A Night in a Thai Hospital

For all of you who said you didn't think I would last a month without landing myself in the Hospital, well you were right. Tuesday started off like any other day. I went to language class in the morning then to the post office to mail my niece a present, and then to the market for some fried bananas. On the way back to class for the afternoon I was riding my bike and my front wheel went of the road into a whole. Next thing I know I am flipping over the handlebars and my head smashes onto the pavement. Fortunately, I was wearing a helmet that I had just tightened so it fit perfectly. Unfortunately I was all by myself and couldn't even standup. Within minutes I am surrounded by about 15 Thais and am laid down on a bed and have smelling salts under my nose. Then seconds later Peace Corps arrives and whisks me off to the Hospital. The ER is quite small and my bed is right next to a little boy screaming at the top of his lungs. The doctors stab me in the butt with some needles (which is a first for me) and slather my cuts with iodine. The pediatrician spoke english and could communicate with me so I had him instead of the regular doctor. I ended up spending the day/night in the ICU for observation. None of the nurses spoke english so it was very confusing. They gave me XXL scrubs (probably what they consider American size) and the first time I stand up to go to the bathroom my pants are at my ankles. I think they really enjoyed seeing an American butt. They also spent a long time trying to say my name and cracking up over how strange it sounded. On a positive note, I got a grilled cheese during my hospital stay, and cheese is very rare in Thailand. My host sister and mother came to the hospital right when they found out about my accident and were crying and very concerned about me. My sister ended up staying over night with me and even took the next day off from work to take care of me. It turns out that I had a concussion, sprained neck, bruised pelvis, small abrasions, and possibly a fractured coccyx. My bike was shipped to bangkok for repair (hopefully). I missed a lot of training but was able to go to language class and a little bit of technical training today. I am still very uncomfortable but grateful that I didn't have any other injuries. The Peace Corps has been very helpful arranging transportation and helping me out with everything. The PC doctor calls me a few times a day to check in and ask how I am doing. I did get to learn a lot about Thai hospitals from this visit! Hopefully I won't be returning to one anytime soon...