Batgung

hmmm interesting post

i've witnessed firsthand the emergency response system and an overnight stay at the QE hospital (not me but my partner at the time). He basically stopped breathing one night and luckily i've had some first aid training and could start cpr...after calling for the ambulance....20 mins later and i'm about ready for cpr myself...my phone rings and it's the ambulance team downstairs calling to say they can't find the guy to let them into my building and can i come down and let them in *L*.....after some expletives i managed to convince them that what i was still doing, with the telephone tucked under my chin, meant i couldn't really travel too far right then

finally they arrive with a cop in tow....who looks at my guy and says "sei joh" to which i whip around and give him a mouthful....i convince the ambulance guys to take over from me...yes, they were standing watching...and off we go to the hospital in the ambulance

the arrival at the hospital was lots of fun too....doors open and about 10 'journalists' and photographers descent on us, cameras flashing - no neither of us is a celebrity!!! gave them a mouthful too!!! i guess it was the novelty of an unconscious gwei-loh arriving, they thought it might be print-worthy in some way

the emergency team at the hospital were great, by the time we got there he'd pretty much stablised but they wanted to keep him in to monitor....that's when the real fun started....i have to say it was one of the few times i've been ashamed of hong kong (been here all my life, i love my home) ....there were people lying in the corridors, no beds....etc....yes all seemed to be occupied by old people who probably should have been in a hospice

finally after 3 hours my guy was given a 'bed' .....it was one of those low-lying nylon things you see people using under the flyovers....no blanket no sheet no pillow....i finally managed to persuade a nurse to find a pillow and sheet for him....oh by the way the bed was squeezed in between the two beds in a two-bedded room and there was another similar bed over in the corner

i spent the night sitting on the floor next to him, reflecting on the affluence of this wonderful place where i live and all the tax dollars i send to the IRD every year and looked around....shame shame shame on us

i checked him out the next day and into the adventist (yes it cost and arm and a leg without insurance) but i just didn't feel confident he'd get what he needed where he was - there had been no follow up tests or anything in over 18 hours....no doctor ever came back either until i went and found one and she even advised me to move him!!!

so anyway that's my story so i can relate to some of what pat is saying though i'm still 'hmmmming' over his whole tale

oh and by the way pat.....

[quote]I still drool a little and am dizzy if I get I up too fast. I should get better, though. [/quote]

...so do i and i don't think i'm going to get better!!!! :lol:

Pat,

The hospital made you piss and shit in your bed? I can't imagine even a Hong Kong public hospital making you do that.

Also are you know of those "backpackers" that sleep on benches rather than getting a proper hotel?

Hong Kong is pretty safe compared to many cities in the U.S., but that doesn't mean it's totally safe.

and I would add --

Despite you being robbed of all personal I.D. documents and money, you were still removed from the scene, taken into the shelter of a hospital, treated, operated on, given a bed for recovery, and fed, for weeks on end. All of these actions (individually and combined) saved your life, at a time when you (or your family & friends) were in no position to help you.

In plenty of other parts of the world you would not have recieved such generosity, or a successful operation, and in some places you would probably have been left for dead, or picked up in time - if at all.

So, despite oatmeal not being as tasty as chicken with rice, I feel it should be necessary sometimes to view the positives, the glass-half-full, not just half-empty.

Your experience, terrible as it was for you, was brought on by your own lack of proper preparedness and awareness in the first place, assuming that - as you suggest - you chose to go to sleep in a public place with your valuables on your body.

In future, I would advise never to turn yourself into such an easy-pickings. This also includes how you display or conceal your valuables when awake. Think like a thief /mugger would do, put yourself mentally in the shoes of someone less materially fortunate than yourself - who would really like to steal what you have - , and then you will be much better prepared to avoid giving them the adequate opportunity they require.

This is not a matter of walking around with eyes in the back of your head all the time, in a state of heightened paranoia, it is just good common sense, and little thinking-ahead. You only need do this once, and then spend the rest of your day /holiday with peace-of-mind. There are dozens of cheap guest-houses in HK, surely much safer than a public bench.

Sorry if this post sounds fairly unforgiving, but it is an unforgiving world, and your muggers for sure won't be shedding any tears over the consequences of their disgusting actions. I wish you the best for a speedy and full recovery.