My trip to South Africa was really fantastic with some amazing and humbling experiences, but I did have one pretty horrific experience while I was there. One Sunday evening, I was laying in bed reading and writing a blog post when I felt some gastrointestinal discomfort. Now, this kind of discomfort is not uncommon for me and I figured that my stomach was a little upset from something I ate, so I ate a couple of antacids to hopefully settle it. That didn't work. About 30 minutes after the first signs of discomfort, came the diarrhea. Then 30 minutes after that I started vomiting. For the next 6 hours, I rotated between one bodily function and the other, with a few winks of sleep in between. I tried drinking water, but couldn't keep anything down and, by 4 am, I knew I would have to go to the hospital to be hooked up to IV fluids. Because I am such a polite person (this was one instance when I shouldn't have been), I waited until my host family got up at 6 am instead of waking them earlier. As soon as I heard Beryl Jegels open her bedroom door, I whimpered her name and she came to my bedside. I told her I had been sick all night and that I needed to go to the Emergency Room.
Beryl took me to nearby Netcare Mulbarton Hospital, part of the largest private hospital network in South Africa. I knew my American health insurance wouldn't do me any good in South Africa and I didn't have any traveler's insurance, but after 6 hours of extreme sickness, I didn't really care how much it costs. I handed Beryl my credit card and told her to get me in as quick as possible. Beryl returned and said it would cost 1100 South African Rand to be admited to the ER. I quickly grabbed my iPhone and accessed the app that converts currency. Hmmm...only $131. That seemed suspiciously cheap. There were probably some hidden costs that I would be charged on the back end, but still, I needed fluids in my body and didn't care what the cost!!
The hospital staff were fantastic! I was in an ER bed within 30 minutes and after numerous tries to find a vein in my weak, dehydrated body, the nurse had me hooked up to IV fluids within 60 minutes or so. A couple of very pleasant doctors attended to me, and after some basic bloodwork, said everything looked good except my kidney functions were low - a sign of dehydration. Assuming my sudden onset illness was caused by a bacteria - I'm sure it was either a food or waterborne bug - they prescribed me antibiotics, an antiemetic (to stop the nausea and vomiting), and an anti-diarrheal medication. They also prescribed me a 6-day course of probiotics, to restore the good bacteria to my system. American doctors often forget this important step in restoring the digestive tract to fully operational, so the South African doctors at Mulbarton Hospital get a thumbs up and thank you from me.
The other charges were Rand 375 for bloodwork and R225 for the prescriptions for a total Emergency Room visit of 1,700 South African Rand. My handy iPhone app converted this to a total US $206. Really?!! Two hundred and six dollars?!!! For a visit to the Emergency Room?!! How much does a visit to the ER cost out-of-pocket in the U.S.? I can't imagine with our dysfuntional healthcare system in the U.S. that it would be this inexpensive. I imagine the same visit would have cost at least $1,700, not Rand.
I am extremely appreciative of the fine care I received and the inexpensive cost. I was back at my host family's house by 12:30 pm and fast asleep by 1 pm. I slept until 7 pm, got up for a cup of soup, a piece of toast, a Powerade and several glasses of water and then was back in bed by 8:30 pm where I slept for another 12 hours. Thankfully, I was back on my feet within a day and my awful night of illness in the past.
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