What is your worst fear related to travelling?? Is it a natural disaster, or being scammed?? Or maybe you’re worried about a war starting while you’re visiting a certain country?? Either way, it’s a horrible thing to think about. After all, we all want travelling to be a good experience. Unfortunately, it can’t always be that way… anyway, I can tell you from experience that hospital runs aren’t fun!!
Since we began our 12-month trip, we had been having an absolute blast… it’s been so amazing seeing so much new stuff!! At the time, we were currently up to Thailand. We had just gotten to the tranquil mountains of Pai (Pronounced ‘Pie’) the day before, and we were at a beautiful quiet resort. We were enjoying it and wanted to see more of Pai, so we decided to take the resort’s 6:00pm shuttle into town. We had dinner, and went to a cake shop for dessert.
When we finished our scrumptious ice-creams, scones and brownies, a small roadside stall caught our eye. It had 5 large clay pots full of boiling water which were being fed by a pipe connected to a heating system in the roof of the stall. We thought we might try some if it seemed appealing enough. After all, you can always make an attempt, but if you miss that opportunity, it’s gone.
The lady serving the interesting refreshment didn’t speak much english, so we stood back for a while and observed. She pretty much used the boiling water to make tea. They were served in either a plastic cup, or in a bamboo cup that was slightly more expensive but had free refills included. We thought it would be special to have it in a bamboo cup, and besides, we could always get a refill later.
We chose the flavour “Jasmine mint tea”. It was quite sweet, but it was nice with lots of ice. We sipped on the drinks while cruising through the street for another 45 minutes. Towards the end of my drink, my stomach started having mild cramps. Naturally, I instantly blamed it on my diet, as I had eaten a lot of wheat and sugar that particular day. I vowed to eat healthy the next day. We had to meet the shuttle driver again to go back to the resort, so we headed back to the spot we were dropped off at. Unfortunately it started raining, so we waited at the front of a closed shop with an awning until the driver showed up. My stomach was still crampy, but it was still so mild I only remembered it every now and then.
We got back to the resort, and once bedtime came, the severity of the cramps increased. It got quite uncomfortable after time, and I messaged Mum on Facebook Messenger on my iPad. She told me to try taking a warm bath, so I did. It didn’t really work, but I was still crampy and didn’t feel like moving so I stayed in the bath for a bit longer until I was really tired. The cramps still didn’t fade, so I decided I had to try and sleep it off.
The next morning my cramps were still there. I was beginning to wonder whether I got a bug or virus from that bamboo drink, such as gastro. All I could do was rest in bed and drink my ginger tea Doug had gotten for me.
Throughout the day, the cramps started getting worse by the minute. I told mum they were getting worse, and she asked me where the cramps were. I showed her where they were, in the bottom right of my stomach. Mum started getting worried, and told me that when she got appendicitis as a 12-year-old, her cramps were in the same spot as mine. That made me a little worried!!
Lunch came and my cramps started getting really bad. It hurt to lie down, it hurt to move…pretty much everything hurt. Mum and Doug got worried and started looking into some nearby doctors. My stomach felt so horrible… I just wanted to get to that doctor! We asked the resort manager to drive us there, and he did. We got out of the car after being driven down a few blocks and walked to the doctor, and the resort manager told the lady at the desk in fluent Thai that I might have appendicitis. She told us the doctor wasn’t there and we’d have to go to the hospital, so the resort manager drove us there.
When we got there, I felt a little glad we were somewhere that could offer me medical help, but when I looked around properly I realised how bad the situation was. The main waiting room / entrance part was pretty much just concrete and looked like we were visiting a house on day 10 of construction. The things that made it look less like a concrete prison were the cheap plastic waiting chairs, and the front desk.
The nurses were cleaning up some people’s motorbike injuries, and when they finished, it was my turn to be diagnosed. They weighed me and put me onto a fold-out bed. They wanted to do a blood test (My first blood test). I was really worried because lots of people said blood tests hurt, but I looked away when they were about to do it. Mum was by my side trying to comfort me by talking, but I felt the prick and panicked a bit. It was a different feeling, but it didn’t hurt too much. When they had gotten enough blood, I was glad it was over!!
Shortly after they gave me a drip, which went on the inside of my left wrist. It hurt like heck, and my stomach was equally painful, so I just tried to think about other things to keep my mind off it. Soon the nurse came back over and told us something. I was expecting the exact thing she told me, but it still totally freaked me out.
They told me I had suspected appendicitis, but they weren’t sure and they said it would be easier if they could run more tests. Mum wanted to get me to a good hospital just in case, and to get some more PROPER testing, so we agreed to transfer to the ‘Bangkok Chaing Mai Hopital‘. It’s a great private hospital we found, but the only problem was that it was a 4-hour ambulance ride away. I was suuuuper nervous about what would happen, especially because it was night time and we had to ride down steep mountains. I felt so sad that we had to leave Pai early, because it’s a beautiful place. But all I could think about was the worsening pain in my stomach.
The pain got really bad by the time the ambulance was getting ready to go, and I also get car-sick fairly easily, so I wanted some painkiller if any was available, and maybe something to settle my stomach for the long ride. After consistent begging, they finally caved into letting me have some Valium, which settled my stomach. They gave me a smaller dose than average which didn’t work particularly well, but hey, it was better than nothing!!
After constantly waking and falling back asleep on the ride, I finally woke up after 4 long hours to heaps of commotion. The ambulance was pulling into the emergency care part of the hospital and they opened the door. they rolled me back out and took me into a room and put me on one of the many beds divided by curtains. They asked us for any information we had and they said it was likely to be appendicitis, but they wanted to run some tests to be sure. They did yet another blood test first off. And the best thing was, they later gave me an amazing painkiller.. Morphine!!! I felt it run through my veins because they injected it through a thing they put in the inside of my elbow, kind of like a tap leading straight to my veins. It soon felt like I was under a warm blanket… I fell in love immediately!! <3
After about 3 different tests it was clear that it was appendicitis. It was about 2:00am when the last one was done, and they said they would take me to my private ward before I was to have surgery at 9:00am. They took me there with Mum and I slept on and off until it was 9:00.
I woke up to the nurses talking. My eyes shot open and darted to the clock, and yes it was the one time I dreaded. 8:56am. The nurses wheeled me out to prepare me for surgery. Mum had to leave me, and when I got there, I was still sleepy from all the morphine I had. They put a mask over my mouth to get some oxygen (I think…!!), and then they injected me with something that made me fall asleep straight away. That was the last memory I had.
I woke up in a large, clean white room. There were no noises except for the steady beeping of heart monitors. Because of the morphine and whatever else they gave me for surgery, my memory was still fuzzy and my brain wasn’t woking so I worried about where I was for a second… I then saw a sign that said ‘Recovery Room’. I then remembered where I was. My first instinct was to lift the blanket and the bottom of my hospital shirt to see my wound, as I call it. I was surprisingly disappointed when I saw it was covered by a big square of waterproof bandage. I was so curious to see what it looked like!!
A nurse then came into the room and told me I had another 30 minutes to go until I could go to my ward. She left again, and that 30 minutes started to seemed like an eternity. While I waited, I studied the extremely painful drip in my hand, and by the time I figured out how it worked, i decided to kill the remaining 25 minutes with sleep.
I woke up again when the nurses told me I could go back to my ward to rest. I was so excited it was finally over and that i could see Mum again!! When they tried to get me to roll over onto the stretcher (with their assistance), I only just realised how intensely PAINFUL it was!! i eventually got onto the stretcher and was in my ward with Mum in no time. I was so glad and after telling mum all about it, I was so hungry. I asked the nurses if I could have some food, and they agreed, but it had to be a full liquid diet. I was disappointed but glad I could eat again!! (After all, I hadn’t eaten or had proper water for a full day!! Although it did suck, for the first time ever, I was glad I had the drip to keep me hydrated!!)
My very first hospital meal after a full day of starving: potato soup, some bread, jelly and some papaya. I learned that day I didn’t actually hate papaya as much as I thought I did!! I soon learned that I love papaya. Shortly after my meal, two nurses came in and asked me if I wanted to try having a shower. Once again I checked the bandage on my wound, and yes, it was waterproof. I was DYING to clean up a bit after the surgery and everything, so I thought it couldn’t hurt. It hurt heaps getting up and I felt quite dizzy, and extremely tired. After the nurses helped me to the bathroom, I sat down on the chair and waited while they left.
After the nurse left, I stood up again to get ready for the shower, when I noticed how hot it was in the bathroom… Before I knew it, I was sweating heavily. Soon the room started spinning and wherever I looked, I saw grey and dark green spots everywhere that obstructed most of my vision. I didn’t feel so well in my stomach so I sat down again and called mum. I couldn’t help the fact that I kept swaying from side to side- it just happened. I continued to sweat as mum made her way to the bathroom, and I told her I was extremely dizzy and wanted to lie down again.
Mum called the nurse with a little button in the bathroom and helped me stand up slowly. The nurse also came soon after and continued to help me. I felt almost like I was trying to see through cloudy water… I walked over to lean on the bathroom doorway, and I thought I did… Only I apparently didn’t make it.
It turned out I fainted… For the first time!! I regained slight consciousness again about a metre and a half from where I last remember being, and mum and about 5 other nurses were trying to carry me back to my bed. I realised, seeing as I was about as big as each of the small Thai nurses, I should attempt to help them a little so I carefully stood up and worked my way towards my bed. With the nurses’ help, I was soon lying back down on my bed. I still felt a bit off, and one of the nurses pricked my index finger with a small needle and tested my blood pressure, and it turned out I had low blood pressure. ‘Figures,’ I thought. I guess my meal wasn’t particularly nutritious in any way.
I saw another nurse opening a small plastic packet and she pulled out a cotton ball and waved it below my nose… It was the most horrible thing I’ve ever smelled!! It was strong, and I soon started to feel a bit better. Mum told me it was to help me to regain consciousness. As far as I knew, it sure worked!!
A few tests and checks later, the nurses all filed out of the room. I was glad to be alone with mum again!! I just wanted to sleep, nothing more… And so that’s what I did.
So it eventually came to me that morphine gave you hallucinations. Every time I would begin to drift off (or even closed my eyes for more than 30 seconds, for that matter!!), I would have a wacky hallucination. I don’t remember them exactly but I had about 8 before I was finally off the morphine.
The next few days passed quickly… By the next day I was on a soft diet, and then I was eating more solids in the last few days. On the second last day, They gave me a cute blue heart pillow (I call it a souvenir from the hospital!!).
Including the days I was admitted and discharged, I was in the hospital for a total of 4 days. By then I could walk fine on my own (but still slowly and carefully, of course!!). Thank god I healed quite quickly. Apart from checkups every 5 or so days to change my wound dressing, I was done with the hospital. To be honest, I kinda missed it. It was great having constant care while you rested!!
Although one thing I didn’t miss were the 2 nurses that tried to get me to shower the day after surgery. I know they were trying to help, but fainting wasn’t fun… Not to mention the pain I felt with each step!! But I don’t mind too much because I was soon able to do everything without any assistance.
After about 1.5 to 2 weeks after surgery, I took my wound dressing off for good. I had a small scar the length of 2 grapes, and it continued to heal over time. I was glad it was small, because another relative had a appendectomy scar that pretty much goes halfway across their whole stomach!!
So that pretty much wraps up the story of my first time in hospital (and fainting, blood tests, surgey, having a drip and much more!!). Not only was it a load of experiences but it made out to be one of my highlights of being in Thailand!! It wasn’t what I expected from a visit to Thailand at all, but when I look back on it, it was certainly fun!!