Bangkok Hospital

Now that's probably not the title of a post you want to hear!  And no, the hospital isn't in Bangkok - it's a branch of the hospital here in Chan. 

Having had a lovely time at La Luna on Tuesday, Wednesday saw me with my foot up - I'm not sure the walk there did it any good.  Anyway, you may recall that Mr John plays football on a Wednesday so off he went whilst I enjoyed some quiet time.

A few hours later, and slightly earlier than expected, he was home.  He clumped into the house with the announcement that he'd actually only played two minutes!  His feet got tangled with someone else, there was a crack and he went down. 

It was a miracle really that he could ride home but when Mr John is determined, he's really determined.  The guys had organised ice for him and after a bit he got his foot into his desert boots and rode home.  It didn't look too bad when he took his boot off but about two hours later we started thinking a trip to the hospital might be a good idea.

Kob to the rescue!  Yes our mate Kob (I seriously don't know what we'd do without him) came on Thursday morning and took us up to Bangkok Hospital.  It's a private hospital and only about 10 minutes from our house.  Kob picked us about 09:30 and we were all back at the house before midday.  I reckon that's pretty good because in that time Mr John was x-rayed, saw the doctor, was taught how to use crutches particularly up and down stairs, was fitted with said crutches, received pain killers and pain relief cream.  Not only that but the hospital has translators that stay with you during the whole process. 

The good news is that nothing is broken - it's a sprained ligament.  He will definitely be on crutches until next Thursday, when he sees the doctor again, and depending on the healing process, may need another week.  As the days have gone on the bruising is really coming out (his foot looks like he hasn't washed it in six months).

The whole thing, had we not had insurance, would have cost 3250 baht - that's roughly GBP£65 / AUD$111.  When we arrived here Mr John opened a bank account and it includes 10,000 baht medical insurance, he also has insurance through the school and we have joint world-wide cover so in the end it cost us 720 baht for the crutches (roughly GBP£14 / AUD$25) and we used the bank insurance in this instance.  So here's my advice - make sure you have some sort of cover if you're intending to live anywhere abroad for any length of time. Our cover gives a reverse charges emergency phone number for the UK so you can get help any time and they will deal direct with the hospital if required.  Ours is through World Nomads but of course other companies are available!

So it's been quite a few days with me "running" around after Mr John.  Bless him, it takes so long to get anything done, going to the loo, getting dressed.  We are very fortunate to have such a lovely circle of friends as coffee and cake has been delivered, gifts of fruit and biscuits received and a small Tesco shop done for us.  I'm not sure they all understand how grateful and appreciative we are of these things.

And just in case you're wondering about me, I'm healing fine and hoping to get back on the bike today.  The main issue has been because of the cut on my thumb, I've had trouble gripping things so riding has been out of the question.  Going stir crazy being stuck in the house has been the biggest issue!