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"For International Traveller", I wonder who he is?

Yesterday I received the results from my medical test. I think I'm in the clear after reading that I have "no quarrantinable disease, infectious disease under surveillance or any other disease which is highly dangerous to the public". This means I can renew my work permit and stay in China for another year. I have also been given two souvenirs from the trip: a certificate of health (see above), and the X-Ray of my chest.

As I thought would be the case, my blood pressure was a little high -- but not too bad -- and my pulse was also over 100BPM. You can see how ingrained the fear of hospitals is wedged into my subconscious mind. I blame it on a visit to a hospital when I was 10 years old. While at my grandma's house I fell onto one of those metal draught excluders that are placed underneath doors which lead to the outside. I had cut my leg wide open. Thankfully my grandma used to be a nurse and she knew exactly what to do. We rushed to the nearest hospital and saw a doctor (whose name I still remember: Jim Smalley). He had to stitch me up, but this meant applying anaesthetic -- which had to go directly into the wound, with injections, six times. I can still recall the pain to this day, it was horrendous. Fourteen stitches later and I was out of the hospital with a kind of relief I have never experienced since.

Although I am no psychologist or psychiatrist, I am sure this has played a huge part in my completely uncontrollable fear of hospitals to this day. Anyway, I am officially disease-free, so I should be happy.

I promise to have no more hospital-related blog posts for -- hopefully -- a long time. It makes me feel a little queasy.