in order to fully appreciate the following story i would strongly suggest that you locate a pair of willing hedgehogs, porcupines or echidnas. set them on fire. then place them at the far back of your mouth - making sure they inflict as much pain as possible. and then keep on reading.
so this update is one that was composed in my head as i spent almost a week in hospital. of course it was a brilliant masterpiece when i was loaded with drugs...and now a pathetic attempt to recapture that creativity i had in those sleepless nights.
my story begins last sunday morning. i was standing at the market watching some noodles getting cut for our dinner that night when i thought to myself...hmm...my tonsils feel a bit sore. nothing else was sore..i had just had my sunday morning bike ride with my friend shraps and life was good. i made pad thai that evening for guests and noticed that not only was my throat sore...but now also my legs...a sure sign that the shit had hit the fan so to speak.
next day i stayed in bed all day...fever, sore throat and aching legs. not nice...but doable. figured a day or two and i would be back to saving the world.
that night i found it really hard to swallow...by about three in the morning i realised that i was really not swallowing at all..by about four i was struggling for air. i woke steve up who amazingly was very quick to offer some hot tea. not only was the tea not really helping...my breathing was getting worse and i just wasnt getting enough air. steve got on the phone with insurance in australia...googled...did all the things that husbands do...but at this stage i was on the couch really needing oxygen! the problem being that kampot doesnt really have a medical service as such...phnom penh is almost four hours away.
i knew i needed medical help. i also knew that the closest hospital is four hours away. at that moment the idea of owning a fancy Lexus like other expats seemed like a perfect solution..in fact...in that moment of delirious daydreaming a luxury chopper with an oxygen tank and introverted nurse seemed like the perfect solution. but instead we had to settle for the neighbour who owns a rattly ute. steve called Any to come over to look after the kids....and off we went to the clinic in town. at this stage i felt as if i was fainting and going all floppy. the local clinic was thankfully clean...and..well...basic. they hooked me up to an iv though and then the doctor insisted that i didnt need oxygen but thankfully i was able to get some anyways and sure enough i felt myself coming back to life once i had some coming into my nose. according to the doc i would need to be transferred to phnom penh via ambulance. i dont travel well at the best of times...the thought of a four hour trip on a bumpy road was the last thing i needed....BUT...i had to admit...i was very very sick and needed some proper care. so steve called my friend emma who quickly jumped out of bed and joined us at the clinic.
the ambulance trip was something i hope i never have to repeat again. so incredible bumpy. possibly a good idea for a heart attack victim...shocking them back to life with each bump...but for me it was beyond distressing. i also had the sun coming through the window making my fever even more hot. i kept telling myself that most cambodians would be so grateful for this treatment and that i had nothing to complain about. that everything would be fine as long as i could survive the the next few hours.
we eventually got there..and i got lead into a private room and was greeted by the emergency doctor. i had barely laid down before they had hooked up a bag of antibiotics and got that flowing into my veins. i liked the doctor straight away. she reminded me of an aging ex KGB agent. early sixties. very beautiful. russian accent...and strong steely eyes. i knew i was in good hands. she was very impressed by my tonsils who by this stage were erupting inside my throat. according to her the abcesses were the size of half a thumb and angry as hell. and very little room around them for air to come through. as painful as it was i was relieved to know that i wasnt imagining any of this..
having emma there was fantastic. just the sort of friend to have around. positive, energetic and happy to do her own thing if i needed to just zone out for a while.
i was then transferred up to my room. dr. galina let me know that once i was up there i would be under the care of a local doctor but she would try to still visit me. well...the room was great...very big, comfortable and a tv etc. however...i very quickly realised that the rumours i had heard about cambodian doctors was in fact true. and very soon i would too be able to stand around at an expat gathering and share my own experiences of what cambodian doctors are like. thankfully dr. galina came to visit me a lot. we hit it off straight away and she told me about her life. born in belgium. but lived in ethiopia for the past 27 years. (two wars and four coup attempts later she feels more ethiopian than anything else). she came to cambodia in august but not a day goes by that she doesnt miss ethiopia ("i miss the food, the climate, my life there....it vould be paradise if it wasnt for the people".) her youngest daughter is adopted. she is 17 years old. was found alive in a completely burnt out village. no one else survived. the village was nepalmed and her left arm melted off. dr. galina nursed her back to life and realised that putting the little girl into an orphanage was the equivelant of putting her in a rubbish bin. so she came to live with them...and she still doesnt know she is adopted. convinced that she is a black skinned belgian. speaks seven languages fluently ("if nothing else i gave her that") and now living in cambodia with her mother.
