If you’ve been following along on the blog from the start, you’d know that I can be stubborn about slowing down when I travel to take care of injuries. I also have a high pain tolerance which makes for an unfortunate combination. So when I got a sinus infection last month in Iceland, I waited for it to pass like the common cold. Same with my broken toe in Korea. I insisted that it too, could be walked off.
But alas, I’m ten days in, still coughing up mucus and looking at my sausage toe. It was time to take a day off and take action.
Thomas spent the day with me between the clinic and hospital (with stops for drinks and salmon tartare, of course) getting me the medical care I needed in Bali, but had been too stubborn to get. In fact, as someone who almost had to get a toe amputated in Costa Rica, he knew better than anyone the importance of seeking care even when you’re traveling and it’s an inconvenience.
This past December, Thomas was jumping off a waterfall in Costa Rica when someone asked him to take their picture. He was eager to get the best angle (Thomas is a homie like that), so he climbed a wet rock and his big toenail got caught and ripped off halfway. He was in a lot of pain, but there were a lot of concerned people around so he played it off cool (how familiar). Thomas decided to ignore it and head back to his hostel, but luckily, his friends spotted a clinic on the way home and insisted he go in. The doctors pumped his foot with anesthetics and popped his entire toenail right off. He could have gotten an infection from the dirt in it, and lost his entire toe.
Side note, if you read that and thought, “it’s just a toenail, it couldn’t have been that bad,”- I’ve seen the picture and it’s pretty gnarly. I’m doing you a favor by not including it in this post.
Anyways, the doctor at the local clinic took one look in my throat and immediately gave me a look, judging me for ignoring my swollen tonsils for this long. She prescribed antibiotics and referred me to the hospital for X-rays for my toe.
It was rough having to be hit with unexpected expenses, but the beauty of Bali is that for about $125, I got a doctors visit, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and a foot X-ray. Oh, and that included my cab fare to both the clinic and the hospital.
My X-rays revealed that I have a hairline fracture, which we diagnosed ourselves by putting the image up to the lamp in our villa. (I wasn’t about to go back to the clinic to be told I have a broken toe, because there is nothing that can be done for one.)
Bottom line is, all is well. Maybe this will finally teach me a lesson that it’s okay to take some time and go see a doctor even when you’re traveling.
One can only hope.
Get well soon!
Thank you!