Immobilised at Cavelodge
I had an unfortunate accident a couple of days ago, I was out walking with Kate and slipped awkward on the road and fell with a jolt, hitting my leg and knee, I went to the local hospital which was absolutely wonderful and they x-rayed my leg near the tibia and fibula and said they couldn’t see a fracture or anything to be concerned about, they bandaged it for me advised RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and sent me on my way.
I was still feeling a lot of pain but thought it would die down by the morning, unfortunately it got worse in the night and my knee was very swollen in the morning, so Julie and Marcus who have been so wonderful to me since this happened took me back to the hospital in Soppong for them to x ray my knee, by this time the pain was tremendous, I couldn’t put any weight on it at all.
The hospital in Soppong mainly serves the tribal villages but they dealt with me very quickly, in fact they went out of their way to ensure my suffering was minimal.
I had another x-ray to check for dislocation but they couldn’t find anything apart from damaged ligaments. Because of the huge swelling they gave me local anaesthetic and extracted quite a bit of blood from the knee, this relieved the pressure and pain immediately but I was also anaesthetised so couldn’t feel any pain, they bandaged my knee with huge pieces of wadding and added a plaster splint to keep my knee in the same position.
They gave me strong painkillers to go home with and told me to keep it elevated as much as I can and gave me some crutches to use so I don’t need to put my weight on it at all, they were so wonderful, showing me exactly how to use the crutches, giving me physio advice and having a general chat with me before I left.
Julie and Marcus stayed with me the whole time and their support was invaluable, they are like my second family and I am honoured to know them, I truly felt so supported, Julie speaks Thai so could converse with the doctors for me and Marcus carried my backpack everywhere and wheeled me in the wheelchair, they also drove me down from Cavelodge.
When I got back to Cavelodge, I went for a lie down because I hadn’t slept at all last night, and by the time I woke Julie and Marcus had arranged for me to have a better room which didn’t have so many steps and they moved me to it straight away.
I have never had such a bad injury before so have never had to rely on others, it is very frustrating but nothing is too much trouble for Julie, I feel so at home here, at times like this you really need your family and yearn for their touch and comfort, but Julie and Marcus were definitely the next best thing.
I feel truly honoured to have met these people I will be friends with them forever and all the staff at Cavelodge have gone out of their way to help me, these people have made a firm imprint on my life that will never shift.
Sadly it has curbed a lot of my plans for caving and hiking for the time being, I was hoping that by next week when I get the splint removed I will be recovering well and be able to consider at least kayaking through the caves, you can’t come to Cavelodge and not explore the caves. Unfortunately I have learned today that it will take a long time to recover from torn ligaments and I will need an MRI scan to determine the extent of injury, in certain circumstances they can do a minor operation to correct the ligaments, but it still takes months of recuperation. Then to top it all, I fell off my crutches down the steps to my room and cut my arm and suffered more bruises! OUCH!! LOL! It doesn’t rain but it pours.
There is so much to see apart from the caves here, but I will just have to change plans. I will get the chance to learn to speak Thai, it is a relatively easy language and I have already made a start; Kor kow pat sai gai sai pak noy ka which means can I have chicken and rice with vegetables please, my favourite dish here, they cook it fresh to order with vegetables they grow themselves.
For the time being I will do some blog posts on places I have been before with the children, friends and family members, as it’s a travel blog, it will be nice to reminisce anyway. Gutted, I can’t do much but that’s life I suppose, it could be worse!!!!
I am lying on my bed in my new room with the slatted windows open, with mosquito mesh to protect me, listening to the jungle sounds outside, if it wasn’t for the pain it would be bliss!!
I am in the process of negotiating with my insurance company on what is best for me to do!!!