In Hospital with Pneumonia!

[PigDogg]

(pacman @ Sep. 22 2010,19:16) But the power of music is never underestimated

Then Dr Pigg recommends u recueperate at EZY Bar Khun Paccers!

[Snick]

Get well soon, don't want to miss Rockfest on Saturday

[pacman]

(Jake_Sully @ Sep. 23 2010,10:51) Ack! Apologies. Try this Direct Link that I uploaded for you.

Thanks for that Jake. I appreciate the trouble though I wasn't won over by anything that Yanni added to the original. In fact it was a bit of a travesty, so much for my sense of gratitude...      

But top marks for giving a damn & you did redeem yourself with this:

And I don't know where to put Hendrix. He's in a class by himself.

Agreed. Another artist who died too young. Jimi & Wolfgang, where else do you get them mentioned in the same breath?

[pacman]

(El_hefe @ Sep. 23 2010,12:49) Pacman, take care of yourself & don't overestimate your strength when you get bored out of your mind there, at least you have a computer. This is similar to the thread a while back where I talked about getting a respiratory infection in India & self medicating it in Thailand & just flying home instead of going to the hospital. I was lucky & you were smarter, it took me 3+ weeks to get my old self back.

I still self-medicated & it was only when I realised that I was in trouble that I stopped kidding myself.

I picked up a cough in the first few weeks of arriving. I knew that if I developed secondary infection then I would need some heavy duty antibiotics, something I wanted to avoid. I asked at the Pharmacy what options I had, they sold me NAC 100, a German product that effectively dried me out. If my sinuses were dry then I would be free of cough. Brilliant & that was exactly how it worked.

However, I refused to acknowledge that I was getting run down & tired, my eyesight noticeably deteriorated & I was running a bit of a temperature. These were surely all from more drinking & late nights then I would otherwise do.

One visit to the very cold movie theatre at the Central Festival & my core temperature dropped enough for the cough to come screaming back. From then on I went from bad to worse. I visited this hospital, started on antibiotics but I was going backwards at a fast rate. In the last week before I accepted the inevitable I could not keep food or water down. I would cough till I gagged & I was shocked to see I lost 8kgs in weight.

But I didn't feel all that bad, it was a slow process that I kept compensating for so when Steff told me to fly home to Oz, I was quite irritated at the thought. I will be far more proactive should I ever go through this again. I hope to save some others with my warning, don't dismiss a simple cough or cold.

And walking around in the rain before settling into an airconditioned bar is a recipe for disaster. A cheap umbrella is worth having plus every 7-11 sells a plastic poncho that will keep you dry for 29 baht. Compared to the cost of this hospital treatment at around $1000 per day, that has to be a bargain.

[Road Runner]

Re. travel insurance.

When worked in the travel industry I the UK I found there was a company that provides reduced cost travel insurance right across the industry.
With them I was paying £30/year (allowing 6 months out of the UK) when the average cover was £70/year the 'year' being a maximum of 3 months out of the UK. Some travel agents were charging £70 for two weeks.

If you work in a large company or a widespread industry like the airlines there may be a similar scheme.
But as I found you had to know the right questions to ask before you got any answers.

RR.

[jimslim]

Paccers makes a fair point on Travel Insurance , always be straight with them and tell the truth when booking a policy , don't cut corners to save money .

Any type of insurance is a profit making business for those who sell it and like any business they love to get your money in but are not too keen to pay it out .

I've heard hundreds of stories of insurance firms trying to weasel out of paying out on some obscure technicality .

Can't wait to see you naked in that plastic poncho Paccers , get well soon

[Ninewives]

Are you still in hospital Pacman?

First - she waiting for you............

[johnnydiver]

Go God Man! What ever they say to do do it! I cannot think of life without your wit and wisdom! Ok, so that's a little heavy! Just get better so we can have a beer or two!

[pacman]

   Sitting here at 5.30 in the morning unable to sleep because my lower back is spasming so badly, I am greatly cheered up with your generous comments Johnny.

I look forward to that beer.      

PS: God Man? You mean Good Man, surely?

[deepthroat]

I think he was actually trying to say "Go Go Man" as in "dance for us Paccers"!

[pacman]

   Good? God? Go Go?

Perhaps Johnny was referring to Godot? I would rather be waiting than dancing...      

[Guest]

Awful news Paccer's and thank you for so eloquently explaining the tale of events as they unfolded.
But much more important than anything......I am happy to read that you are on the road to full recovery.

[pacman]

After 7 days of intense medical intervention, I left hospital this afternoon. I won't be at full strength for a few days but I couldn't see any benefit in staying longer. My lungs were finally clear, I could not continue taking the huge IV drips of antibiotics & any further medication I can do just as easily at the hotel as I could at the hospital.

I didn't walk out in an impatient fit in case anyone is wondering, I discussed it with my doctor & promised to return if I had a relapse. Plus we talked about the value of getting out into the fresh air for some light exercise.

Seven days after arriving I am free. The past two days saw dramatic improvement & if it was up to me I would have left yesterday. I am happy I didn't though, better to be safe than sorry. I did leave with two bags of medication though, 13 different items to take...

And the final cost? Only 159,433.50 baht, around a thousand Aussie dollars per day. And you still think you don't need Travel Insurance?

[Steff]

I am happy to hear you are feeling better and have been released from the hospital. Please keep the exercise "light" I am not so sure about the "fresh air" in your neighbourhood though. Ditto for your room.

In any event, take care of yourself and let us know how things evolve.

Steff

[pacman]

   I walked a few blocks along Beach Road this afternoon & felt fine. I can't do much more, I have to brace myself just to step onto the curb such is the muscle spasm I have in my back.

As for the air in my room, it's fine. The people at the Penthouse have been fantastic & have given the filter in the airconditioning the full treatment, along with the bathroom that has been gone over for any trace of mould, dirt, etc. My room wasn't dirty in the first place but I requested a complete scrub down as I am now vulnerable to fungal attack.

I can only take steps where I can but the effort to make my room safe was very much appreciated. Now if I can only get the bars to obey the no smoking law...