2011
Paradise Lost
11 October 2011
Not such good news this time. I'm afraid I have to report that Cathy had quite a serious accident yesterday on the fabulous bike ride on her birthday. I was not with them but got the call in the afternoon that she had been taken to the local hospital in Mas, just south of Ubud - Sally was with her and had the presence of mind to put her in the recovery position and open her airways. (The bike tour guys did not know what to do!) The support vehicle on the bike tour got her into the vehicle somehow and rushed her to the Mas hospital where I headed when I got the phone call from Sally. Cathy came off the bike - she has no recollection how, and has badly smashed up her face and is covered in bruises and cuts. Had lost consciousness momentarily and was completely disoriented, according to Sally. They patched her up in Mas, cleaning the wounds and stitching the cuts and, at my request, finally covered her with a blanket and provided hot sweet tea for the shock. She was shaking terribly. They did X-rays and said there were no breaks but they were not very clear pictures. We took her by ambulance to the international medical centre, BIMC in Kuta for further tests and treatment on the advice of the Dutch girl from the bike company who also rushed to the local Mas hospital - and paid all the bills there. At BIMC they were suddenly very concerned and immediately did a barrage of tests - brain scan to ensure no bleeding and also further better X-rays and an ultrasound of all the vital organs. It is a highly professional western hospital - VERY expensive, but Cathy has insurance. Brilliant staff of international and local doctors and nurses. They kept me informed every step of the way. We contacted the insurer and both Cathy and I spoke to the guy in Australia who sent the forms to the hospital by email. I filled them in for her. She had left a message on the phone for her husband when she was still in Mas and he got back to me later in the night by mobile and I was able to pass him on to Cathy when she came out of the X-ray room. The good news today is the back injury, which is very painful and preventing her from sitting up or walking, seems not to be the compression fracture the doctors feared but deep tissue/ muscle damage. They are keeping her in hospital for some days to ensure she is fit to travel home - at the moment she can't even get out of bed.
The ambulance ride was pretty harrowing for Cathy - getting her onto the ambulance stretcher was a nightmare for her - it was at least 6 inches higher than the trolley she was on and could not be lowered - they hauled her on to it and I pushed her legs - she landed on her tummy and they wanted her to turn over - no way was that possible so she stayed that way all the way to Kuta. And in the ambulance there were no belts to control her rolling around - I asked the driver why no belts and his reply was "no money"! When I insisted it was basic equipment he said I could donate some money for them if I liked, directly to him. Oh yeah! Every bump and corner was agony for Cathy as she had to clench her muscles to stop falling off. By the way, the driver was not wearing his own seatbelt which WAS provided - when I pointed out the irony of this for someone who attended terrible traffic accidents every day, he just laughed at me - and still did not put it on!! The siren was blaring but in the traffic jams it was to no avail. It was an awful nerve-splitting noise. I was as relieved as Cathy when we finally got to BIMC an hour later and entered another world.
The ambulance ride was pretty harrowing for Cathy - getting her onto the ambulance stretcher was a nightmare for her - it was at least 6 inches higher than the trolley she was on and could not be lowered - they hauled her on to it and I pushed her legs - she landed on her tummy and they wanted her to turn over - no way was that possible so she stayed that way all the way to Kuta. And in the ambulance there were no belts to control her rolling around - I asked the driver why no belts and his reply was "no money"! When I insisted it was basic equipment he said I could donate some money for them if I liked, directly to him. Oh yeah! Every bump and corner was agony for Cathy as she had to clench her muscles to stop falling off. By the way, the driver was not wearing his own seatbelt which WAS provided - when I pointed out the irony of this for someone who attended terrible traffic accidents every day, he just laughed at me - and still did not put it on!! The siren was blaring but in the traffic jams it was to no avail. It was an awful nerve-splitting noise. I was as relieved as Cathy when we finally got to BIMC an hour later and entered another world.
We are all now down at the hotel in Legian on the beach, not too far from the Kuta hospital. I stayed with Cathy until late last night - Sally had gone back to Ubud from Mas, where Anne had returned from the rest of the bike ride - the two of them packed up all my and Cathy's things, paid the hotel bill and got a vehicle down here this morning. We all went back to see Cathy by taxi today and she is a little better but still in a lot of pain and very miserable. What a terribly sad way to spend her birthday. Poor Cathy - it had been such wonderful trip up till now. From now on I'm afraid the bike ride down the mountain will not be on my list of recommended Bali adventures.