i loved my little chats with dr. galina. and i think she enjoyed talking to me. i also trusted her with my medical care....something i cant say about the local doctor. i hardly saw him...but when i did he entered my room like some sort of royalty. sat on the couch looking through my files without any eyecontact. he brought with him another doctor who could translate. the first encounter lasted about 30 sec. the second time i saw him it was the same thing. big entrance. his ego nearly didnt fit through the door. a few questions through the translator that didnt have anything to do with the actual ailment. very arrogant. very pompeous. until he asked me about any previous surgeries. i mentioned that i had a breast reduction many years ago.....and all of a sudden this very serious man bursts out laughing...couldnt stop...and then the other doctor joins him. they are laughing so hard their eyes are tearing up. between the laughter and then tears they are obviously saying some incredibly funny things to eachother because they keep exploding into another round of giggles and laughs. im lying there in my bed...its seven in the morning..and watching these two doctors acting like 13 year old boys. i finally get the translators attention and say to him that he doesnt need to translate what they are saying. id rather not know. he keeps on laughing...they are on a roll. i remind him again...and the laughter continues. it finally settles down and the translator wipes his eyes and starts translating their comments. im like "hello"...what part of dont translate dont you understand.
long story..but in a nutshell i didnt like the local doctor having me take so many different drugs...some of them really toying with my head...i also didnt like that i couldnt question him as to why i was having to take them...the manager of the hospital came to chat with me about dr. galina not being allowed to really care for people on the ward i was on...but when i mentioned what happened the day before with the doctors...the manager very quickly decided to make an exception to the rule and from then on i never had to see the local doctor again and was totally under the care of dr. galina...
i was so aware when i was in hospital that i was in one of the best hospitals in cambodia..and that it was such a luxury...and that i really needed to be grateful. but i sure had my moments when i had to question the treatment i was getting. like when they sent me for a gyno check up in the ophthamology ward!! very weird having my female plumbing excavated while surrounded by eye quipment and eye charts that belong in museums. and not to mention arriving in hospital with a tonsil infection and leaving with an infected uterus!
there are so many things to mention. things like nurses here getting paid $150 a month for six days a week work and very very long shifts, but always smiling and helpful. or the ambulance driver who is on call 24/7 and gets $135 a month. and how great it was to be looked after not only by emma..but also by kate and sally....all new friends here..but what a difference it makes to have people who stop by with books or magazines. that once again i could leave the family for almost a week and steve completely holds the fort. all the kids are happy, well fed, somewhat dirty...but totally looked after and dont seem to have missed out on anything in my absence. it says a lot about steve and his 'can do' attitude when it comes to the domestic. something im very grateful about.
im back home now with strict doctors orders to take it very easy. that the tonsils flared up because of stress. she wants me to take it very very easy and not do everything i was doing leading up to getting sick. no more chilled water. no more barefeet in the house. lots of vegetables and fruit....and no more saving the world. hmmmm......
so this update is one that was composed in my head as i spent almost a week in hospital. of course it was a brilliant masterpiece when i was loaded with drugs...and now a pathetic attempt to recapture that creativity i had in those sleepless nights.
my story begins last sunday morning. i was standing at the market watching some noodles getting cut for our dinner that night when i thought to myself...hmm...my tonsils feel a bit sore. nothing else was sore..i had just had my sunday morning bike ride with my friend shraps and life was good. i made pad thai that evening for guests and noticed that not only was my throat sore...but now also my legs...a sure sign that the shit had hit the fan so to speak.
next day i stayed in bed all day...fever, sore throat and aching legs. not nice...but doable. figured a day or two and i would be back to saving the world.
that night i found it really hard to swallow...by about three in the morning i realised that i was really not swallowing at all..by about four i was struggling for air. i woke steve up who amazingly was very quick to offer some hot tea. not only was the tea not really helping...my breathing was getting worse and i just wasnt getting enough air. steve got on the phone with insurance in australia...googled...did all the things that husbands do...but at this stage i was on the couch really needing oxygen! the problem being that kampot doesnt really have a medical service as such...phnom penh is almost four hours away.
i knew i needed medical help. i also knew that the closest hospital is four hours away. at that moment the idea of owning a fancy Lexus like other expats seemed like a perfect solution..in fact...in that moment of delirious daydreaming a luxury chopper with an oxygen tank and introverted nurse seemed like the perfect solution. but instead we had to settle for the neighbour who owns a rattly ute. steve called Any to come over to look after the kids....and off we went to the clinic in town. at this stage i felt as if i was fainting and going all floppy. the local clinic was thankfully clean...and..well...basic. they hooked me up to an iv though and then the doctor insisted that i didnt need oxygen but thankfully i was able to get some anyways and sure enough i felt myself coming back to life once i had some coming into my nose. according to the doc i would need to be transferred to phnom penh via ambulance. i dont travel well at the best of times...the thought of a four hour trip on a bumpy road was the last thing i needed....BUT...i had to admit...i was very very sick and needed some proper care. so steve called my friend emma who quickly jumped out of bed and joined us at the clinic.
the ambulance trip was something i hope i never have to repeat again. so incredible bumpy. possibly a good idea for a heart attack victim...shocking them back to life with each bump...but for me it was beyond distressing. i also had the sun coming through the window making my fever even more hot. i kept telling myself that most cambodians would be so grateful for this treatment and that i had nothing to complain about. that everything would be fine as long as i could survive the the next few hours.
