It was quite a day! Woke up around 7, had breakfast and then took a cab to the bike tour office. There were 4 of us on the bike tour and it was great- back alleys, across the big bridge, good mix of beautiful scenery and some background information. About half way in on a narrow path my foot caught a piece of metal on the side of the path and I had a cut between my 2nd and 3rd toe. We couldn't get it to stop bleeding and the extra guide and I jumped in a cab to find the closest clinic or hosipital.
We ended up at the oldest hospital in Thailand and they took a copy of my passport and proceeded to figure out what to do. It is a teaching hospital, so there were about 8 med students and Residents gathered around my bleeding foot. The cut was pretty deep and close to the bone, so they sent me across the hall to get an Xray. That took less than ten minutes and I was back with the doctor and med students. They pulled up the Xray on the computer and everything looked Ok. Next the foot was numbed, throughly cleaned and five stitches put in to hold the cut together. I was given two scripts (pain and antibiotics) and sent to the front to get them filled.
I paid 620 baht (less than $20) and was back in the cab in about an hour! We arrived back to the tour office about 30 minutes before the bike group finished their tour! It sounded like the bike group saw some amazing things but I got to experience first hand (or foot) the Thai medical system.
This demonstrates that you can have the day or your life well planned but God might throw you a curve ball. The detour to the hospital will definitely make this a trip a will remember! As you can tell, we need your prayers.
It is time for bed. Tomorrow we start the day with worship at NightLight, a tour of the jewelry business and hopefully some time with Annie and Jeff Dieselberg.
Thailand Greetings from the ABCRM Mission 2011 Team-
Karen Van
