Host Mom Saves the Day

So, as some of you know, I was greeted with a few medical surprises when I was home visiting America.  The main problem is a case of anemia I seem to have developed, for reasons vaguely understood.

Yesterday I decided to start my hunt for Iron and B12 supplements to get myself all back in working order... and man, that proved to be a tedious task.

I started by browsing the vitamin aisle at my local supermarket.  I found a bottle with pictures of what looked like red blood cells on it.  Ok... that's a start.  After a bit of sign languaging, konglishing, and translating on my phone app, I was told to visit a pharmacy instead, where they would have something more specific. 

Lucky for me, the nearest pharmacy was actually located right within that very supermarket!

I spent about 20 minutes sign languaging, konglishing, and translating once again with the three pharmacists behind the counter.  There was much laughter, confusion, and sighing as we struggled through communications.  In the end, we decided on a four month supply of supplements that I was told had Iron, Folic Acid, and the vitamin B12.  I felt pretty confident about what I was picking up.  $70 later, I left the pharmacy and headed over to my host family's house.

I had the pleasure of introducing my host mom and boys to the joys of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and told them briefly about my trip home. 

I then showed my host mom the supplements I had picked up, just to make sure I understood everything I was taking.  It's a good thing I did!  It turns out there is no B12 in what they gave me.  Not sure how that happened, given how much "B12" was scrawled all over the pharmacist's notebook, but nonetheless, it was missing the second of the two key ingredients I need.

My host mom's jaw dropped when she saw the receipt.  (Medical costs in Korea are typically MUCH lower than those in America.)  Immediately she proclaimed that we were to go back to the pharmacy and return the pills.  She was confident we could find something better.  Well... right.  Except I threw away the box they came in.  I have limited space in my backpack, you see, and didn't want to carry around the extra bulky packaging. 

Moms (whether their yours or not) have a way of getting things accomplished, however.  We marched right back into the pharmacy and returned the pills (no matter that I no longer had the original packaging).

My host mom and I have a date for later today at a nearby hospital to get a prescription for exactly what I need and hopefully get the medicine a lot cheaper.  She said that with a "doctor paper" you can get better quality medicine for much cheaper.  We'll see what happens.

I hope this doesn't mean I'll have more blood drawn - I'm not sure how much I have left!