Some of you know me as "Jimintoronto. A 76 year old Canadian man, who was born in Toronto. I have a serious medical condition, that involves low red blood cells ( Hemoglobin ). Since the start of 2023, I have spent a total of 14 weeks in 4 of the largest Toronto hospitals, where the Docs were trying to find the source of my blood leaks. I have had numerous colonoscopies, endoscopies, even had the "Flying Eye Ball Camera test " where a live camera ( the size of a large vitamin pill ) was swallowed and it slowly moved through my entire digestive tract, for 11 hours, taking full color photos every 3 seconds, which were transmitted to a exterior computer receiver that I was wearing around my stomach. NO signs of blood were ever found, in all of these tests. The Docs are puzzled, for sure.
So what has this got to do with "Canadian Culture Clashes " ?
Let me set the scene for you. Last Sunday July the second, my blood Hemoglobin ( red blood cells ) were so low that I fainted at home in the bathroom. Toronto Paramedics transported me to a very large Toronto Hospital, where I have been a in patient before. I was admitted through Emergency, and got 2 units of A Positive blood, with in a hour. The next morning I was moved to a 2 bed room on the 8th floor, medical internal unit.
NOW the drama begins. The room has 2 beds, divided by curtains, and 2 windows looking east across the Toronto skyline. When I arrived in the room, I was the only patient, at 9 AM. At 11 AM, a porter team brought in a large Indian man, and his very petite wife. As soon as the Wife saw the rom, she started giving the hospital porters and the floor nurses orders. The room was ( in her words ) too small, and the other person ( me ) must be moved. immediately !!!!!! I was in the bed beside the window, and the Wife started trying to push my bed into the hall.
The floor Nursing Supervisor showed up then. The NS was a very large , very black six foot tall woman from Nigeria. She told the Wife that beds were NOT to be moved, period. At that point the Indian Wife gave the NS the following information which I heard. The Husband is a VERY Important Man, who owns a very large Indian computer corporation back home. He MUST have a Private Room. The NS said....this hospital does not HAVE any private rooms. The Wife then said that SHE was going to hire a number of Nurses of the Hindu religion, and fly them from India to Canada , to take care of her Husband. The NS said...Not going to happen here. Our Registered Nurses are very capable to taking care of your Husband.
The next part of the drama, took place at around 5 PM that day, when 3 Indian women came in to the room, and brought in a large number of food containers made of tin. I was in my bed, about 12 feet from the other bed, and I was about to eat my hospital meal. The women opened the containers, and my stomach began to roll. The food was horribly smelly, and I was just able to stagger to the bathroom, and vomit into the toilet. I was able to quickly snatch my upper false teeth out of my mouth, before I threw up. I went back to my bed, slowly. I couldn't see what they were doing, because of the curtains, but I could smell SMOKE. Right, SMOKE. They were burning incense sticks, in THE ROOM. The smoke alarm started blaring, and nurses and other staff came running into the room, with fire extinguishers in their hands. Nursing Supervisor was livid, to say the least.
It turned out that a part of the horrible smell was some kind of "Home Remedy " ointment, that they had rubbed all over his body, as a way to "cure him". It smelled like sewer gas.
The Wife returned an hour later, with a large Hindu man, who was carrying a folding bed. She directed the servant to put the folding bed next to her Husband's bed, saying she would sleep there, to "protect him from the devils ". Pointing at ME, she said this "Man has to be removed from OUR ROOM '. Up until that point, I had been keeping my mouth shut, waiting for the Hospital administration to act. The Chief of Medical Staff arrived, and she pointed out that in Canada, patients are cared for and fed from a standard menu, which the patient can choose from, each day.
The Wife, said she would PAY for special food for her husband. The Chief of Medical Staff pointed out that " In Canada, you can't BUY your way around the rules, no matter how much money you may have ". The Wife went into full "Princess Mode " and stormed down the hall.
I asked the floor Nursing Supervisor, if I could be moved "Anywhere at all, away from this horrible couple ". She said what all good supervisors say....I am working on it ! ........At ONE AM that night, after sitting in the hallway in a chair for 7 hours, I was finally moved to another floor. The Porter who moved me said a surprising thing to me........That Woman is actually asleep IN HIS BED WITH HIM . The Porter had to go into my former room in order to retrieve my clothes and personal belongings for me. By the next morning the entire 3,000 staff had heard about what was being called the "Royal Couple ".
I came home this morning, July the 8th. Because the Docs cannot find the source of my internal bleeding, I will probably be back in a different hospital within 10 days. They have thrown every test and procedure at this problem that they can, all of which have been negative in nature.
My question to the SF group.......How far should North American society go, in terms of "Trying to please the New People "? Remember that in this case the Wife and Husband were in Canada on business, when he got sick and was hospitalized. How far backwards do we have to bend, to avoid hurting their feelings ?
Your comments ? JimB.
