Simon needed a school physical for the preschool here on the Army base, and it was recommended that we go to one of the international clinics in Pyeongtaek. This involved a bus ride to and from and some different experiences in medical care.
The clinic was at a local hospital, and rather than being a separate medical service, the staff simply pre-arranged visits to the various departments for us and translated when necessary. For a basic child physical Simon was scheduled for an eye exam (with an ophthalmologist) and an EKG. Neither of which are part of a normal exam in the States.
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| The EKG machine didn't use disposable stickers like the ones we usually see. Instead there were clamps put on Simon's ankles and wrists and suction cup things put around his heart. He said the suction cups hurt a bit. |
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After the eye test and the EKG we saw a pediatrician. He had a cool ear-examining tool that showed the ear drum on a screen. Simon thought that was super interesting. Then we had an in-depth discussion of his height and weight (adjusted to American standards, which the doctor had to look up in a book) including what we can expect his final size to be, with the equation drawn out for us. It's something like: (dad's height + mom's height + one other variable)/2. This was news to us! Also his BMI says he is under the average weight, but when we showed concern they said the only problem is if he is overweight. That can't possibly be true, but we're pretty sure he's healthy anyway.
It's interesting what Korean's considered to be essential to a health check-up as opposed to what Americans think is essential. Also, all of this only cost $42.21! They don't bill our insurance so this was the total bill.
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| All done and waiting for the bus home! The hospital is in the background and Simon is eating some Korean crackers for kids. He thought they were great, personally I was not a fan. |
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