"Under Observation"

Over the past few days my body decided to become strictly hydrophobic and try to rid itself of every drop of liquid it could. Paulette, my housemate, told me we were going to the hospital. One of our friends, Vijay, left work to take me. The first hospital didn’t have a doctor but we quickly found another.

We walked into an empty, dimly lit hallway containing only a podium with the sign “reception.” A man walking past speaking hindi ushered all of us into an adjoining tiny room. It was full of people. I sat on a little stool next to the doctor, two female nurses, three male nursing students, three random middle aged men (I’m guessing the doctor’s friends), Paulette and Vijay. We didn’t actually fit. The doctor asked me (well asked Vijay) what was happening and I announced it to the room. After a quick examination on a small stained table I was taken upstairs to a room of beds with my small parade of random people. I was put in a small “room” made of little barriers in the corner. While everyone watched I got my IV through my hand, and started the process of feeling human again.

Paulette and Vijay stayed for over an hour, and then went to get lunch. While they were gone a male nurse sat about a foot away from my bed…just staring at me. He spoke no English so I couldn’t talk to him. We just sort of looked at each other, and then I’d look at the ceiling then back at him between trips to the bathroom and him checking my IV. Soon, I got two more nurses staring at me to keep him company. They just looked at me. I got annoyed at one of them when I thought he took a picture of me on his phone, but due to the language barrier and me feeling simply awful I wasn’t in full fighting spirits. Camera phones are quickly becoming my least favorite thing.

Occasionally I would have a random additional man or two just stand in the doorway and stare at me. I’m still not used to people continuing to stare once I look at them. By the time I got a shot (luckily given by a female nurse) I wasn’t even phased by the crowd once I learned the location of the injection. My little army of two visitors was trumped by the man behind me who had 9 all sitting on bed.

After six hours of this I just wanted to go home, but was told I needed to stay overnight due to an infection and severe dehydration. The worst part was thinking of a hilarious joke and having no native English speakers to appreciate it (see the title of this post.)

At about 9 pm the nursing staff changed and I got three new men staring at me. These nurses talked in English, yet not good enough English to understand my joke. (I tried.) Things got creepy fast. I was asked if I was married. I told them no, I wasn’t. Then after a while I was asked repeatedly if I thought indian men were beautiful. Over and over again while one of them lay on the other bed next to mine. For the next twenty minutes one of the guys kept rambling that he “wanted an American girl” and would “look after me all night.” Then he’d say something to his friend in Hindi and laugh. There was lots of sort of handholding with my IV...

Paulette and Vijay came back a half hour later and when I told them what had happened they swooped into action. The doctor was called back to the hospital, I told him what had happened and that I wanted to go home. He brought his staff in. Then he took Vijay and his staff away for about 45 minutes to “discuss it” and “discuss me.” Vijay finally came back and told me what was wrong with me (because lord knows I couldn’t be told!) and that the staff would be fired. I honestly doubt they will be. But, in my mind, they are. I’m so incredibly thankful to have had the support of my friends here.

The whole experience cost me $56… and from now on, if anyone asks, I’m married.