Bandage Police- Tales of Chinese Racing
Bean Update November 17th, 2008About 35km into Stage 2, Matty hit a rock, a small boulder actually, and grabbed me on the way down to have a crash buddy. That way, if we both have to drop out, we can look out for each other on the dangerous beaches (”Matty, wake up, wake up! You’re starting to burn.”). We both hit the ground, but nobody was too hurt. Just a little road rash, and not enough for a ticket to the beach.
Having put off packing until about an hour before I had to leave for the airport, I forgot my foreign country medical kit. This leaves me with no bandages. I felt bad stealing Bernie’s out of his bag, so I asked Michelle to take me to the race doctor to get some bandages.
This is where things get annoying. Now I’m sure the doctor is trained in western medicine, but I think the Chinese version of western medicine is somewhat different than what I’m accustomed to. Doctor Helen, our trusted team doctor, always tells us to keep our road rash clean, covered, and moist. The wound will heal faster and with less pain.
In the race doctor’s room, I could see an open plastic bag sitting on the desk filled with gauze bandages. I asked him for some, and he said, “No, wash it with water and let it dry.” (May I reminded you that Chinese tap water is NOT clean, nor is it intended for cleaning open wounds, unless your goal is bacterial infection and a ticket to the beach.) I knew right then and there he simply didn’t want to give me any, so I decided I was going to be more stubborn about getting my bandages than he would be about keeping them from me. I wasn’t leaving his room empty handed.
After more of the “let it dry,” “no, keep it moist” back and forth, he finally reached into the bag and pulled one out. I thought he was going to hand it to me, so I grabbed it. After a brief tug-o-war, he snatched it back, so I snagged a different one from the bag and started to walk out of his room.
To my surprise, and with a little flair of anger, he said “is that all? Then go.”
Final Score:
Nick-1
Doctor-0
This entire episode lasted nearly 15 minutes.
There has GOT to be a better way to do this…
November 18th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Nicely done Nick. I hope Danny found a few more for the rest of the week. Stay upright and ride fast.
Good Luck in these last couple stages.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
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