Trip to Tian Jin - final episode

This is the last installment of my trip to Tian Jin (about 2 hours from Lang Fang) to visit little Chun Yu in the hospital. In the photos you see a hospital staff woman dragging the laundry cart into the hospital, the funky little vehicle that some water was delivered in, the child playing near the elevators (forget about children's play areas!) and a shot of Jude with a plate of delicious snap peas that we ate on the way home.

10:30 a.m. July 26th

We’ve just had another conversation with Dr. Wang who has a different opinion from another doctor in Wuhan, who is widely recognized for his expertise. Jude is doing his best to navigate through this maze of varying opinions and politics of doctors who don’t wish to coordinate with one another. Jude is walking the delicate path of trying to communicate another way of approaching the problem, without offending Dr. Wang. I don’t envy his position, as when it comes down to it, he is having to sort through the options and make a decision that will affect Chun Yu’s life.

We are now in an office, which is used by the other doctors on this floor. It is most basic, having half a dozen desks along the wall by the windows and a couple of cots on the opposite wall. The terrazzo floor dates back to the 40s or so, is pitted and it’s impossible to tell whether or not it is clean. Jude is now having a discussion with one of the younger doctors – I don’t know what this means, but will soon find out.

As I said, this is a hands-on hospital, most of the hands being attached to relatives of the patients. Just now, as we were waiting for the elevator, a gaggle of people came into the are with a man on a gurney. Of the 5 people surrounding the gurney, only one was a nurse. As you could see from the previous photos, the nurses here wear the traditional white uniforms with the cute little white caps. The other four attendants were sweaty men in T-shirts and slacks.

In the waiting area people sit in a variety of chairs – the kind we would take to the beach. On the 8th floor near the elevators, one mother had brought interlocking squares of foam rubber for her child to sit on while he played with his toys (see photo above). This hospital is strictly bare bones, as witness the doctor’s offices I described to you.

Later:
A couple of days after our trip to Tian Jin, Jude came to the volunteer’s quarters, which also houses the medical room where there are some supplies and medical charts for the children at Bethel. He was in a bit of a panic, because Chun Yu was not doing well and he needed to find a piece of equipment. What he was looking for was a metal tracheotomy tube, size 5 or 5.5 mm. When he finally did find what he was looking for, it turned out to be 6 mm, which I assume was too big. The hospital did not have one the right size. Jude didn’t know what other options they had, since the one he had found wasn’t right.

This piece of information really gave me pause. There is so much we take for granted regarding our medical infrastructure in North America. We rightfully have a fair amount of confidence that we will not die because the hospital lacked an essential piece of life-saving equipment. I didn’t see any of the operating rooms, of course, and I have to say, in retrospect, that I am thankful for that.