
After 9 months in Korea, some things have become second nature.
Like bowing anytime I say hello or thank you, thinking of dollar amounts in won instead of US dollars and listening harder to conversations because understanding broken English can be difficult.
But Friday, I was caught off guard.
I made a phone call to 121 (pronounced one-two-one) -Â the hospital unit up at Yongsan in Seoul.
Expecting to hear a Korean voice on the other end, I suddenly heard a lilting Texas drawl,
“Radee-awlogee – Gewd afternewn, ser or ma’aaaam, how maih I help yew?”
And I was home.

Military voices are a hodge-podge of north, south, east & west…with hints of Spanish, German & Hangul thrown in here & there. So I don’t hear too many Texas accents anymore.
Shoot, I even gave mine up years ago in an attempt to crawl up the corporate ladder. But when I’m really tired, my drawl will come back out.
[And people never fail to point it out.]
But It’s amazing what a friendly voice can do – my shoulders relaxed first, then my eyes teared up.
I didn’t have to listen extra hard to understand what she was saying. I didn’t have to speak slow & clear to make sure I would be understood in return.
And with those realizations, came the next…
Life here is hard. You work hard at it everyday & over time you just stop recognizing how much harder you work at everything.
It just becomes second nature to do the extra work.
So there I was on the phone, near tears, talking to a woman who sounded like my Aunt Terri…and suddenly I wasn’t quite so scared to be asking for an appointment to get an MRI.
AN UPDATE
Yes – my head still hurts. And for those who’ve been asking me about what’s going on, here’s the current run-down:
- My head began hurting Feb. 2nd….yes, 20 days ago.
- Burning, piercing, pounding, constant never-ending pain.
- All my symptoms point towards a classic runaway migraine, except for the fact that it’s been 20 days.
- I’ve been to the medical clinic on base twice, been to the urgent care clinic once.
- I’ve seen three separate doctors.
- I’ve been prescribed increasing levels of pain meds – none of which work.
- I’ve been hooked-up to an IV migraine cocktail – which didn’t work.
- My blood pressure has been hovering around 150/108 with a 109 pulse rate.
- This last doc debated whether or not to hospitalize me on the spot.
- Instead he had blood drawn, put in “asap” referrals for an MRI & Neurology consult and presribed me hospital-grade pain meds…all of 6 pills.
That was Wednesday of last week.
I had to wait two days for the referrals to be in the system to try to make the appointments & when I got a hold of Neurology first, the detached voice on the other end of the phone informed me I couldn’t been seen until March 23rd – more than 28 days away. But suggested I call back Tuesday to see if there was a cancellation for me to get in earlier.
Which brings me back to the woman at Radiology.
While it was a great comfort to talk with her, their schedule couldn’t get me in until March 15th – even though the referrals say “asap”.
As she went to book it, I heard her say, “Oh no….I’m so sorry.”
And while I can’t tell you why she couldn’t book it – an OPSEC issue- I can tell you she essentially penciled me in & told me to call back Tuesday as well.
That would be tomorrow.
OPSEC – Operation Security: A blanket Army term that essentially means ‘loose lips sink ships’. The old WWII saying meant to keep family & friends from unintentionally giving away key information about military operations. Something we have to be extra careful about here.
So if I could ask a favor…
I really need to get in sooner than next month & if you would keep my in your thoughts & prayers, I would appreciate it.
























