Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
The overnight trains in Thailand are set out like any other with rows of seats along each side of the cabin. At 8pm the seats are slid together to create a bottom bunk and a bed is folded down from the roof to create a top bunk. The bottom bunk is by far the better option as it is longer, wider and a lot darker. As we booked the last two beds on the train we both had to settle for top bunks.
Our beds were directly under an air-conditioning vent and as a result I spent the night absolutely freezing. At one point I even had five sheets on top of me but could still not sleep and became more and more frustrated and uncomfortable. Eventually the thirteen hour trip came to an end and I'd only been lucky enough to fall asleep for a couple of hours.
Next we had a two hour ferry crossing to the island and I felt extremely rough on this. I had very little energy, was sweating profusely and my bones ached intensely. I spent the next two days like this, spending the days mostly in bed whilst Mandy hung around the pool. One minute I was really hot, the next really cold and I suffered from terrible headaches. I put all these symptoms down to the chill I thought I had caught from the air-conditioning.
I desperately wanted to get better as we had already met up with Kate, Evan and Courtney, and the other guys would soon be arriving. On the Saturday night I thought I felt fine enough to go out for a meal with Kate, her new group, as well as Courtney and Evan. We ate at a restaurant on the beach but I had little appetite and as the night wore on I started to feel worse (incidentally whilst eating our meal a gibbon which had escaped from its owner- who charges people to have their picture taken with it- and ran across our table causing havoc throughout the restaurant! We hoped it would dash to freedom but it soon got caught). As we left Courtney told us about a hospital just up the road and persuaded us to go.
I went into the hospital and told them I thought I had caught a chill from the train. As the hospital was not busy I immediately saw the doctor who ran some minor tests (blood pressure, heart rate, etc) and enquired about the areas in which we had previously traveled. She then told me I needed to provide a blood and urine sample as she suspected I had caught either malaria or dengue fever from northern Thailand. As you can imagine the 45 minutes I spent waiting for the results were pretty scary. I had heard about dengue fever before we came away, knew it was a tropical disease, but little else. Malaria on the other hand I knew a lot about and I prayed I had had not caught it.
The doctor came back and informed me I had contracted dengue fever. She believed I had caught the disease in or around Chiang Mai. I had caught it from a mosquito and had had it for at least ten days before the fever had come to fruition. I was immediately put on an IV and wheel chaired to my room. As there is no cure for dengue fever I would have to let my body fight it and this usually takes about seven to ten days.
As it was I ended up staying in hospital for six nights. The first three nights, when the fever was at its peak, were almost unbearable. I was up most of the night with temperatures of almost 40 degrees and when I did fall asleep I had terrible nightmares and always woke up soaked in sweat. My entire body ached so much at times I could not even get out of bed. I had absolutely no appetite but whenever I forced myself to eat I almost immediately threw it back up. The nurses then started to give me anti-nausea injections but these had separate side effects and so I stopped having them. As a result I did not really eat for five days, lost over half a stone, and was very weak.
My time in hospital was made so much easier as a result of three factors. Firstly Mandy was an absolute angel. The hospital room had a spare bed so she stayed every night taking care of me endlessly. She even let me sleep in the 'family members' bed rather than the uncomfortable and awkward 'patients' bed! I really think she would make a great nurse as she was extremely caring and constantly reassuring. She did not complain once about the dodgy hospital food, although one night she did get a burger king delivered!
The second reason was Courtney and Evan. They visited me every single day, morning and evening. The brought me lots of supplies and really kept my spirits up. They were also great to Mandy, taking her out for dinner, letting her use their 5-star swimming pool and Evan would often sit and talk to me whilst Courtney and Mandy went out to the shops. Evan and Chris (who along with Lucy and Natasha visited) also won me two teddy bears at a fair which the nurses loved!
The nurses were the final reason. They were fantastic. Although not all of them were fluent in English (and obviously I'm useless at Thai!) communication was never a problem as their kindness, sincerity and enthusiasm shone through. They always kept me informed with the pills I was taking and injections I was given and no matter what time of night I pressed the buzzer they would be at my bedside in a flash. They continually tried to make me laugh when they could see I was down and badgered me when I did not eat dinner.
On the sixth day after a thorough examination from the doctor I was well enough to leave the hospital. I must return in two days and if my blood count had reached a certain level I would be able to leave Koh Samui to continue traveling. Although we were both relieved to be leaving the hospital Mandy had to say an emotional farewell to her new best friend…Turtle.
Turtle was a black kitten who lived on the hospital grounds that Mandy fed and played with everyday. He was named by Evan after the now infamous turtle incident in Sukhothai. Mandy fell in love with him as he kept her company throughout the day whilst I slept. She cried her eyes out she left him and seriously thought about seeing if she could send him home (she says if it was not for Alice she would have)!
The next two days I spent either in bed or around the pool as I tried to get energy back. My appetite had returned and I started to eat again (one night when we went to a beach side restaurant we saw a massive jellyfish washed up on the shore). As a result of the extended stay in hospital our visa was soon to run out. To extend our visa we had to travel to the other side of the island to the immigration office. We got a taxi there and our driver offered to wait for us thinking we would only be a short while. Two hours later we emerged from the office with our visas extended expecting the taxi to be long gone. However our driver was still patiently waiting and did not even charge us for the displeasure. A courteous taxi driver is a hidden gem in Samui and this one even returned the map we left on the back seat when he noticed it after we had left!
By now our original tour guide Pete was back in Samui and we went out with her new group on a number of occasions. I returned to the hospital and as my blood count was rising I was given the all clear to carry on to our next destination. Before leaving Samui we took a trip to Koh Tao with Pete and her group.
When we arrived in Samui for the second time we had envisaged staying a few nights and then moving on to Koh Tao where I could do an open water diving course very cheaply. Unfortunately getting ill put pave to this idea but at least I got to visit Koh Tao and spend the day snorkeling. Koh Tao is a wonderfully picturesque island with unique rock formations, lush forests, sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. I spent the morning snorkeling whilst Mandy went to the beach and climbed up a hill to a viewpoint. The snorkeling was good, with great coral and lost of marine life including parrot fish, angel fish and star fish. I had to snorkel with a life jacket as I still did not have the energy to swim a great deal (it took about 10-14 days before I was back to 100%). In the afternoon Mandy and I snorkeled together but I got really tired and so did not see as much as I did in the morning session. Koh Tao is renowned for its colony of hawsbill and green turtles but unfortunately we did not see any. Our time would soon come!
- comments