At the Clinic

Before I left for Saudi Arabia, I had to get a complete physical exam.  This included all the basic tests plus bunches for diseases that you would pretty much only get if you were living in a third world country.  At the time I was living in Sacramento and my health insurance was through Kaiser.  While my doctor was actually pretty decent, when it came to all the tests, she seemed to be very annoyed by me.  She had a tendency to argue with me about the necessity of the tests.  Of course, they weren't necessary, but they were required.  Needless to say, we sort of annoyed each other, but I had the lucky position of having to be a bit of a suck up.  Good times.  Anyway, in the end, after having to make two separate appointments because she didn't do all of the tests the first time, I got the majority of the tests done.  (There were a couple that she refused to do.  Said they were ridiculous.)  Again, I just smiled and continued to accumulate more grey hairs on the top of my head from resulting stress.

After getting the tests results a week later, (just FYI, I do not have intestinal worms, phew!) There was the added task of getting all of the test results stamped and signed off by the previously mentioned doctor.  Unfortunately, I had since moved back to LA at this time so this made things just a touch more difficult.  When I went to email her my latest request, there was a message saying that she was currently on vacation and patients should not email her until she returns on May 31st.  (at the time I believe it was May 5)  Oh good, more grey for me.  Also, it was at this time that I realized one of the tests that she left out was for HIV.  Basically the most important test of all.  Saudi Arabia is about 95% AIDS free and apparently they would like to stay that way.  I had specifically asked her for that test twice and I had told her it's very important, yet here it was... forgotten.  I'm thinking that was a bit passive aggressive on her part.  Considering the times we now live in, this is not an unnecessary test!  Am I really that much of a pain in the butt?  Don't answer that!

I ended up getting the HIV test independently done in Glendale for the low, low price of about $165.  Thanks again Dr. J!  Appreciate it!  I emailed her on May 31st and thus began a two week long email/ phone session with her assistant.  Two weeks after that, I had my paperwork. What a pain! Luckily, it was all approved and I eventually received my visa.  The visa is good for 90 days.  Hmmmm... I recall having similar problems like this in Macau.  "Why you come to Macau so much?" (Dawn, that was for you!)

Now that I am here, they will take the visitors visa and change it to a resident visa.  I will get something called an Iqama card.  I must have this card on my person at all times outside of the compound, otherwise I could get arrested and I really don't want that.  For now, I just carry my passport with visa inside.  So far no one has asked to see it.

Yesterday, I received an email from Matt saying that he would be picking me up at 9:00 PM to take me back to the hotel where a driver would take us to a clinic where I would have the previously before mentioned tests... preformed again.  Fun times!!  Apparently, despite the fact that the tests results were stamped and signed by my doctor, they don't completely believe them and want to make sure!  Also, did you see the time there?  Because of Ramadan, most things close during the day and then reopen at night. I guess this includes doctors offices.  So around 9:15 we left to go to the clinic.

When we walked into the waiting room, it was full of men sitting around waiting.  We were told by the driver to sit and he went and talked to the guys at the desk.  I wanted to take pictures but it was very obvious what I was doing and I didn't want to get into trouble so basically these pictures suck.  Sorry.

Basically just a clinic.  It was a little worn but nothing scary.  It just feels a little overwhelming when there are always all these men around.  Eventually the driver guy told me to follow him and we went around the corner to where they were drawing  blood.  Again, there were a bunch of men hanging around in the hallway waiting to have their blood drawn.  The driver guy talked to someone and about two minutes later the woman inside called me in and told me to sit down which of course I did.  So I am sitting there, and the door is still open, and all the men are still milling around in the hallway, and several of them, are just looking in the room where I was sitting.  It was WEIRD I tell you!  The room was basically two areas separated by half of a wall.  I could tell there was a man on the other side of the wall and I could see his feet.  The woman took his blood and then sent him out of the room.  Then, as soon as he left, she sent me around the little wall to go sit on the other side.  I was actually glad to be back there where no one could see me.  (Perhaps the Saudis have a point there?)  She left me back there by myself, so I tried to snap a few pictures but there really wasn't anything all that interesting to see.

