It is becoming a family tradition. My turn this time, tripped on a step this afternoon straight into an old fashioned security grill hidden by a curtain on a landing. Very unlucky, fell forward just a little too far and hard. Blood everywhere, head wounds bleed a lot. Nasty deep imprint wound about two inches long like the mark of Zoro on my forehead. My glasses filled with blood like in the goggles scene in the Battle of Britain.
Miraculously no blood on my clothes so I was able to walk back to apartment with some dignity, covering the wound with a folded towel. I got pressure on the wound quickly and stopped the bleeding. Family members were giving me attitude so I just showed them the wound and they went quiet. It was a straight to the hospital job, I knew that much. I'd had a look at it myself in a mirror at the accident site.
The good news is this is Thailand so had a good idea which hospital to go to, straight into a wheelchair from the taxi, wheeled straight into the ER and laid out on a bed. The doctor is there immediately and three nurses start prepping. Within 5 minutes he is irrigating the wound and preparing to stitch it up. An hour later its done, tetanus needle administered. 30 stitches, 4 internal, 26 external.
After I noticed a big pool of blood on the pillow but I'm sitting up and okay. We decide to get an X-ray done just in case, wheeled off to X-ray, wait five minutes and the X-ray is back. Short consultation with the doctor about signs of concussion, off to pharmacy and billing. A sign says if you aren't called within 15 minutes please speak to them. In our case it was five or ten minutes.
Total cost 5,300 baht - about $175
The whole episode including return home took less than 3 hours, the injury was just after 3pm, we got to the hospital at about 3.30pm, stitches done by 4.30pm, X-rays by 5pm, billing and pharmacy by 5.30pm, home before 6pm, then out for dinner with friends. When I fall off the bike I like to get straight back on
Back tommorrow and Wednesday for replacement dressings. We fly out Thursday. A bit of a headache but I'm okay.
If it was Australia I would still be waiting for treatment if I went to a public hospital.
Miraculously no blood on my clothes so I was able to walk back to apartment with some dignity, covering the wound with a folded towel. I got pressure on the wound quickly and stopped the bleeding. Family members were giving me attitude so I just showed them the wound and they went quiet. It was a straight to the hospital job, I knew that much. I'd had a look at it myself in a mirror at the accident site.
The good news is this is Thailand so had a good idea which hospital to go to, straight into a wheelchair from the taxi, wheeled straight into the ER and laid out on a bed. The doctor is there immediately and three nurses start prepping. Within 5 minutes he is irrigating the wound and preparing to stitch it up. An hour later its done, tetanus needle administered. 30 stitches, 4 internal, 26 external.
After I noticed a big pool of blood on the pillow but I'm sitting up and okay. We decide to get an X-ray done just in case, wheeled off to X-ray, wait five minutes and the X-ray is back. Short consultation with the doctor about signs of concussion, off to pharmacy and billing. A sign says if you aren't called within 15 minutes please speak to them. In our case it was five or ten minutes.
Total cost 5,300 baht - about $175
The whole episode including return home took less than 3 hours, the injury was just after 3pm, we got to the hospital at about 3.30pm, stitches done by 4.30pm, X-rays by 5pm, billing and pharmacy by 5.30pm, home before 6pm, then out for dinner with friends. When I fall off the bike I like to get straight back on

Back tommorrow and Wednesday for replacement dressings. We fly out Thursday. A bit of a headache but I'm okay.
If it was Australia I would still be waiting for treatment if I went to a public hospital.
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