Yu Ling made the appointment because although they advertise that they deal with foreigners there was no one who spoke English at reception. I arrived at the appointed time and saw the hoards of potential patients and wondered if I should turn around and leave. This was doubly confirmed when I went to the washroom and found it to be one of the worst that I had come across. Half doors, no locks and open to the world. You can guess I did not avail myself of the facilities.
However I decided to persist and when Yu Ling got directions we walked out of the seeming madhouse to building #8 and approached the elevator to take us to the 5th floor. I did not have my glasses on and it looked to me like the 5th floor said R.I.P. - now I began to get worried,
However turned out it was V.I.P.
The 5th floor looked like any NA private ward with nice rooms and smart nurses in uniforms and caps. The receptionist directed us to an assessment room where we were given white chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea. The chairs and screen (for the benefit of foreigners according to Yu Ling) were very Chinese with red and gold brocade cushions but everything else was pretty sparse. Dr Wu a 64 year old Director of the hospital appeared and after explaining what I wanted he confirmed my chronic ailments with the help of my friend, Yu Ling, who interpreted for me.
He asked if I wanted a traditional assessment and I agreed whereupon he put a small pillow under my upturned right wrist and felt my ulnar pulse for a long time (I was expecting the radial pulse from my reading,) then he looked at my tongue and came to the conclusion that my stomach, spleen and liver were less than healthy having not enough Ying! That did not mean I was sick just that those areas could be at risk.
What was interesting for me was that these were the same areas of concern identified by a homeopath in Ontario who used iridology as an assessment tool.
Dr Wu then asked whether I would like treatment- Western or Chinese? I said Western in my experience had had no effect on these identified ailments, so I again chose Chinese and he wrote out a page of Chinese characters, very thoughtfully and carefully then duly stamped it with his little seal which he produced from his pocket.
I gave the prescription to the receptionist who transferred everything to the computer and told me to return the next day at 11am to collect the medicine. My friend said that they would normally give the ingredients to a Chinese person who would boil it up themselves but as I didn't know what to do they would do it for me!!!
The assessment was 300 yuan (CAD 54.00) and the medicine was 350yuan ($63.50).
I returned the next day to collect the medicine and found that it was a HUGE bag of little sealed bags containing a dark brown liquid,(It kept overbalancing me as I tried to ride home with it in the basket it was so heavy) which I had to drink - one after breakfast and one after supper - each day for two weeks when I should return.
It tastes foul and is made up of roots and herbs but I'll persevere and see if they help my Ying. It was an experiment and an experience. Maybe you'll notice a difference when I return .......... unless I'm on the R.I.P. floor instead of the V.I.P.one.
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