{"id":105,"date":"2008-03-24T13:54:00","date_gmt":"2008-03-24T02:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/2008\/03\/touring-the-emergency-room\/"},"modified":"2024-06-19T07:43:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-19T11:43:08","slug":"touring-the-emergency-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/touring-the-emergency-room\/","title":{"rendered":"Touring the Emergency Room"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Sitting<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I\u2019m coming to realize that an adventure for Kelly & I isn\u2019t complete without a trip to the emergency room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: How to Stay Healthy on the Road<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post was originally published in 2008 . It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content. <\/em>

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One night rather late (after 11pm), Kelly was going through the fridge for a snack. And out jumped a 5-gallon heavy glass jar full of iced tea. It launched itself from the top shelf of the fridge\u2026and directly onto his big toe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crash! Splash! (Pause, pause\u2026string of unintelligible curses to follow).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all raced from our dark corners of our place to discover Kelly frozen in front of the fridge, the door open, iced tea and broken glass EVERYWHERE. With lots of cursing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all froze, wondering who was going to make the first move in what promised to be a monumental clean-up job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ushered Kelly to a nearby chair for diagnosis of his toe. He was bleeding from many places, but not badly. But in front of our very eyes, we watched his big toe swell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s broken. No \u2013 it\u2019s broken. For sure,\u201d were Kelly\u2019s words through clenched teeth as he tried to wiggle his toe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all tried to determine if they can do anything for broken big toes. Do they splint them? Give you a bootie? A cast, perhaps? Ooh Ooh – maybe traction; that would be fun. Or maybe they just send you on your way with instructions to stay off it for an unrealistic period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly started making noises about needing to go to the hospital. Although our roomie (Zero) was more than willing to drive us even at that late hour, I noticed that all the Americans in the room paled at the idea. They were obviously hesitant to choose a hospital trip as the first line of defense. There were a few quiet suggestions that we wait until the morning to see how bad it was, but there was also no denying that Kelly\u2019s toe was getting bigger by the minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quick call to our travel insurance<\/a> company revealed the \u201crules\u201d of what they would cover, and off we went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comparison to more recent Canadian emergency room adventures, which lasted upwards of 4 hours each time and as long as 10 hours, this trip was a breeze. Kelly was immediately whisked away by the doctors while I finished the paperwork part of admitting him. Pretty much as soon as we said the word \u201cinsurance\u201d the way was paved!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a few x-rays, the doctor informed Kelly he was extremely lucky not to have broken his toe; he just crushed it nicely. The nurse came back to send us on our way with a few heavy-duty painkillers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou may as well keep this bottle of hydrogen peroxide too, because somehow or another, you\u2019ve paid for it!\u201d was the nurse\u2019s departing comment to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luckily, we got away from the trip without having spent a dollar of our own money \u2013 the hospital bills the travel insurance company directly (who in turn bills our provincial plan for all they can get). But I have a sneaking suspicion that we haven\u2019t seen the end of this adventure\u2026I am expecting a lovely bill in the mail for the expenses that weren\u2019t covered; perhaps gauze, tissue paper, or a bottle of hydrogen peroxide\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we\u2019re taking bets as to how much the hospital is billing overall for this relatively short trip\u2026the cost of care in the U.S. isn\u2019t standardized the way it is in our home country, and it\u2019s a foreign concept to us that every little thing comes at an exorbitant cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back home, flash your provincial health care card, and you will be charged for little to no expenses at all. Kelly has endured strokes, heart attacks, two heart operations, and a series of other minor to critical emergencies. And the highest bill to come in the mail was $150 for an ambulance trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in the U.S. though, we hear stories of a medical emergency devastating an otherwise financially healthy home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely in other countries like Singapore, people routinely visit for \u201cmedical vacations\u201d, taking advantage of the high quality of care for dirt-cheap prices to have operations and other medical procedures performed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All I can say at this time is, thank goodness for travel insurance. The strangest things can happen in the wee hours while raiding the fridge for food.
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Post Script: $900?!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We eventually did get a bill for this trip to the emergency room; 45 minutes, a few x-rays, and a couple of painkillers ended up costing us $900<\/strong>. Thank goodness the insurance company covered it all! From experience (including claims experience), I recommend World Nomads. They’re the most flexible for insurance, allowing you to apply for and renew it from abroad. Get a free quote here.