It all started last Tuesday. I ate some sketchy food twice in one day, thus began the deluge of diarrhea and constant vomiting. Cynthia also experienced similar issues with our breakfast, so it was obviously food poisoning. The vomiting continued, along with stomach pains the next day. By the end of the day, I couldn't even keep down water. I went to a clinic in Mongkol Borei where I'd been before (some guy's house). He gave me some injections in the butt for the pain and pills for the nausea. I returned twice more that day for more of the same. During the last trip, I tried to make it to the bathroom, but ended up puking all over his floor, right in front of my friend, Chan-Rong, and his family who was eating dinner. Sorry!
Laum arranged a taxi to take me to the Royal Angkor Hospital in Siem Reap. I had to ask the taxi driver to pull over five times, so I could throw-up on the side of the road. He was very kind. He stood by me and rub my back each time. They took x-rays, and a C.T. scan, and hooked up an I.V. Meanwhile, they kept running over every few hours, asking me to give them more money because they would immediately stop treatment, if I didn't have the funds. The nurse soon returned, and said they needed another C.T. Scan because the first one was not clear. They asked me a bunch of questions about what led up to my illness. The nurse got really uncomfotable at one point, put her head down shamefaced, and quietly said, "I'm sorry I have to ask. Do you do street drugs?" The doctor diagnosed me with food poisoning, enflamed pancreas, and a kidney stone.
The nurse stuck a tube into my nose which went down my throat into my stomach. It made me gag, so I sat there gagging, puking, and trying to breathe for a couple hours. Eventually, I was having a major panic attack and pulled it out, so I could have some relief for a bit. I was crying and asked for a sedative or some pain medication that was stronger than Federol, which is basically Extra Strength Tylenol. The doctor yelled at me and said, "You are uncooperative patient! Why are you crying? Only children cry. You are sick in the head!"
After that, when I pressed the button to see a nurse, they ignored me. One nurse accidentally walked into my room, and I whimpered, "Can you please help me?" She took one look at me, turned on her heel, and walked out. I was alone for hours, and couldn't get out of bed to use the bathroom because of the tubes. They put a diaper on me which quickly soaked through, so I threw it on the floor, hoping they would get the hint that I could use another. They didn't. I decided I had to get out of there. I called Cynthia and Laum and told them what was happening. Cynthia arrived as soon as she could and slept on the couch that night which was a great comfort to me. I couldn't sleep and don't think I would have made it through the night without her.
The next day, they arranged to move me by ambulance to Bangkok Hospital. The first ambulance the second one at the border and they transferred me. The road to the border was bumpy and took two hours. Well, it took longer since we got a flat tire. What a spectacle. Villagers atarted appearing out of nowhere, and people on motos stopped to watch the action. In typical Cambodian fashion, nobody offered to help.
The Thai ambulance took me the next three hours to the hospital. The nurses were very sweet and actually gave me some pain killers for the bumpy road. About an hour from the hospital, we were driving along pretty fast and suddenly came to a screeching halt. It was slow motion surreal. My gurney was facing the back, so I couldn't see what was ahead, but I could see the nurses' faces, and knew we were about to hit something. It turned out to be the car in front of us. It wasn't a bad crash, but enough to cause some damage. It was silent for a few moments. Not surprisingly, nobody got out of the cars to discuss the situation, we all just kept moving ahead.
I was admitted to Bangkok Hospital and waited in the I.C.U. until my room was ready. I heard the nurses practicing how to say, "My name is..." outside the curtain. A nurse came in and said, "My name is Chin. Please lift your arm. Thank you, sir." Then, he tried to get a blood sample. He poked me 14 times until he finally got it. I don't think it helped that I kept laughing and saying "six, seve, eight..." aloud. They put a tube down my throat and when I complained about gagging, a nurse squirted some numbing stuff on my throat which worked wonders. Woh! Where was this stuff at the other hospital?
My room was huge, modern, and very comfortable. There was a couch, table and two chairs, large wall sized window, even a mini fridge and a microwave. The nurses were kind and wore crisp white uniforms with old-fashioned triangle hats pinned to their heads. They were very attentive those first few days, always giving me medication when I requested it. One nurse kept asking me if I wanted a bath. Either I really stunk, or she just had to make sure she had done here job.
My doctor was nice and and told me that the two C.T. scans from the previous hospital were totally unreadable and wanted another one. Since I was feeling much better, I said no. She said I was also suffering from exhaustion (from anxiety) and told me to rest, drink water with electrolytes, and take the pills they gave me.
The nurses came in every three hours to take my temperature, blood pressure, and ask, "How many times you pee pee and poo poo?" It's not like I was counting, so I always just made up a number. After a few days, they gave me clear broth soup and juice. The broth was disgusting, but I drank the juice.
One night, I woke up with a pain in my arm and when I turned on the light, I was shocked. My arm had swelled up like a balloon. It was huge and hard! I called the nurse, and she removed the I.V. saying that the fluid had leaked into my arm. It returned to normal size a couple days later.
The hot showers and comfortable bed were nice, but it does get boring being stuck in the hospital after a week. Here are some things to do when you get bored:
1. Count the seconds between each drop of saline being squirted into your bloodstream. (8 seconds)
2. Oragnize the patient library by author, genre, and language.
3. Visit other foreigners and see who has the most interesting story. (The guy who fell off his hammock and injured his neck.)
4. Order room service for the gecko on your wall.
5. Add notes to the room whiteboard. (For ex: Under - Goals for the Day, write "Meet sexy doctor."
One night I had just pressed the nurse button when four nurses rushed in. Wow, that was quick! I was so impressed with their quick response, and was considering myself quite the important patient. I told them I wanted a cold compress for my head They said, "O.K....But um, did you scream?" Ohhhhhh. I replied, "No, but I heard it. It was another person." Giant ego = deflated.
After I ate my first couple meals with soft food, I got diarrhea. Later the nurse asked, "Is your poo poo same same?" Sadly, I knew exactly what whe meant.
During my last couple days in the hospital, the nurses stopped coming by, they often wouldn't come when I pressed the nurse button, and wouldn't give me simple things. At 6 o'clock in the morning, I requested Immodium and extra strangth Tylenol from a nurse. I waited, asked three more nurses, and waited some more. It took them 7 hours to produce the medication. I was miserable and uncomfortable. I asked a nurse to release me. She laughed and said, "Oh, you think you can go. You have diarrhea."
I explained the situation to a hospital liason, and she helped get me released and made reservations at a hostel for me. I took a taxi the 15 minute drive there. When I got in the car, I told him to put the taximeter on, but he said he didn't use it. He said, "How much you pay?" I laughed and said, "No, how much do you want? Tell me now, or I'm getting out of the car." He said, "250 baht." I said, " 200 baht." We haggled, but I got my price which I knew was fair. On the way, we chatted. When I told him I was from Arizona, he said, "Oh Arizona. John Wayne!" and sang the theme song. He asked how much I got paid to teach in Cambodia. When I told him, he laughed and said, "No! You kidding!" I said I wish I was and explained that it's a school for poor children. He went on about how nice that was. When I was getting out of the car and paid him, he actually gave me 20 baht back. Wow! That has never happened before.
I'm now staying at a little dive on Khao San Road. It has A.C., a private bathroom, and is fairly quiet. I am dining on water, electrolytes, and a plethora of pills for today. Tomorrow, I will venture onto soft foods.
No comments:
Post a Comment