The pain did not get any less, and my foot started to get bigger and bigger, so I finally decided not to be stubborn and go to a nearby hospital (the YueYang Hospital, part of the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine). As I have written before on this blog, Chinese hospitals are always an interesting experience, and this time it was similar.
Upon arrival in the hospital you have to queue for a ticket to see a doctor. I had to walk (or actually more ‘hop’) to the traumatology department, at least that was what the English sign said. I don’t think my ankle gave me a trauma, but it may have been a mistranslation, or a non-English speaking worker just missplaced the signs. Whatever, inside there were several patients being treated. Wounds were being cleaned all around me, not a prety sight. I only had to wait a few minutes before a doctor came. I took off my sock and was surprised to see that my foot had swollen even more and partly turned blue. The doctor thought there might be a fracture (broken bone), so he sent me to the X-Ray department. So Catherine, my colleague who went with me, arranged a wheelchair and pushed me there (and she lost control of the wheelchair twice – once I ended up in some potted plants – but that is a different story).
Upon arrival it turns out we had to pay a fee first, and had to go back to the main building. This took a few more minutes, but then I was allowed in. The room was a concrete bunker with an old X-Ray machine in the middle. It all looked a bit scary, especially the electricity lines that were laying uncovered on the floor! Pictures were taken quickly and 10 minutes later we were with the doctor again (quite efficient). He looked at them and told me nothing was broken, so I was quite relieved. Then he wanted to tape my foot, but we first had to pay for the material and the Chinese medicine that he put on my foot. So Catherine had to stand in line again. Total costs for consultation, x-ray and medicine was about EUR 16. Not too bad, in a foreign clinic in Shanghai that I went to once you have to pay USD 80 just to see a doctor.
Because I could hardly move I needed crutches, but the doctor told us they did not provide those in the hospital. The only way to get those is to go to a store and buy them, so that was my next mission. I was lucky, because the first store I went had them, and even a size which (just) fit me. Price: only EUR 14 for a new pair!