Today we took Tony to a children's hospital near my school for an examination. He was weighed, measured, and given a blood test. Tony was happy in the waiting room area. But as soon as he was taken to the examination rooms and saw a nurse's white robe, he became fearful and cried like an banshee. Even when he was weighed and measured, he cried. And when he had to take the blood test, Jenny and I had to hold him down. Not only did he cry, he muttered something that could only be translated as "Don't do this to me!!!".
Once the blood test was done, I wanted to get him out of there. His displeasure and the whole atmosphere of the hospital depressed me. Chinese hospitals are crowded and ramshackle. A foreigner, with a baby crying loudly, is going get stared at. I had this urge to punch some of those prying eyes in the kisser. As well, the lineups are not at orderly. People lining up to see a doctor don't seem to want to wait their turn. A doctor is typically surrounded by six or seven people competing to get attention. When we were struggling with Tony, three or four people were reaching over us trying to give a paper to the nurse who had just administered Tony's blood test.
But then we took Tony to a small playground at the hospital and it was like he hadn't just had a needle prick his finger. He didn't want to leave.
Tony is a healthy baby and big for his age. Or at least he is big for his age in China. At 19 months and 22 days, he weighs 13.85 kilograms (30 pounds) and is 90 cm (35 inchs) tall. His body mass index is perfect - he is not fat or thin.
No comments:
Post a Comment