Tag: Taiwan
Medical Care Overseas: A Trip to the ER in Taiwan
I’ve been in Taipei, Taiwan for close to two weeks now. After the first couple of days I came down with a minor cold. I used to live in Taiwan, and I remember now that in Taipei, the winters tend to be cool and damp and having a mild cold and allergies was a common occurrence for me. I didn’t think too much of the initial cold until a night ago when things progressed to what I feared might be pneumonia.
Things were getting worse. I had a persistent cough, a lot of congestion and my asthma was flaring up to the point I could barely breathe. We made the decision to head to the emergency room. Well, really I thought a doctor’s appointment seemed more appropriate but my girlfriend advised to just head to the ER.
The experience is definitely different than healthcare in the west. There’s no expectation of bills that will arrive from various medical agencies at various times in your future. You settle up any payments there on the spot. It’s a bit funny but you sort of pay for the care as you get it, and so as the exam progressed and more things were recommended we were sent back to pay a couple times. It feels a bit silly but at least it keeps you current.
But so we arrived at the emergency room. Registered my name. And described my symptoms. It was good to have my girlfriend help translate a bit here as my Chinese ability is pretty limited, virtually non-existent. Within 25 minutes or so I was seeing the doctor.
The doctor spoke English well. I was a bit taken aback that he seemed to be pretty young. Maybe I’m just getting older, but he seemed maybe 19 or so but age can be deceiving. He might have been closer to 30. But I don’t think he would have been terribly out of place in one of my English classes with other high school students. But I digress. After describing my symptoms, he sent me to the lab tech to draw blood.
They insert a thing to draw blood or do injections directly into my hand. The lab tech drew blood into a variety of vials to do a panel of tests. After drawing the blood I was a bit surprised when she then dropped a vile of
Next, I was advised to head to radiology for an x-ray. They did a chest x-ray to see how bad the infection might be. Didn’t take very long. I’ve probably had more chest x-rays than a person should have. It should be noted, that generally speaking, you’ll need a chest x-ray to get a working visa if you want to be an English teacher in Taiwan, unless the laws have changed.
The doctor sent me to do a breathing treatment. I’m not sure what this is called, but they hoo up a certain type of medicine (I’ll update later) to oxygen and have you inhale through a tube. I remember doing this treatment when I was a child with pneumonia once. The treatment seemed to help a bit.
My Diagnosis
The doctor advised me that within an hour I’d have my results. After some waiting we found the doctor and he sat me down and let me know the diagnosis. I have a bad cold and am having an asthma attack.
The doctor said that my blood looked healthy and all levels were regular. He noticed a bit of white in the x-ray that would indicate that there was a bit of infection in my lungs. He prescribed a low-level antibiotic just as a precaution in case this could be early pneumonia. My experience in Taiwan has always been that
The Bill
So let’s recap on the services I received:
- trip to the emergency room
- a consultation with a doctor
- blood panel test
- saline solution injection, steroid injection, and oxygen/medicine breathing treatment
- x-ray
- medicine prescribed and dispensed
What would this type of treatment cost in the US? Any takers? I feel like this care would have to cost at least over $3,000 in the US.
My total out the door cost without applying any insurance was about $130 US dollars. Not bad.
If you are pursuing financial independence, utilizing the lower cost of financial independence can be a crucial part of your plan to cut costs with things like housing and food cost and especially medial care.
Job Loss AGAIN. Next stop ASIA.
Well wouldn’t you know it, the “Getting Canned” blogger is about to deal with job loss again. But this time around, I won’t classify it as truly getting fired because this is more like a contract wrapping up. Nevertheless, this is the end of a job and time to move on to the next thing.
At the time of the time of this writing, it looks like my current contract gig will end around November 26th. The death of this income stream is in line with my timeline and plan to get out of the Midwest by mid-winter to avoid the impending deep freeze. Chicago winters get COLD.
I’m planning on getting away from the Midwest as far as possible and leaving the country to head to Asia for the winter or longer. On the itinerary is
- Taipei, Taiwan
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
Guangzhou, ChinaLaos- Phuket, Thailand
- Singapore
- Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
I’m going to travel the world a bit and hit a few spots in Asia. I’ll make sure and do some recon on potential retirement destinations and report back here. Subscribe below if you want a reminder.
Past Travel
But before I go, let’s take a look at a few memorable pics from the times I lived in Taiwan in the past.
There’s the famous “Toilet Restaurant” where you sit on toilets and eat out of little toilet shaped plates and bowls. Good times.
You eat from little toilet-shaped bowls. Yum.
Oh, how I miss Asia! What other distant memories were captured? Let’s take a look. It was often the little things that were amusing.
In Taiwan, the majority of people get around by scooter. It’s an economical way to get around. The streets are flooded with mostly scooters although some people do drive cars. The first time I saw a parking lot packed with scooters it was pretty wild. It reminded me of that scene in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” where he knocked over the motorcycles and they went down like dominos. I had a fear of scooters tumbling down in this way.
So Just What is My Plan Anyways?
Travel. Exploring. Earning side gig income through a variety of income streams. I’m doing some consulting for CRM databases. I imagine I’ll do a bit of remote English teaching here and there. I have a few clients that need WordPress sites managed. And then there’s this blog which has a little income potential.
The Risks
There is, of course, the risk that my income will fall short of what I’m hoping. This is a bit of a trial break at life abroad and I imagine, I’ll likely return in the spring. Although nothing is written in stone. There is a chance that I’ll face a different job market from what exists at this point. Right now it’s a glorious market with plenty of opportunities. In six months that could change.
Another concern of mine is that our Western culture seems to really frown on time spent not working. “You haven’t been working for six months? Well, the only possible explanation is you’re incompetent and your skillset it now outdated…”No job for you!”