Don't Wind Up Like This.

[Edge]

Look on the bright side Amigo - the old devil is back in the hands of the Brit authorities so he'll no longer be a concern to you. At worst, he's getting the treatment he needs and has a bed in an old-folks home somewhere, not very exciting but at least safe.

 

Yep, you've probably lost the 400, but also lost the burden of being this fellow's guardian angel, which is probably worth losing 400 for in the first place. Who knows, maybe once he's sorted things out back in the UK you'll start to see some money flowing back in your direction. As he left town without letting anyone know, I seriously doubt it though...............................

 

Well things took a bit of a twist today.

 

As agreed, I phoned the dragon whose number we had to see if she would give me his son or daughter's number.

Bear in mind she hasn't spoken to him for 10 years and they've all disowned him.

 

In an amazing nice-as-pie turnaround, she explained that she'd been lying like a TG.

In fact she knew all about his illness, as did her 'new' husband and the children.

In fact it was they who had funded and arranged his passage 'home', collected him from the airport and got him tucked up in hospital.

My flabber was ghasted.

 

There has been no talk of Dengue Fever in UK, as diagnosed by the Thai doctors.

The UK diagnosis is that acute septicemia set in from the mosquito bite and ultimately attacked his spinal column and his immune system broke down.

He is currently paralysed from the waist down and very weak. He has had blood treatments and two lumbar punctures.

He is very ill and the prognosis is, at best, that he might make a very slow recovery, followed by a lengthy period of rehab' and physio'.

The NHS is a wondrous thing.

Whatever else, he certainly wasn't swinging the lead, though even from when I saw him four or so weeks ago in Emergency I knew that.

 

She then said that she understood there was money involved.

I said (lying liken bit) that that was the last thing on my mind and that we really were just trying to find out whether he had made it safely back.

She said that was very nice but that he was concerned about it as he just hadn't the strength to try to explain what was happening before he left.

She insisted on me giving her my bank details and said the money will be in my account in a couple of days.

I hadn't quite written it off, but I'll be pleased to see it back. I thought if he got sorted he would pay it back, but I didn't expect it this quick, if ever.

She asked me if he owed the Ex any money. The Ex had said that he did, but I'm pretty sure that was smokescreen because I was holding her responsible for my 20k (fat chance).

Anyway, I said I didn't think so.

 

I've to call again Thursday for an update and hopefully get a number at the hospital the Ex can call.

She cost me a packet but then she is Thai. She isn't all bad.

 

So (subject to seeing the money lol) my faith in human nature is totally restored and I'm ready for the next deserving cause - maybe.

[Edge]

........................................

There has been no talk of Dengue Fever in UK, as diagnosed by the Thai doctors.

The UK diagnosis is that acute septicemia set in from the mosquito bite and ultimately attacked his spinal column and his immune system broke down.

He is currently paralysed from the waist down and very weak. He has had blood treatments and two lumbar punctures.

He is very ill and the prognosis is, at best, that he might make a very slow recovery, followed by a lengthy period of rehab' and physio'.

The NHS is a wondrous thing.

..............................................

 

He now has a full diagnosis :-

 

Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) (French pronunciation: [ɡiˈlɛ̃ baˈʁe], English pronunciation: /ˈɡiːlæn ˈbɑreɪ/), sometimes Landry's paralysis, is an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (AIDP), a disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. Ascending paralysis, weakness beginning in the feet and hands and migrating towards the trunk, is the most typical symptom. It can cause life-threatening complications, particularly if the breathing muscles are affected or if there is dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. The disease is usually triggered by an acute infection. Guillain–Barré syndrome is a form of peripheral neuropathy.

 

The diagnosis is usually made by nerve conduction studies. With prompt treatment by intravenous immunoglobulins or plasmapheresis, together with supportive care, the majority will recover completely. Guillain–Barré syndrome is rare, at 1–2 cases per 100,000 people annually, but is one of the leading causes of acute non-trauma-related paralysis in the world. The syndrome is named after the French physicians Georges Guillain and Jean Alexandre Barré, who described it in 1916.

 

 

All from a mosquito bite.

 

The emphasis being on "with prompt treatment" it seems likely that a few more days delay in getting him back to UK would have resulted in his death.

 

The prognosis is unclear but at least he's receiving all the right treatments. Unfortunately he deteriorated to such a level that even if he were to make a full recovery it will take a very long time and his age is of course against him.

 

 

 

Half of the money I lent him went into my account and the rest is promised at the end of the month.

 

[bababooey62]

Funny how karma works. Good for you Edge. Glad you are getting your money back, and your conscious should be clear as well.

