We
have just returned from an emergency trip to Bumrungrad hospital in Bangkok,
Thailand, only one hour away. I had some pain and swelling in my left calf.
Being a male, I treated it with benign neglect, for about 3 weeks, thinking it
was a muscle strain or something that would resolve by itself. My wise bride
asked a friend, who is a nurse from Australia, her opinion. She came over,
examined the leg, asked a few questions, and said it could be a deep vein
thrombosis. Another friend, a nurse from the Philippines, came to the same
conclusion. The only western trained doctor in town was back in the U.K. doing
his recertification, so off to Thailand it was.
A
deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot in the major leg vein. The danger is that
a chunk will come loose, get sucked up through the heart, and pumped in to the
pulmonary artery causing a pulmonary embolism. This is quickly fatal in about
25% of cases. Both nurses said I needed a Doppler ultrasound test, possibly
followed by dye injection into my femoral artery and x-rays. We don’t have any
of that in Cambodia. They both said to go to Bangkok a.s.a.p.
Bumrungrad
International is a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand which treats medical tourists from around
the world. It’s interesting and fun just seeing all the people in various
outfits and speaking dozens of languages. One report I saw called it the #9
hospital in the world, ranked ahead of Cedars-Sinai, in Los Angeles. All the
treatment we have ever received there has been up to snuff, or better, and it’s
one hour away by air. The hematologist told us that they are the referral
hospital for the hard cases. They have to be good!
The
tests revealed the presence of many clots in several of my veins, but not the
big one. Praise God! They gave me an immediate injection of a clot dissolving
drug and put me on four other clot dissolvers and blood thinners. The lab drew
15 vials of blood to test for any reason they can find that I could be
predisposed to this condition. I am scheduled for another trip in September to
re-test and find out the hematologist’s report. I’m guessing that I’ll be on
blood thinners for the rest of my physical life.
So
what’s good about this? This is the same question Joseph asked when he was in Pharaoh's
dungeon. If I am genetically predisposed to this clotting, they will most
likely be able to put me on pills which will protect me from further
occurrences. I’m getting world class care from an excellent hospital, at prices
which are unbelievably low. If Father God decides to send us somewhere else in
the world, I’ll know what my condition is and how to cope. I get to wear
tremendously attractive and sexy elastic compression stockings. And ... the
best international hospital in South-East Asia is ... only one hour away.
Thank You, Lord.
Thank You, Lord.
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