Jacque in Jakarta: Houses of Sick, a.k.a. Hospitals

After less than a year of marriage, Alex and I have now seen the inside of a hospital twice. Last year, I had a severe kidney infection in London, and this past week, we got to experience the Jakarta healthcare system. I must say, it was a pleasant surprise.

At about one in the morning, Alex woke up incredibly sick. Being the stubborn man that he is, he was refusing to go to the hospital. Finally, by eight in the morning, severely dehydrated and writhing in pain, he agreed to go to the hospital. We took a Blue Bird taxi thinking it would be quick, but between the Jakarta traffic and a driver who wanted to make a few extra rupia, a ride of fifteen minutes took over thirty minutes.

Once we arrived at the hospital, I was expecting to have to mime symptoms for the doctors to understand. However, everyone there spoke English and were very friendly. Instead of the stacks of paperwork and the hours of waiting I was anticipating, there was only one paper with basic information to be filled out and Alex was sent into the ER to be seen by a doctor immediately.

After a quick prod of the abdomen, the doctor was able to determine that Alex had a bowel infection. He was put on an IV to restore the lost electrolytes and they drew blood to run a few tests. He was so happy that I took this picture:

Something between a smile and a grimace.

The blood tests took a little over an hour for us to get back. His liver was healthy, he was completely negative for typhoid and he had an acute bacterial bowel infection. The doctor informed him that he had two choices: Admit himself to the hospital, or go home. Of course he wanted to go home, so the doctor perscribed him five different medicines and sent him on his way after only four hours in the hospital. At that news, he looked much happier:

At this point I think he wants to break the camera.

So, after all was said and done, we learned two important pieces of information. First of all, even the tiniest of things can cause big problems. Alex actually got the infection from one tiny bite of fish he ate at church. Secondly, hospital visits actually can be cheap. The visit here was a seventh of what we paid in London. Moral of the story: Don't trust any food that's been left out, and should you get sick, a Jakarta hospital is cheaper than a London one.