While the others were on the ride I had spent yesterday with Melinda, Arif and Zak up in Ubud (hair-raising long drive for Arif - never again, he said!) and it was lovely – a visit with Josh, lunch at Pulau Kelapa and then a trip to the Monkey Forest for Zak who just loved the monkeys. We had not been there long when Sally's call came - wonderful Arif drove me to Mas and dropped me at the hospital and then they continued on down to the coast. Their hotel is fortuitously just next door to where we now are. They rang me later in the evening while I was with Cathy at BIMC and suggested if I needed a place to stay Zak was not using his bed! I had planned to sleep on a couch or the floor at BIMC and stay with Cathy but she just wanted to sleep and was confident of being well looked after, so I took them up on the offer. Took a taxi a couple of hours later once Cathy was properly settled in her very nice room - and it was lovely to have friends to go to after that harrowing afternoon/night. Had a hot shower! Melinda made me tea and found me some biscuits and fruit, as I had not eaten since lunch about eight hours earlier. Provided me with a sarong to sleep in and a new toothbrush! This morning I had a hotel buffet breakfast with them by the pool and then strolled next door to await the arrival of the others from Ubud with our luggage. Took Cathy's things over to her this afternoon. Good we are now close by - Ubud would have been so far away to visit her.
While the others were on the ride I had spent yesterday with Melinda, Arif and Zak up in Ubud (hair-raising long drive for Arif - never again, he said!) and it was lovely – a visit with Josh, lunch at Pulau Kelapa and then a trip to the Monkey Forest for Zak who just loved the monkeys. We had not been there long when Sally's call came - wonderful Arif drove me to Mas and dropped me at the hospital and then they continued on down to the coast. Their hotel is fortuitously just next door to where we now are. They rang me later in the evening while I was with Cathy at BIMC and suggested if I needed a place to stay Zak was not using his bed! I had planned to sleep on a couch or the floor at BIMC and stay with Cathy but she just wanted to sleep and was confident of being well looked after, so I took them up on the offer. Took a taxi a couple of hours later once Cathy was properly settled in her very nice room - and it was lovely to have friends to go to after that harrowing afternoon/night. Had a hot shower! Melinda made me tea and found me some biscuits and fruit, as I had not eaten since lunch about eight hours earlier. Provided me with a sarong to sleep in and a new toothbrush! This morning I had a hotel buffet breakfast with them by the pool and then strolled next door to await the arrival of the others from Ubud with our luggage. Took Cathy's things over to her this afternoon. Good we are now close by - Ubud would have been so far away to visit her.
Our hotel is gorgeous - we are in the older section a little further from the beach, but it is in a pretty garden and very peaceful, despite being just 50 metres from the busy maze of narrow streets that make up Legian - (I remember it as a coconut plantation when I cycled through it from Kuta in 1972!!) Lots of Aussies here who sit at the bar stools in the pool and drink while up to their midriffs in water! All that glass so close to a pool! We have just seen the sunset over Kuta Beach - pretty nice but not spectacular. Vivienne, who had booked into a nearby hotel, has now moved here with us in Cathy's bed, already paid for - a much nicer place and it is good we are all together.
Off to dinner now - will try to post this off in the morning - only got wi-fi at the restaurant at the beach front and it is currently full of partying Aussies and loud music. I bet everyone will appreciate the joys of Ubud even more now, having seen this very different world down at the coast. But we do have the beach here! Josh will bring Jasmin down on Thursday to meet Zak if all goes as planned - she will be back from the trip north with her mother tomorrow.
Off to dinner now - will try to post this off in the morning - only got wi-fi at the restaurant at the beach front and it is currently full of partying Aussies and loud music. I bet everyone will appreciate the joys of Ubud even more now, having seen this very different world down at the coast. But we do have the beach here! Josh will bring Jasmin down on Thursday to meet Zak if all goes as planned - she will be back from the trip north with her mother tomorrow.