Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Way Home

Ahh, the joys of driving in Bangkok. This is the only place on earth that can have a total gridlock traffic jam at 11pm on a Sunday night. It can be anything, police checkpoints, accidents, or construction. But usually, it's just due to stupid people. Between psycho scooter motards and the fact that most people are oblivious as to where they are, or what is going on around them, it can get pretty bizarre out there.


My friend Vitaly has one of those Go-Pro type cameras and filmed a video of his trip home from work, and then one of what it looks like at night. Surprisingly enough, nothing too weird happens. But, it gives you an idea of how the streets look on a normal day.

My Medical Incarceration

Geebus Crust, I hate going to the hospital! It's never good news. I seem to wait too long too. A few years ago, I got a small cut on the bottom of my foot. It was under my little toe, so I didn't even notice it until I started getting bad cramps in my calf. Turns out that it had gotten infected in the bone.

To make a long story short, after 2 years of having to put a bag on my foot to take a shower, they amputated my little toe. That was all well and good, but just a few months after that, I broke my right foot. The weird thing is, that I don't know how I did it. I woke up one morning and my foot looked like a football (American, not European).

I waited a few days to see if the swelling would go down, but it didn't. Roong took me to the hospital for a scheduled appointment, and they decided that this obviously called for more slicing and dicing. That was 6 months ago. They have been waiting for the swelling to go down, so they can fuse the bones in my foot, and suture it shut.


Pretty gross, right? All of that red isn't blood, it's betadine. But guess what! All that waiting was a wonderful opportunity to get yet another infection. Ain't that a daisy? So now, I am scheduled for surgery on Dec. 8. If everything goes right, it means another week in the hospital, and then 2 months of recovery with an erector set box frame screwed into my leg and foot at home. I am guessing that I have logged about 3 months of sitting in a hospital bed due to all of this, so far. Hopefully, there will only be about 1 more week of that. I am also hoping that I can get back to work some time in March.

Oh, I must give a shout out to the nurses in the trauma ward at Thamassat hospital. My adorable little doodlebugs. Not only did they put up with all of my bullshit, a few of them helped me cause it. Haa! Bpoop Pae, Tee Taa, Nanny, Teh, Mai, Spy, and all the rest, thanks for everything. Love you, miss you! And a special huge thank you to Vit and Sveta for "big oranges", trips to 7-11, hair cuts, and for smuggling above and beyond the call of duty. I don't know what I would have done without you.