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I guess I should explain my absence. Several times in my thread "More of Pattaya's Finest" I mentioned picking up a cough. And several well meaning friends told me they didn't like the sound of it with Steff in particular advising me I should go home.
"It's only a cough, I have been a lot sicker than that in Asia & I can treat it just as well here as I can back home" was my reply to him. The thought of abandoning my long break over something so minor seemed ridiculous.
However while I coped with the cough, my body wasn't coping with the infection that was causing it - a virulent form of bronchitis that was developing into PNEUMONIA.
I eventually had to go to hospital for treatment by which time they admitted me as I could no longer keep food or water down & I was literally out on my feet. I thought it would be for one night, I am now typing this from my room on my fifth day. Today I had the Penthouse deliver my laptop & everything else I thought I might need.
I had spoken to Donnykey who recommended getting an IV drip full of glucose & vitamins as a sure way to pick myself up. I had experience of these back home in Oz & I was tossing up last Saturday whether that might be the way to go. One look in the bathroom mirror convinced me that I had to take control of my now parlous health situation. And I hadn't had alcohol for the previous 10 days. I was trying to do the right thing.
The Thai doctor looked over my test results, blood, urine, X-Ray, etc & held out the clip that goes over a finger to give a percentage of Oxygen in the blood. That sealed my fate. "Who's the wheelchair for?" I asked when one arrived in her office.
"You, you can't walk anywhere. Your O2 levels are 85% & you are likely to faint at any moment" she said.
Now I have had over a dozen IV drip bags, I have 250ml of the antibiotic Avelox mainlined into me every day, 8 to 12 Nebulisers a day, steroid injections every few hours, X-Rays, god knows how many pills & tablets & I am still not free to leave.
I have learnt a lot about catching pneumonia, about the dangers of trying to self medicate, the strange experience of a Thai hospital & Thai staff. Thai ways indeed! Plus the lessons for everyone as to having adequate health cover when visiting LOS. My bill is somewhere around 150,000 baht & I expect it to go a lot higher before I leave.
I am not going to address all that I have learnt in this post but I am happy to answer any queries about my experience.
"It's only a cough, I have been a lot sicker than that in Asia & I can treat it just as well here as I can back home" was my reply to him. The thought of abandoning my long break over something so minor seemed ridiculous.
However while I coped with the cough, my body wasn't coping with the infection that was causing it - a virulent form of bronchitis that was developing into PNEUMONIA.
I eventually had to go to hospital for treatment by which time they admitted me as I could no longer keep food or water down & I was literally out on my feet. I thought it would be for one night, I am now typing this from my room on my fifth day. Today I had the Penthouse deliver my laptop & everything else I thought I might need.
I had spoken to Donnykey who recommended getting an IV drip full of glucose & vitamins as a sure way to pick myself up. I had experience of these back home in Oz & I was tossing up last Saturday whether that might be the way to go. One look in the bathroom mirror convinced me that I had to take control of my now parlous health situation. And I hadn't had alcohol for the previous 10 days. I was trying to do the right thing.
The Thai doctor looked over my test results, blood, urine, X-Ray, etc & held out the clip that goes over a finger to give a percentage of Oxygen in the blood. That sealed my fate. "Who's the wheelchair for?" I asked when one arrived in her office.
"You, you can't walk anywhere. Your O2 levels are 85% & you are likely to faint at any moment" she said.
Now I have had over a dozen IV drip bags, I have 250ml of the antibiotic Avelox mainlined into me every day, 8 to 12 Nebulisers a day, steroid injections every few hours, X-Rays, god knows how many pills & tablets & I am still not free to leave.
I have learnt a lot about catching pneumonia, about the dangers of trying to self medicate, the strange experience of a Thai hospital & Thai staff. Thai ways indeed! Plus the lessons for everyone as to having adequate health cover when visiting LOS. My bill is somewhere around 150,000 baht & I expect it to go a lot higher before I leave.
I am not going to address all that I have learnt in this post but I am happy to answer any queries about my experience.
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