The next day (Christmas Day), I'm on the bus heading over to the hospital, and a litany of "what if" questions plagued my mind - What if I have the swine flu? What if I gave my students the swine flu? Will they quarantine me at the hospital? Will they make me wear a face mask in public for the rest of my life? Will they make me wear a big "S" on my clothes to mark me as a victim of the swine flu? Will my lungs collapse? Did I wait too long to see a doctor, will I need an iron lung? Maybe this is why I've avoided going to the doctor's for so long, there is comfort in ignorance.
My doctor examines me, looks at my chest x-ray, and tells me that my lungs look normal, I just have a bad cold, and that I should drink more water. It's really very good news, I’m not going to die from swine flu, no iron lung, no scarlet letter, no ostracization, just good clean water to flush out my system and wait for the coughing to go away…and yet strangely I felt a bit disappointed, for surely my body aches and heavy coughing are signs of a more serious malady. I walk out of the doctor’s office, and seconds later the nurse calls me over to give me my prescription and bill. Just for good measure, the doctor wrote me a prescription for meds that will help with some of my symptoms.
Now, I've heard that the Taiwanese feel like they need to get a prescription every time they go to the doctor, to make them feel like they've actually seen a doctor. There's a social addiction to getting prescription drugs, and this is no coincidence considering that prescription medications are heavily subsidized under the national health insurance system. I go to pick up my prescription, and am greeted with a small mountain of drugs. Holy moly! I’ve gone to the doctors in the States with a bad cold, and all they do is tell you to take Sudafed (that you can buy over-the-counter), drink plenty of fluids, and get plenty of rest. In Taipei, I feel like I've hit the motherlode - four different prescription drugs including an allergy medication, packets of yellow citrus-flavored flu powder, green tablets, and two bottles of this brown liquid that contains opium.
For two days now, I’ve been drinking the opium mixture from a little measuring cup. I can’t tell how much of my recovery can be attributed to this brown liquid, but I can honestly say that it doesn’t taste very good, there’s a distinct earthy flavor and slight bitterness that cannot be masked by the sugar additives. I also doubt I will be converting my bedroom into an opium den anytime soon. But at least I am feeling a little better than I did yesterday, which is a good sign.
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