My Experience at a Brazilian Hospital

We all remember THAT night. It was one for the books, but also gave me the opportunity to experience a Brazilian hospital first-hand. The hospital was nothing close to what I expected it to be, I had lower expectations and was proved wrong. There were many similarities to American hospitals, as well as differences. To start off, when I eventually woke up, I was in what was their version of an emergency room. It was quite close to what you would see in America: multiple beds separated by curtains, a chair beside the bed, and the monitors surrounding it. Next was to actually check in and become a patient at the hospital. This was also similar to America: a cubicle where you would speak to an individual and sign papers and wavers, except the only catch was....nobody spoke English and all wavers were in Portuguese. Okay, yeah, we are in Brazil, but I had the expectation that some individuals in higher positions, such as in a hospital, would know at least basic English. This caused a barrier for me between myself and the staff at the hospital. Everything had to be translated for me and I constantly felt lost on what was going on! Because of this I am majorly grateful for the people who accompanied me at the hospital and were able to speak Portuguese. When I finally got admitted and placed in a room, it was also very similar to a room in America: hospital bed, couch, tv, and even the little remote connected to the bed that could be used to call the nurse or manage the tv. On the downside, the tv had NO option to change the language to English, so here I was watching volleyball for hours because it was the only thing I could watch without knowing Portuguese that I could actually understand. When it came time to meet the plastic surgeon who was going to operate on my ear, he came into my room to meet me. But, one of the oddest things about this experience is that the surgeon came in my room in regular clothes (a polo and jeans)! I was confused and even a little worried about who this man was, but then eventually found out that that was not what he would be wearing in the operating room. This brings me to the next thing: the surgery. It all went down as if a surgery would in the United States. I was brought into the room, given anesthetics, and next thing I knew I was in the recovery room. A big difference between the U.S. and Brazil concerning the surgery was the price. In Reais, the surgery was around 9.698, meaning that the surgery was around $2,654 in USD. This price is completely low for a surgery compared to what it would have been in the United States. Overall, the experience I had at a Brazilian hospital was very similar to what it would be like in an American hospital, and I am very thankful for all of the individuals at the hospital who took such good care of me, as well as those accompanying me on this trip! It will definitely be a long-lasting memory and quite a story to tell in the future.