The Accident

The Accident

 

 

Okay. We are 10 days out from the accident and I wanted to fill everyone in on the details of the past week and a half since it all went down. I haven't yet partly because of time and partly because it was one of the most horrible things I have seen, watching Carolyn get hurt so badly. With that said, here is the story:

It was a dark and stormy night (not really but that sounded like the beginning to a good story). Actually it was hot, humid and clear last Saturday night when Carolyn and I left to go out. We had helped host the open house for Asian Hope's new hospitality house earlier in the day and had just gotten ready to go out with friends for the evening. We were both looking forward to going to a Mexican restaurant that we heard had good, relatively authentic Mexican food. So we took off on our moto, me driving and Carolyn sitting side saddle in back. We had done this many times before so we didn't give it much thought at all. We took a few back streets to make it out to the main road, Russian Boulevard. We waited in the left turn lane to get the green arrow. We were in front which ended up being a very good thing. As our light gave us the go ahead, we were able to take off and leave the other cars and motos behind (when you are further back there are so many vehicles trying to go at once that as a group they take off slower). So we were a ways in front of the other cars with an empty road in front of us. This is the main road in Phnom Penh so the speed limit is higher although we weren't going more than 25 mph. Just then I looked up and saw a Land Cruiser pulling out in front of us from a side street without stopping. He was crossing our lanes of traffic and was going to head in the opposite direction on the same street. When I saw him enter our lane I braked and turned to the right to avoid him. That is when Carolyn fell off the moto. The moto didn't go all the way down but it did tip quite a bit. This is where it is good that we were far enough ahead of everyone else as Carolyn was laying in the street. I went over to help her to the side of the street where she could sit down and we figure out what to do next. It was nice as we also had many Khmai come to help us as well. They asked us if we wanted an ambulance. I said yes right away as there was a lot of blood coming from her forehead which later we realized was lacerated from her helmet visor cracking when she went down. Her arm was also banged up pretty bad. A couple minutes passed and we decided the best option was to go to a clinic that the locals said was just right around the corner. So we went there and our illusion that it was the best option was quickly dispelled. The "clinic" was a storefront (see picture) with some pharmacy items in the front. Then you walk through a doorway and there are 2 beds right next to each other, I mean right next to each other. Then if we had walked through the next doorway we would have been in the living room of the family that owned this clinic. There was an old lady sitting on a couch watching TV right there. It was crazy. Once I got a better look at Carolyn's head, I knew we needed more than this.
I would have maybe stayed there for a paper cut, maybe. So I called a friend to come and pick Carolyn up and bring her to a hospital that was close and I would meet them there.

So we left and went to Royal Rattanak Hospital. It is a satellite location of a very good Thai hospital. It was clean, bright, sterile and just what we needed. They took great care of Carolyn as they cleaned, sutured and dressed her wounds. They also took an x-ray of her head which cleared her of any fractures (I am an even bigger proponent of helmets now). We left there with an appointment to return on Wednesday for a follow-up. Carolyn rode home with our friend and I followed on our moto. Since the staff seemed to forget to check for correct pupil dilation, I checked that at home several times that night. We also looked up symptoms for concussions and they pretty much matched with what Carolyn was experiencing: dizziness, ringing in her ears…etc. The follow-up appointment was on Wednesday and the Dr. said that since Carolyn was still experiencing those symptoms in her head that we should do a head CT scan. The funny thing about that is, just as they were saying she needed one, I saw an advertisement for "Brain CT scan for 50USD" but the rest was in Khmai. When the receptionist said the CT scan would be $185 I told them I wanted the special $50 price. Then they tried to explain to me that that special price was only for Khmai. Of course Cambodia is known for bargaining so I told them I still wanted the $50 price. After a little more conversation as well as some phone calls, they acquiesced and gave us the Khmai price. We praised God when it came back clear.

A week and a half later, Carolyn is still recovering from the trauma. The stitches in her forehead look great and the road rash on her arm is healing up nicely. Her black eye is going away little by little as each day passes. She is still dealing with some ringing in her ears and headaches, which can be frustrating and discouraging. Please pray for continued healing for her and protection for all of us as we continue to seek God in our lives over here.