I am very lucky that I get to travel internationally for work and vacations. I’ve been to over 125 countries and have enjoyed every bit of it. The jet lag nor living out of a suitcase ever bothers me…but what does bother me is when, on that rare occasion, I have gotten sick…or especially concerning to me is when a client, my young nephews or friends have gotten sick…I feel helpless and don’t know what to do or who to call.

On a recent work travel trip to Asia, my colleague fell ill, likely from contaminated water, and I contacted the concierge at our hotel in search of medical care.  He looked awful, and felt awful for him.  The hotel concierge didn’t have a reference for a doctor that could help us, however, they provided a local employee to join us to the hospital emergency room to help translate into English.

Once we arrived at the emergency room, our experience was awful.  The hospital was packed and had long wait times, we were surrounded by other sick people and all the communication was in the local language.  We didn’t know when we were called, we struggled to convey his illness and his symptoms, and to understand the diagnosis and remedy.  The hospital staff were wonderful as they tried to speak English but we continued to struggle with the language barrier.