Medical Certificate in Taraz

June 17th, 2010

Today we completed our medical certificate, which is needed for the regional court because the previous one has expired. We also received our other documents (police certificates and letter of employments), which were sent from Canada. We passed many tests and it took 3 days to pass the entire tests and also get all the results. We really did not think it involved so many tests and I think we visited every department in that hospital.
We passed the following tests and keep in mind we had no idea what tests we were doing and what they all consisted of.

1. X-rays of our chest to check if we had tuberculosis
2. Cardio-gram- they stuck about 4 wires to our chest and if they took the test of about 3 heartbeats that’s even too much.
3. Eye exam- the eye exam consisted of reading a couple of letters (Russian letters) off the wall, asked what our vision was and if we needed to put any drops in our eyes for any reason.
4. Checked our nose, throat and ears with a metal medical tool.
5. Neurologist- The doctor had a stick with a black rubber at the tip and she asked us to follow it with our eyes without moving our head, then asked us to stand up with our arms out, close our eyes and touch our nose with our right finger and then our left finger. She then checked our knees and arms reflection.
6. Urine sample. We were told to bring a urine sample in a container of any kind. We went crazy looking for a container so we bought some baby food in glass jars and sterilized it and used that. But everyone used whatever they found at home, like plastic yogourt container, coffee jars, jam jars, water bottles. You simply had to leave it off at a very crowded corner with a little paper on it with your name and remove the lid.
7. Blood tests. Wow this test is something we will never forget. We wanted to make sure they used new needles so we checked everything they did. The only problem was they do not use needles for blood tests. The nurse took out a pointy blade, stabbed our finger and pushed the blood out into a test tube. Ok she did not fill up the test tube but let me tell you it hurt and we were so shocked. The test tubes are not covered and they just remain in the open uncovered.
8. Surgeon- We had to stand up with your arms out in front and bend our knees and go all the way down and come back up. We had to take off our sweater and she checked if we had any lumps anywhere.
9. Gynocology - nothing to say about that, a pap test is a pap test!
10. HIV – went to an Aids Clinic. But this time they removed the blood through our veins with a needle and this was simple and painless.
11. and lastly a general doctor that summarized all the tests and completed the certificate and told us we were HEALTHY.

The hospitals here have a very different system that we are used to having in Canada. Taking a number does not exist here, every department we went to for our evaluation or test we had to ask who was the last person and we had to remember so our turn would follow. But as we were waiting and people would continue to join the “so called” line up, there were continuous arguments with people trying to pass each other. It was very amusing to watch even if we didn’t understand a word they were saying but we could very well see the angry faces, the guilty faces and the ignorant people that would insist on trying to sneak in the line. Vera got into an argument with a man who was trying to cut the line in front of us and her husband Medet had to step in and calm her down and then he took over and the man finally got the point and waited his turn.

Another point which totally bothered me is, as people come in they’ll just open the doctor’s office door and look in to see if anyone is in the room. Not only is that rude and disrespectful but the hospital does not give you anything to cover yourself so you are pretty much naked while the doctor is examining you or making you do some ridiculous exercise.

After having a reason to visit a private clinic and a public hospital here, I must express how grateful we are for having such up-to-date medical equipment in Canada and I’m very grateful for living in a civilized country. Even if we have to wait forever to pass a test or see a doctor, at least we have advanced technology that can provide much more accurate results. Now I can totally understand why it takes Dylan so long to get over a simple cold or flu. It just makes me wonder what kind of cheap watered down medication they are giving these kids through their numerous injections. Yes I understand they do the best with what they have but sometimes that just isn’t enough!!!! I feel extremely sorry for people that get serious illnesses here because they must be suffering so much from their outdated medical equipment and from being so behind in their technology.

We would like to Thank Vera and Medet for taking the time to take us to the hospital 3 days in a row and helping us complete our medical certificate. Thank you Vera for being so CALM and PROFESSIONAL while you accompanied us individually in the examining room and explained and translated everything for us at very awkward times. You were very discrete and made us feel very comfortable at very embarrassing moments. Thank you Medet for RUNNING AROUND and PICKING UP ALL OUR RESULTS for us. We are so glad we were able to do the medical here in Taraz instead of going all the way to Almaty which saved us lot’s of time and money!!!!
Great job and Great team work!!!!