 

I do feel for this guy. When they diagnosed me with prostate cancer and told me maybe 5-8 yrs to live, at age 49 I had to do a lot of soul searching. Then you start to read about the cures that give you permanent ED and peeing in a diaper for the rest of your life which is no way to live. All of this happening before my first trip to LOS.

Thankfully due to the internet I found a decent cure (proton beam therapy) that had minor side effects. I went to LOS before treatment and had the best time of my life!

 

Now I've completed treatment, and everything is working just fine. This may change a little over the next year, but only time will tell. Hopefully the cancer is gone, I believe it is. While I did the treatment, I managed to have a heart attack brought on by a rare artery blockage. So again, time to re-evaluate life.

 

After some deep soul searching, I've come to a few conclusions. One - my faith in God has been restored. Two - Creating good karma by giving more to those who need it. Three - To be happy and enjoy life in its simplest form. Four - To live life for today, for tomorrow may never come.

 

I congratulate you for helping, and my next trip to LOS I hope to buy you a beer to celebrate your good faith.

[Edge]

........................................ To live life for today, for tomorrow may never come.

.........................................................................

 

Garth Brooks' song is very popular out here and Thais certainly seem to live it that way at times - you don't see many with grey hair anyway.

 

Congratulations on battling your way through and I hope all continues to go well for you.

 

The guy in question actually planned on 'tomorrow' never coming and when it did he was skint.

He was fortunate that people who had given up on him - his family - relented when it counted and got him back to UK.

Last heard he is as grouchy as ever and still hospitalised but stable.

 

The rest of the money I lent him went into my account as promised.

 

 

 

[Edge]

He called me a couple of weeks ago.

 

They got him on his feet and set him up in a flat as far as I could tell.

 

Then he had a relapse and went back into hospital to learn to walk again.

 

He's out again, albeit on sticks.

 

Amazingly he was talking about booking his flight back here and asking if I thought he should wait until after Songkran.

[dc_publius]

Interesting story... With modern medicine, our life expectancy is much higher these days, which also means much more money needed if one retires...

 

Do you think the guy is telling the truth about being diagnosed with cancer in the first place? It seems like doctors would not communicate such diagnosis unless they are 100% sure, and if they are not, the guy would be likely to win a lot of money. If his story backed up, malpractice insurance would probably settle for big money even before any legal action was taken... (This is probably much different with NHS/UK)

 

But this guy never pursued any of this, and just went to LOS.

 

It seems to me like he decided to throw caution to the wind and go to LOS and this was just his excuse.

 

Anyway, good Karma for you. A good deed is a good deed, even if it's in favor of someone that doesn't necessarily deserve generosity/etc. If anything, it speaks for your character even more.

[Edge]

.................................

Do you think the guy is telling the truth about being diagnosed with cancer in the first place? ...........................

 

Short of being there when the diagnosis was given, I can't be certain, but I've known him for 5 years now - actually he was the Ex's Ex, so, in a way, longer than that.

IME the prognosis would have been delivered verbally and with provisos and get outs. He often joked (?) that he ought to be able to sue the doctor, but I doubt he looked into it seriously. The case would have made interesting reading in the tabloids I'm sure.

 

He was here for about 4 years before me and had his annual tests/scans done at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital initially, the the International and finally at Si Racha. It wasn't until around year 3-4 that he got the complete all clear....and so far has stayed clear.

As said in the story, his family turned their backs on him for being so selfish (and stupid) but in the end it was they who really came through for him. I'm pretty sure he would have laid in his apartment and died otherwise.

 

I expect you could make this stuff up, but it's all true to the best of my knowledge - I even met the girl he bought the silicon tits for. They were huge.

 

PS - If it's relevant, he never came to Thailand until he was brought here by a friend to cheer him up after he got the diagnosis. He had little idea what he was coming to until he got here.

[Aussie79]

I can see my old man being exactly like this down the track (bar the initial health scare). He moved to Pattaya a couple of years back, the idiot has blown his money and now lives off the pension. Borrowed money from me, not paid it back etc etc. I am sure it is a common occurrence.

[badboybilly]

I can see my old man being exactly like this down the track (bar the initial health scare). He moved to Pattaya a couple of years back, the idiot has blown his money and now lives off the pension. Borrowed money from me, not paid it back etc etc. I am sure it is a common occurrence.

 

I feel empathy for you Aussie........i suppose its similar to gambling etc

[Edge]

He just called me yesterday.

 

He's back in Pattaya.

 

.

[mpm]

He just called me yesterday.

 

He's back in Pattaya.

 

.

This has been a great read and thanks Edge for keeping us updated, you sure sound like a good guy. Aussie what's wrong with a man giving his old fella a few quid? So what, why would you post that? I wish my old man was still alive and I could throw money at him !