we eventually got there..and i got lead into a private room and was greeted by the emergency doctor. i had barely laid down before they had hooked up a bag of antibiotics and got that flowing into my veins. i liked the doctor straight away. she reminded me of an aging ex KGB agent. early sixties. very beautiful. russian accent...and strong steely eyes. i knew i was in good hands. she was very impressed by my tonsils who by this stage were erupting inside my throat. according to her the abcesses were the size of half a thumb and angry as hell. and very little room around them for air to come through. as painful as it was i was relieved to know that i wasnt imagining any of this..
having emma there was fantastic. just the sort of friend to have around. positive, energetic and happy to do her own thing if i needed to just zone out for a while.
i was then transferred up to my room. dr. galina let me know that once i was up there i would be under the care of a local doctor but she would try to still visit me. well...the room was great...very big, comfortable and a tv etc. however...i very quickly realised that the rumours i had heard about cambodian doctors was in fact true. and very soon i would too be able to stand around at an expat gathering and share my own experiences of what cambodian doctors are like. thankfully dr. galina came to visit me a lot. we hit it off straight away and she told me about her life. born in belgium. but lived in ethiopia for the past 27 years. (two wars and four coup attempts later she feels more ethiopian than anything else). she came to cambodia in august but not a day goes by that she doesnt miss ethiopia ("i miss the food, the climate, my life there....it vould be paradise if it wasnt for the people".) her youngest daughter is adopted. she is 17 years old. was found alive in a completely burnt out village. no one else survived. the village was nepalmed and her left arm melted off. dr. galina nursed her back to life and realised that putting the little girl into an orphanage was the equivelant of putting her in a rubbish bin. so she came to live with them...and she still doesnt know she is adopted. convinced that she is a black skinned belgian. speaks seven languages fluently ("if nothing else i gave her that") and now living in cambodia with her mother.
i loved my little chats with dr. galina. and i think she enjoyed talking to me. i also trusted her with my medical care....something i cant say about the local doctor. i hardly saw him...but when i did he entered my room like some sort of royalty. sat on the couch looking through my files without any eyecontact. he brought with him another doctor who could translate. the first encounter lasted about 30 sec. the second time i saw him it was the same thing. big entrance. his ego nearly didnt fit through the door. a few questions through the translator that didnt have anything to do with the actual ailment. very arrogant. very pompeous. until he asked me about any previous surgeries. i mentioned that i had a breast reduction many years ago.....and all of a sudden this very serious man bursts out laughing...couldnt stop...and then the other doctor joins him. they are laughing so hard their eyes are tearing up. between the laughter and then tears they are obviously saying some incredibly funny things to eachother because they keep exploding into another round of giggles and laughs. im lying there in my bed...its seven in the morning..and watching these two doctors acting like 13 year old boys. i finally get the translators attention and say to him that he doesnt need to translate what they are saying. id rather not know. he keeps on laughing...they are on a roll. i remind him again...and the laughter continues. it finally settles down and the translator wipes his eyes and starts translating their comments. im like "hello"...what part of dont translate dont you understand.
long story..but in a nutshell i didnt like the local doctor having me take so many different drugs...some of them really toying with my head...i also didnt like that i couldnt question him as to why i was having to take them...the manager of the hospital came to chat with me about dr. galina not being allowed to really care for people on the ward i was on...but when i mentioned what happened the day before with the doctors...the manager very quickly decided to make an exception to the rule and from then on i never had to see the local doctor again and was totally under the care of dr. galina...
i was so aware when i was in hospital that i was in one of the best hospitals in cambodia..and that it was such a luxury...and that i really needed to be grateful. but i sure had my moments when i had to question the treatment i was getting. like when they sent me for a gyno check up in the ophthamology ward!! very weird having my female plumbing excavated while surrounded by eye quipment and eye charts that belong in museums. and not to mention arriving in hospital with a tonsil infection and leaving with an infected uterus!
there are so many things to mention. things like nurses here getting paid $150 a month for six days a week work and very very long shifts, but always smiling and helpful. or the ambulance driver who is on call 24/7 and gets $135 a month. and how great it was to be looked after not only by emma..but also by kate and sally....all new friends here..but what a difference it makes to have people who stop by with books or magazines. that once again i could leave the family for almost a week and steve completely holds the fort. all the kids are happy, well fed, somewhat dirty...but totally looked after and dont seem to have missed out on anything in my absence. it says a lot about steve and his 'can do' attitude when it comes to the domestic. something im very grateful about.
im back home now with strict doctors orders to take it very easy. that the tonsils flared up because of stress. she wants me to take it very very easy and not do everything i was doing leading up to getting sick. no more chilled water. no more barefeet in the house. lots of vegetables and fruit....and no more saving the world. hmmmm......
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