A crazy week!

Last week was a tough one.....

There was way too much to do, not enough time to do it in and the pressure was on. Teaching can be a tough job and this week was one of those "maybe I can work as a greeter at Walmart" type of week.

To top it all, my friend Wendy, who I've spoken about before, was in an awful accident on her way to work on Friday. Wendy and her husband Lee use bikes as their mode of transportation (like I do) and on Friday Wendy was hit from behind by a young scooter driver and she ended up with a broken rib, broken wrist, scalp laceration (30 stitches), a concussion, brain bleed and an overall body pounding. Wendy and Lee are my family here. I'm the type of person that makes a family no matter where I live. I can't help it; I'm both maternal and a nester. It's instinctive. I have to say I was quite emotional about this whole thing.

Lee has been staying at the hospital 24/7 and I'm trying to help as much as I can but I'm no replacement for family. In Taiwan, the hospital culture is very different than in the states. Family is expected to be part of the process. Family brings in the food and towels and anything else the patient needs. They don't have a large number of nursing staff because it's expected that family will be there to help take a patient to the bathroom, walk with them, help move them to a gurney and basically be part of caring for the patient. I like that actually.

At the hospitals here, if a patient wants to go for a walk, they are allowed to do that. I have seen families pushing patients in wheelchairs with the I.V. hanging on the pole above the chair. I've seen patients enjoying a cup of coffee outside of 7/11. How do I know they are a patient? They are rolling their I.V. pole right along with them. How cool is that? You might say that it isn't sanitary or doesn't account for germs and bacteria. Well, the occurrence of staph infection is almost nonexistent here. Go figure!

As I watch Lee with his wife, it makes me realize how far away I am from those who would care for me if I was in this situation? I'm on my own here. Made me miss my peeps back home.