctor with the assistance of the group put a splint on my foot/lower leg >> and told me to come back in the morning to see the specialist. He also >> prescribed a muscle relaxant for the discomfort and a herbal medicine for >> the swelling (again had to be prepaid). >> >> The next morning the driver came to the hotel accompanied by his sister >> and the friend from the previous day, the local tour guide joined us and >> we went back to the hospital where we had to wait in line to be seen (was >> only about 45 minutes and again had to be prepaid). The doctor looked at >> the x-ray, discussed it with my accompanying group, then went next door >> and discussed it with the other doctor, then discussed it with the >> casting >> technician.all in Chinese and not a word to me. Finally I got some >> information out of the tour guide.multiple fractures (which I knew since >> I >> had looked at the x-ray), no walking cast, no weight bearing for a month. >> After the cast was applied I was taken back to the hotel, a wheelchair >> with a pusher was arranged for the rest of the tour and a pair of >> crutches >> obtained for areas where the wheelchair would not fit (hotel/restaurant >> bathrooms, etc). I then joined the rest of our tour group. >> >> For the next 12 days we toured Beijing, Xian, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, >> Suzhou and Shanghai. China has more than eighty caches and I had planned >> on geocaching while there. Obviously the accident resulted in my not >> being able to do many.in fact only three. A beautiful country with MANY >> people (all friendly and helpful), good food (as long as you don't ask >> what it is), bad water and air pollution, wonderful gardens/parks, and so >> many pagodas and temples and historic sites! I took lots and lots of >> pictures...from my wheelchair. >> >> On my return I went to the orthopedist, have a Lis Franc's crush injury >> with fractures of the 2nd-5th metatarsals...if I had been in the US with >> this type of injury they would have taken me to surgery to stabilize the >> joint. But, alas, I was in China. Now no weight bearing on the affected >> foot.so am hobbling around on my crutches till mid-July when I have >> another appointment with the orthopod. >> >> Additional information.In China when someone harms you they are >> responsible for you and so it was that the driver paid for all the >> medical >> care I received while in Beijing. But, the costs for medical care are >> much lower there than here. After he returned me to the hotel he went to >> the police with his friend to file the report (or that is what I was >> told). Later in the trip we saw another accident where the woman hit by >> the vehicle appeared to be dead. Our tour guide explained that if the >> woman was alive, the driver was responsible for all her hospital costs; >> if >> she was dead then he was responsible for her funeral expenses, and if she >> had young children he was responsible for them. >> >> Ladybug STL >> >> >> >> >> **************************************** >> For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this >> list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching >> Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw > > > > **************************************** > For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this > list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching > Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.3/374 - Release Date: 6/23/2006 > -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.3/374 - Release Date: 6/23/2006 **************************************** For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes, including unsubscribing from this list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw