It’s a mega life
the pic on your post called "the view" with the guy laying on the beach... is that a foot? or.... what
Wow. Really? Yes that’s a foot. That’s Matt.
Anonymous
I heard about the ankle gnarliness... Hope you're doing alright and not in some sketchy dirty hospital! Been thinking about you!
Thanks so much. I’m all better. I’m all good. Back to exploring and walking. Luckily I had my brother Matt and Danny waiting on me. Good friends for sure.
Back on koasan road. Finally off the slow boat. Finally outa Laos. Finally outa the hospital.
I spent the past 8 days limping around and laying in bed icing my ankle, and the past 4 days in the hospital. Don’t worry don’t freak out. I’m 100% ok. The whole experience was relatively painless and I managed to stay positive and happy thru the whole thing.
It all started in chaing Mai with a blood test. As you know I’m on blood thinning medication, and that medication mixed with the anti malarial meds I started taking soon after we got here caused my blood to become way too thin. If you know what an INR is, mine was 8. Extremely high. After getting the results I thought it was impossible. Its never been that high. I kinda ignored it thinking that they do the test differently out here. Just to be safe I took a half dose that night and kept carrying on like I had been.
The next two days we were stuck on slow boats and crammed into cars and trapped in weird sitting positions for hours at a time. We were driven to the wrong city and given rooms with Pokemon sheets over a plywood mattress. The bathroom was infested with bugs and the whole place was basically inhabitable.
It was the second day of slow boating when I noticed my ankle starting to swell up. By the time we reached our destination, laung prabang, I could barely walk. My ankle and hip were completely useless. Bruises were appearing on my body, in places where I had not been punched, hit, or flicked. Something was seriously messed up. I was pretty sure it was being caused by my meds and high INR. I needed the blood test now. Me my bro and the homie Danny V took a tuktuk all the way into bumfreak nowhere to a hospital to get the test and have a doc check out my swelling. This place was a freakin shanty. A peice. Small, dirty, I think there was blood on the floor. Finally the one guy who speaks English comes to help me out. Of course they don’t do the test their and he says we have to go Vientiane, the capital city. It’s a 12 hour bus ride or an hour flight. We wanted to save money and just do the bus but after much discussion we thought it crucial to just get there as quick as possible and get this done. We sacrificed some of the budget to get plans tickets. (good thing we did too, see danny v’s blog to see how the bus ride went hahaha)
We left at 530 in the morning. We get to Vientiane and go straight to the hospital. Internet said it was great and they have an international section. OF COURSE we arrive on a Saturday and a Lao holiday. Are u kidding? So they don’t do the test. We go out to the cuttys to another hospital where I have to convince them to do it. They give me a CBC. Like 15 tests in one. INR included. Get the results back. Everything is there, except INR. Great. And that place was a piece too. Dirty and grimy. No bandaides. I had to bust out my own first aid kit in the lobby. I can’t get the test till Monday. 2 days of waiting.
At this point I contacted home, parents and doctors. It became apparent that this situation was a bigger deal than I thought. I needed medical attention. My brother Ian looked the best hospital in Bangkok. It’s the best hospital outside the states. Wow our budget is going to take a major hit now. We have to fly to Bangkok and go straight to the hospital. We spend hours looking at flights. Finally find one, try to book it online, ATM card gets blocked and shut down. Now there’s no way to get the tix. Matt contacts our travel insurance company to see if they have any advice. Before you know we have two first class flights to BKK. Finally our luck has changed and the worst day ever is looking up.
Then outa nowhere comes a hurricane. The city is being blasted with rain and wind there is lighting like on top us. Thunder is rocking our brains. Streets flooded. Fences being ripped down. It was crazy. We’re like we’re supposed to fly in this? After about an hour he storm passed. We left to the airport to take our second flight of the day. First class is amazing. An experience that i tried to soak in because it will probably never happen again. The before flight lounge with snacks and drinks, the drinks served while still on the ground, the hot towel, the comfort level. Good thing we had our own bathrooms cuz I’m not sharing with any coach folk. Had a bomb 3 course meal. Oh the cups are glass, not your standard plastic trash. I got to have my leg up and in a quick 90 minutes we were there. Got a taxi straight to Bumrungrad International Hospital, easily one of my favorite places from the trip.
Basically I hit the ER and got the test. Finally. The doctor knew my whole situation and decided that I needed to stay over night. So now were being put up in a super nice hospital room. They even have a bed for Matt. They have guest refreshments and a soft drink mini bar. I saw bone doctors, cardiologists, warfarin specialist. I was there 4 days just trying to get blood back to the right level. Good times. We hade this one roomate who was freaking out at all hours of the night. One day Matt responded to him when we heard him asking for help. He looked in the curtain to find the guy handcuffed to his bed, naked, with fecal matter everywhere. We bounced hella quick. And when we came back he was gone. So after 4 nights of HBO movies, samurai pork sandwiches from McDonald’s, and 5 shots in the belly, they let me out.
I’m all good. 100% safe and healthy. Gonna chill in Bangkok for a few days until its completely stable. Then head out. No more malaria drugs and not so much Chang. Thanks for your concern. Didn’t mean to cause any worriment. I love you everybody.
