I'm Back!

Where have I been the last few days? On death's doorstep. A word of advice - don't ever get sick in a foreign country. The cold I had ignored for 2+ weeks turned into strep throat. Feverish, unable to swallow and with glands the size of cricket balls, I finally took a day off work to seek medical attention.

I opened the yellow pages and started dialing. When that was unsuccessful, I turned to friends for suggestions. I would take a nap, be rejected by a few doctors, take another nap, then be rejected by more doctors. I was discriminated against due to my American accent. Over the course of a day, I called just about every doctor in Wellington. Did the combination of severe illness and intense frustration bring me to tears? Maybe.

Every office referred me to an after hours clinic that costs an outrageous fortune for non-residents. I was almost desperate enough to go there, but at the last minute I found a doctor in the suburbs who was willing to give me an appointment... 24 hours later. I decided to extend my suffering an extra day to save $100.

The registration form at the doctor's office asked for my contact details and citizenship. They made a photocopy of my passport and visa, but asked zero questions about my health or medical history. This was the extent of my exam with the 80-year-old 5 foot tall doctor:

Dr: Are you pregnant?
Me: No.
Dr: Not even a little bit?
Me: Um, I hope not. [A ridiculous question deserves a riduculous answer.]
Dr: Open your mouth and say ahhh.
Me: Ahhh.

And with that, he prescribed me 1000mg of penicillin a day for 10 days. (I think this dose is unusually high?) No exam. No throat culture. The Kiwis will soon be wiped out by a super-bug due to rampant antibiotic resistance. I also asked for a renewal of another prescription. The doctor happily obliged. No questions asked. I would have asked for the good stuff if I had known it would be that easy. If you're a junkie, this is the place to be.

By some miracle, I found a pharmacy that was open until 5:30pm. (Don't forget - this is New Zealand.) They gave me penicillin in a box. There was no accompanying drug information sheet with details about how to take it, possible drug interactions, allergies, side effects, etc. Rules don't apply in New Zealand.