[Edge]

This has been a great read and thanks Edge for keeping us updated, you sure sound like a good guy.

 

Shhhhhh no-one's going to believe that anyway.

 

He's not only alive and kicking (albeit one leg kicking better than the other) but I took him out all round his favourite GoGo bars in WS the other night.

 

Now he's hassling me to take him up to Ubon to visit our mutual Ex and see the Fishing Park complex I built up there (didn't mean to lol).

 

Edge to the (piss) artist formerly known as BigReg :-

 

All praise to our glorious Motherland for taking this long term expatriated deserter back under her wing.

Not only did our brilliant NHS take him into Intensive Care and nurse him through recovery for many months, but the local council then provided him with a flat and day care until he could look after himself.

Now, on State Pension plus other payouts including Disabled Benefit and with reduced Rent and Council Tax, he is on about 15+k GBP/annum and allowed to spend 4 x 1 month a year in Thailand.

Who says our country is bankrupt - though it might well be if it had to do this too many times.

[Edge]

Right, picked up the hire car tonight, so we're off at the crack of dawn to Pho Sai, about 100 kms North of Ubon Ratchatani.

 

There we'll stay in some A/C (?) Salas/bungalows in my the Ex's fishing park, which I have no doubt will be teaming with mozzies.

 

Considering one of those almost sent him to meet his maker, I wonder whether he'll last 3 nights.

 

First I have to go to Na Kluea market to buy some prawns packed in ice for Mama.

 

Should be fun?

[Edge]

I posted some pics of the Ubon trip HERE

 

The old boy coped reasonably well, but shortly after returning to Pattaya he got a bit depressed about his lack of mobility around town, with his leg problem.

He has some damage to his sciatic nerve which has caused one leg to weaken and the foot to drop.

Doctors have told him it may recover eventually, but he's 70+ and from what I know about sciatic nerves I doubt it.

 

Anyway, the next I heard was that he had brought his flight forward and was going home the next day.

He'd made it back to fantasy land only to realise the reality.

.

[Sexyfarangman]

He should have gotten a second opinion on his cancer diagnosis instead of just going haywire and spending himself into oblivion.

[Edge]

He should have gotten a second opinion on his cancer diagnosis .....................

 

Did someone say he didn't?

.

[Sexyfarangman]

Did someone say he didn't?

.

 

It wasn't stated that he did.

[Edge]

It wasn't stated that he did.

 

His full medical reports from UK and Thailand were not posted it's true.

 

Apologies for the omission.

.

[Sexyfarangman]

His full medical reports from UK and Thailand were not posted it's true.

 

Apologies for the omission.

.

 

The only info we have about LOS is that he got the all clear 4 years after the original diagnosis.Hence, I assume he never got a second opinion in the UK, the place I would have tried to get such an opinion if I had received the cancer diagnosis. But to each his own. He probably saw the diagnosis as a good thing in that he could indulge himself without limit, so no need to get a second opinion.

[Edge]

The only info we have about LOS is that he got the all clear 4 years after the original diagnosis.Hence, I assume he never got a second opinion in the UK, the place I would have tried to get such an opinion if I had received the cancer diagnosis. But to each his own. He probably saw the diagnosis as a good thing in that he could indulge himself without limit, so no need to get a second opinion.

 

Assume away. I gave more than sufficient information to illustrate the story.

 

Maybe you should be planning your next trip or your retirement instead of analysing every thread to try to work out why that couldn't happen to you.

 

As long as you're stuck over there probably none of it will.

 

[Balbuzard]

................Now, on State Pension plus other payouts including Disabled Benefit and with reduced Rent and Council Tax, he is on about 15+k GBP/annum and allowed to spend 4 x 1 month a year in Thailand.

Who says our country is bankrupt - though it might well be if it had to do this too many times.

 

That's a very nice amount if he's able to stay in Patts with an income of 15k GBP, he should consider himself a very lucky SOB

[sinbad5]

What a story! Has he returned, Edge?

[Edge]

What a story! Has he returned, Edge?

 

He's been back once and I took him up to Isaan - see tail end of my Death in the Family thread.

 

He's coming again in October.

[sinbad5]

He's been back once and I took him up to Isaan - see tail end of my Death in the Family thread.

 

He's coming again in October.

 

I'm beginning to hope I do end up like him, or at least that I retain the tenacious mongering instinct.

 

But I think by the time I'm his age I'll be dead or gurgling into a bib and shitting in my nappy in some nursing home.

[cheezy]

Can you imagine counting the days, thinking you're going to die, and then you don't?

 

What a story. I would have left his daughter some money if she needed it though.