I think they are very wise words. And thank god I wore clean underwear on May 23.
Without judging me for even being on a motorbike in Vietnam (I am a little bit stupid sometimes), it is one of the very few options of transport in a country that's population of motorbikes is larger than it's population of people.
It was really no surprise to me when my tour guide, Toan, drove over a nail, and we were thrown from the bike. I flew to the side of the road and slid along the gravel for a bit. I remember looking up when it was all done and saying "holy shit I'm still alive!"
Not to dramatize things at all, but soon the entire Vietnamese village was at my side, touching me, yelling things in Vietnamese. No one really took charge, or wanted to do anything other than look at this poor western girl who fell off the motorbike.
As a side note, I had extensively investigated my surroundings prior to getting on a motor bike and found NO one seemed to get injured on them, so I thought I was ok. Curse of the western blood, I guess.
So finally, someone in English said "Can you stand up?"
Well, I can try, I thought. Things can't get much worse from here, so I stood up and realized most of my body was intact, except for the layers of skin missing from my legs, bum, and arms.
No hospital, no car, no ambulance. No cell phone service. Great! The only way to get any sort of help (at this point I thought my best bet was to walk back to Ho Chi Minh, and get my own plane back to Australia.), was to get back ON the motorbike, and drive to another village.
Just go with it, I thought! I got back on as the village looked on. I can't imagine what they were all saying. "That's going to hurt." "Look at her lacy underwear, we should get some of that here!" "I wonder who she bought that from on the street."
Drove up to a ?hospital? i.e. Building with a bed. I stripped the remaining clothes left on me off, and the young woman in the building looked at me with a bewildered look on her face. She said something in Vietnamese and I looked at her really confused.
There would be no help at this palce, except for the older woman who kindly came into the room and tired to put my clothes back on me.
"No, no, NO!" I said harshly. I felt bad getting cross with the sweet Vietnamese, but for $#&%'s sake!
I went into panic mode, but realized that wouldn't get me anywhere in this situation. I got my mobile phone out and called my workplace, which is a Trauma center, for some advice.
With my head on straight, realizing I wasn't immediately dying, I decided I would need to get out of the system what I could.
That meant getting into a car (the only car in a 200 km radius) in my underwear to ANOTHER village where there was allegedly a hospital.
I think my Victoria Secret lacy underwear was either a blessing or a curse at the time. Either bringing more attention to my fair, burned, battered skin, or taking some of the attention from my wounds.
As I drove up to the hospital, I gained the attention of the entire 3 patients in the hospital, their families, all 8 nurses, and the cleaner. No doors on this hospital. Which just made the whole situation a bit more easier, because I knew there would be no hope for anymore dignity or privacy.
I'm not sure what a normal "emergency" situation is like in the hospital, but my tour guide told me they don't see westerners hardly ever. I got an impressive nurse:patient ratio of 8:1. THey all looked at me, and whispered words in Vietnamese to each other.
One young nurse did take my blood pressure, which he reported to me with a nod, which I am assuming is acceptable? They cleaned about 67% of my wounds with iodine, but left the one on my bum alone. Can't blame them, can you?
"What hurts the most?" were the only english words I understood.
My sternum, my chest.
Treatment? A left arm x-ray. Hey, at least it's something!
At the end, the "doctor" (who I never saw, I don't really think he exists) told my tour guide "It's all skin, no problems."
I was given antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory enzyme, and Mofren (Ibuprofen) and sent on my merry way. I think all of this costs $5USD.
So, lessons learned?
Always wear underwear appropriate for the culture you are in.
Appreciate western medicine when you have it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
