Medical emergency
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- Category: Blog Friday - Steve
We have had the first real medical emergency of our trip; Dickon’s foot got caught in the spokes of a bike, resulting in a very nasty graze. Victoria and Dickon had a lengthy visit to Thai A&E, which was apparently extremely efficient, but not something you really want to spend your afternoon doing.
After the nasty shock of it all, the patient is doing well. We got a cheap push-chair to wheel him around in, which he loves. He was never very keen on walking and I fear there may be a lengthy process of rehabilitation.
We are now reflecting on how accustomed we have become to Asia’s more relaxed approaches to Health and Safely. We have travelled on a huge range of transport, most of which would have been condemned in the UK. This is not to say we are reckless (honestly, if any grandparents are reading we are not). Hire shops look in bemusement at us as we refuse the offers of scooters and motor-bikes – “but why would not you want to take you family of five out on this – it does not matter you’ve never had a lesson on it – no-one else has either!”
Guiltily we reflect on the various times they could have been stomped on by elephants, fallen off trucks or been stuck on sinking wooden ferries with no signs of a life-jacket. Dickon had been perched on the back of the bike, no child seat or helmet was even offered (or indeed available). Frankly if we had stuck to our London H&S standards we may rarely have left the hotel room and joined the billions of Asians who live their lives happily like this.
We are, of course, greatly relieved that the accident was not a lot worse, that bar this and a trip to a Saigon dentist we have got through the last eight months pretty unharmed (touch wood).
