Mom got a flu one day before she flew here. After she has been here for a week, her condition got worse. The sore throat became rather severe and she could feel the pain even when swallowing saliva. We had gone to the pharmacy three times to get difference over-the-counter medication but none help at all. She has been feeling miserable since she arrived here.
So, on Monday afternoon, i gotta bring her to see a doctor here. My boss was kind enough to let me go off during lunch time and also helped to find a few medical centres in this area. When i went to the first one, i was told that the doctor's schedule was full for that day and then i was given direction to another medical centre that provides after hours and emergency treatment.
Just like many other Western countries, there aren't clinics everywhere like we have back home. The people here would register themselves with a GP and would visit the same GP every time. It is very rare for them to just walk in to any clinic and see the doctor without appointment.
We went to the medical centre and waited for 2 hours. The doctor was a kind lady and she did quite a thorough diagnosis. Then my mom was prescribed with liquid antibiotics and aspirin (for gargling). We gotta bring the prescription to the pharmacy to purchase the medicine, as the clinics or medical centres here do not dispense medicines.
After taking the medication, mom told me today that she is feeling better already. Well, i guess then it at least worth the exorbitant medical fee.
Uh huh, it was super expensive for my mom to see doctor here because she is a tourist. The consultation fee alone was NZD180. (It would be NZD98 for work visa holder like me)
The medicine cost another NZD40+. So, in total, i paid over NZD220 just for her flu. Now, as long as she gets well, i guess it is a sum that could not be avoided.
But could it have been avoided? Yes it could.
First of all, i forgot to buy her travel insurance. I did ask about it before i left Malaysia but then totally forgot about it after i got here and was busy settling down.
Then, mom could have gone to see a doctor and get all the flu medicine when she was still in Malaysia (since she got the flu before she flew here). I have told her a few times before that it is VERY expensive to see doctor here. But then, she didn't seem to take it to heart. She was having a regular acupuncture treatment with a Chinese sensei on that day and hence she just visited that sensei instead of going to a Western doctor. After the long-haul flight and change in weather, naturally her flu would get worse.
I was feeling rather mad at her because it felt like a deja vu to me. I have yet to blog about the incident on her previous illness, but she (and I too) should have learnt a heavy lesson from that episode. Unfortunately, she didn't and actually made the same mistake again. I wasn't mad at her being sick, for that is not within our control; what i was unhappy about is her non-sensible action and her failure to learn from past experience.
Of course, seeing that she was already feeling miserable, i did not lose my temper at her even though i did remind her about the past lesson a few times and told her to act wisely in future. However, holding all the frustration inside me wasn't easy and that kinda drained my energy.
Anyway, i hope she will get all well tomorrow and we can start to have more enjoyable time here, especially over this weekend and Christmas holiday.
