2020 is bound to make a dam giant barn of stories. But no pain is more significant than those that we endure ourselves. It’s like we are in a torrent driven by sweeping force, but what hits us the most is the splash next to us.
My wife stays in the US with a visitor’s visa. She was supposed to leave before the end of March. Her flight ticket back to China was scheduled at beginning of March. Her EGFR lung cancer stage IV was under control, thanks to the chemo pills, for almost three years. It seemed everything was under control, until January when Bemular came out of the Monster Graveyard.
With China’s nationwide lockdown, the US was surely the safe haven in the beginning. She applied to the immigrant office (USCIS) for a stay extension, stating that she was highly risky for the virus and wanted to reschedule the returning date to June –by that time the virus should be long gone. Needless to say, the guess was so wrong in so many ways. U.S. banned the flights from China in Feb., then both sides banned all flights. Soon her returning flight was canceled even before she called to reschedule. The two countries switched the gear, totally opposite, in dazzling speed. By Sept, we were all so numb to the numbers in the two countries and the rhetoric of who is cooking and who is stifling these numbers. The brutal reality for my wife was, she had no idea when she could return to China. Her health condition didn’t allow her to go through the tedious test and quarantine process at both ends, even though she could afford the sky-high ticket price. Her second application of stay extension was pending. She didn’t have medical insurance in US. Any ill development could pull her into a deep hole of heath and finance.
The night of Sept 05, my wife had acute stomach pain. She writhed in great agony. I tried to call 911 but she stopped me — -she is a strong decision-maker, especially when it comes to her health condition. She had two concerns: she had no medical insurance here and the hospital visit could increase the risk of virus infection. A believer of “a long-time patient is a half doctor”, she determined it was a temporary upset. After taking Tylenol, the pain subsided. But it came on and off in the following days. Struggling for ten days, the fear hit her. I sent her to the ER at the city hospital, where she was diagnosed with the bladder infection. She got a prescription of antibiotics for seven days. When she ran out of the pills, the pain insisted. We visited the ER again, only hoping to get her more dose of antibiotics.
It turned out, the first diagnosis was a mistake –it turned out, a half doctor is worse than a doctor, while a mistake by a true doctor could be fatal. The ER sent her to a series of test immediately, before telling her that she got appendicitis (AP). The treatment was delayed so much that the infection had grown into a widespread of abscess. She was in great danger and needed an appendectomy right away. Later they decided that it was too risky to make the surgery before the abscess was drained out. And the fact that she was under chemo treatment for over three years only added more complications. The debate and further tests went on for over 20 hours. She was left in the ER in fear and agony.
Finally, she had the surgery. The second ER visit which was to get her more antibiotics prescription turned into a surgery and eight days of hospitalization. She came back home with a big cut at belly and a drain tube stuck out of her stomach.
She was recovering though much slower due to the underlying condition, plus two mental hauntings. One was how long she had to stop taking the chemo pills. The messages from different doctors ranged from two weeks, four weeks, and two months. She’s never stopped the pills for one day before the surgery. That was really nerve-wracking but the doctors keep saying “deal with the immediate life threat first.” The other was the medical bills. Her initial cancer treatment was conducted in the US. No need to brainstorm how the bills would look like when you don’t have medical insurance in this country. No doubt we were in a deep hole. We just wanted to get up a bit higher in there.
Except for the first visit, the hospital gave my wife great care. The social worker and finance consoler were in close contact seeking measures to alleviate our financial stress. While the initial bill came with a jaw-dropping number, after several rounds of discussion, the final cost fell into the range of our capacity. One day the hospital called us about “a good news.” They offered to put my wife on the charity application list. Once approved, the whole bill will be waived, the previous deposit will be fully refunded.
But she quickly turned down the help, “there are people who need the charity more than we do.”
Then a series of events came up to exemplify the old saying, “Good news, as well as bad news, never comes alone.”
— The hospital called again to reduce the final payment by another $4000.
— My wife contacted her insurance in China. They quickly responded that they would fully cover the bill.
You see, the virus has changed our lives in so many ways. But there is always something that it can’t change, or just makes it better. It’s like the little waves in the violent torrent. The harder they are hit, the higher they jump and the more beautiful the sparks they burst out.