This was the view from my chair.  That must have been her abaya.  She must not have to wear it inside the hospital.  Probably because of germs and bodily fluids and things.  She was just wearing a layered hospital uniform and her head was covered but not her face.

This is from the chair I was sitting in.  The huge garbage can was right next to it.

This was where my arm goes.  That black thing is me in my abaya.

So, I sat there for a little while and eventually she came back and drew my blood.  Didn't hurt too bad.  After the blood test, she handed me a little cup and said that I needed to give a urine sample.  So I took the cup and walked out of the room.  The driver guy talked to her and then  repeated the directions to me.  "Only urine."  Ok... got it.  So then we walk down the hallway, and we stopped at this guy standing outside an x-ray room.  Some words were discussed and it was decided that I needed to go give my sample first.  For the third time, they told me... "Only urine."  Ok... so you're saying... Don't poop in the cup right?  I think I can handle this!

He pointed out which bathroom to go to.  Side note here- You know how in the US the pictures are a guy in pants and a girl in a dress?  Well here, (I guess since most of the men wear robes and caftans) the pictures are a head with short hair, and a head with a ponytail.  I was supposed to go into the ponytail bathroom.  Then he took my purse which also had my camera in it so I couldn't take any pictures... not that anyone would want to see what was going on in there!  I went in and there is no outside door to the bathrooms.  You would think there would be since anyone can just walk right by and look right in.  One of the bathrooms directly faced the hallway.  The door to the first bathroom was slightly open so I went in. The toilet looked a little yucky.  Aside from that, the door didn't lock.  In fact, it didn't even completely close.  This just didn't seem like a good idea so I came back out and tried the other two doors.  Both were completely closed and locked.  Rats!  So I went back into the first bathroom with my cup.  This time I noticed that there was no toilet paper.  Great!  There wasn't even a place for toilet paper, so it's not like they ran out.   (another China flashback... everyone there carries around little packets of Kleenex for such occasions.)  So I came back out again and there was a big TP dispenser hanging on the wall, so I grabbed some and went back into the bathroom stall which I would like to point out was not very large and again, was on the yucky side.  Also, there was no hook on which to hang anything and remember, the door doesn't completely close and it is located in such a place where if some one walks in... EVERYONE can see.  (Not that there was anyone standing around outside the door or anything but since the other two doors were locked... which bathroom do you think someone is going to try?)  So here I am in a full length abaya with toilet paper in one hand, a cup in the other, and trying to keep the door shut with my foot.  How the heck am I supposed to handle this?  The floor is rather gross, there is no where to hang my abaya, I am not about to put the toilet paper down anywhere and the freaking door won't close! And, to top it all off, I am probably taking way too long and I sure as heck don't want them coming to check on me to make sure that I am not pooping in the darn cup!

Anyway, I tucked the TP into the sleeve of my abaya and then pulled my abaya up as best that I could kept my foot on the door and very carefully managed to pee into the tiny little cup which I then set down on the floor so that I could finish up the rest of the job.  I could hear the woman next to me finishing up and leaving so at least there would be another stall open.  I managed to do the job with little to no mess, and with no intrusions.  (It's the little things.)  I capped off my sample and washed my hands and of course snuck a peek into the now open middle stall.  Just for the record, it was  a squatter, so I think I would have ended up in the first stall anyway.  Those things still confuse the heck out of me and I had about all that I could handle anyway!  Then the driver, still carrying my purse, showed me where to put my sample and that was it.  No chest x-ray and no, I didn't have to poop in anymore cups! (That is how they figure out if you have worms or not. I guess they were going to take my previous doctors word on that one.)   And that was it.  By the time we left, the lines had gotten really long and the place was packed.  I guess we were there early having had arrived at about a quarter to 10!