A spin too far

Sara and I went to spinning class again this evening. It's becoming a daily ritual so we're going to be very fit soon. But today seemed rather unlucky, as a number of unfortunate things happened. Firstly, en-route to the gym, I got a text from Sara saying "we're stuck in the f**king elevator!" I arrived to find a large group of people clustered around the elevator. When I finally reached the ground floor I saw another text, "We had to crawl out of the elevator between floors." I used to be so phobic of elevators when I was a child. It was similar to the fear of flying I now have as an adult.

Anyway, the spinning class got started, the instructor was really great - highly motivational (and hot!)- and we were pedalling away like crazy people. Then a weird noise came from Sara's bike and suddenly the pedal broke completely off and the second piece of bad luck began. Sara had a large graze on her calf where the metal pedal had torn into her leg. It was bleeding quite heavily, so we went to the office and were immediately surrounded by the helpful and very apologetic gym staff. Using me as an interpreter, they recommended that Sara should see a doctor, so off to the hospital we went. The doctors all wore jeans and trainers under their white coats. One of them spoke some English. They wanted to give Sara a tetanus jab but, after a test showed she could be allergic, the nurse decided against it. I was quite proud that I could help translate the Chinese word for 'allergic'. There were a few amusing signs around the hospital, so I used the Nokia to snap photos while we were waiting for the allergy test results.


As we were discussing Sara's antibiotics with the doctor, an ambulance raced up outside with lights flashing. There was a big commotion outside and then a stretcher was rushed in. Lying on it was a man with blood pouring from the back of his head as he shook and twitched convulsively. The doctors hurried him through the reception and disappeared through the swing doors followed by a group of men, must have been his friends, one of them with blood all over his hands. At first we assumed it was a traffic accident, but we then overheard someone mention a fight. I hope the guy makes it. Sara and I asked Candy what usually happens in China in this situation, if a person doesn't have enough cash on them to pay the doctor's fee upfront. She replied that the doctors will "do some small treatment first, like stopping the blood flow." But when we asked about urgent life-saving treatment, she wasn't sure, and thought that it was essential to pay before anything more would be done.

It often seems to me that human life is taken a little more lightly here than back home. It also makes me realise how fortunate we are in England to have the NHS, which even with its problems is still free medical care for every citizen.

Finally, we left the hospital and headed home. Sara and I will be back at spinning class on Thursday...