Tuesday, October 20, 2009

We don’t Know How Lucky We are!

Well, once again I am late with my blog entry to you all, and once again I have a good excuse.

It all started about 4 weeks ago. I was actually due to sit and start my blog when I woke up with a slight swelling under my right eye. I joked to G that he’d been dreaming that I was Van Persie and he was Adabayour and he’d given me a right good kickin! When the swelling got worse the next morning I thought I’d better check it out with the doctor, who immediately referred me to the A & E Department of our nearest hospital. 20 minutes later I was being admitted with Cellulitis of the face. This is the textbook diagnosis of what it actually is:

“Cellulitis is an infection of the skin and soft tissue of the skin. The infection is usually caused by bacteria that normally live on the skin, such as staphylococci ("Staph") or streptococci ("Strep"). The infection develops when there is a break in the skin, such as a wound or injury, which may be minor. This allows bacteria to enter the skin and grow, causing infection and swelling.”

Doesn’t sound too bad – a few germs crawling around, must be easy treat. Well, apparently if cellulitis occurs on or near face, on or near the eye, on or near the nose (all of which I had), then the results can be pretty damned serious. The doc seemed quite excited to have something other than the usual disorders to cure, let alone that I was probably his first patient of the year under the age of 70! He kept telling me how dangerous it would be if the swelling spread because it would be very close to the brain area, which could cause irreversible brain damage. Also, that if my eye swelled further, I may need plastic surgery after they’ve “cut all the swelling out”, or worse still, “loose an eye”. He then quickly hooked me up to an intravenous drip and within minutes I had more drugs running through my veins than Courtenay Love at a rave! You can imagine how I felt the next morning when I woke to find I could hardly open my eye and it had started spreading to other side of my face – not what the doctor ordered. With his words ringing through my head I had visions of Gareth coming to visit me and me peering at him through my one good eye, or not being able to recognise him at all because I’d lost my marbles! The other upsetting thing was that I was starting to look like a cross between the Elephant Man and an extra from Doctor Who! I’ve always wanted to snog David Tennant, but not looking like this!! Needless to say the doc was not impressed either. Further blood samples were taken; the drugs were increased with a few painkillers and stomach soothers thrown in for good measure (and to keep the hospital tab going!!)
Anyway, after 10 pretty worrying days with antibiotics furiously running through my veins at a dramatic rate the swelling had almost gone down and the doc declared a victory over the evil bacteria. I was to be discharged with a goody bag so full of more drugs Anthony Keidis would have mugged me for it! It’s taken a lot longer than I thought to fully recover from this, and I only got complete ‘sign off” from the doc last Friday. He wanted to make sure the bacteria was completely gone, and I think also just get that one last dollar from his little cash cow! I don’t know what was more painful the swelling on my face, or the bill I got presented with on discharge!!
I was lucky – I have health insurance, a partner who visited me everyday with bags of sweets instead of grapes, a doctor who did everything to stop this awful thing from spreading and great nursing staff who took great care of me. I live in a 1st world country where 1st class medical treatment is available 24/7.

Before all this drama unfolded, I made a solo trip to Siem Reap in Cambodia. Flights were cheap and I wanted to test my photography prowess on one of the world’s most famous archeological sites, namely Angkor Wat. Thanks to this complex of temples Siem Reap is now one of Asia’s fastest growing tourist destinations and you can see how quickly the area is expanding with good quality hotels springing up everywhere and plenty of infrastructure work progressing with haste. What this place will look like in a few years is anyone’s guess, but right now it still holds a lot of charm with a number of rivers running through it’s centre and it’s most famous street, Pub Street, just around the corner from it’s even more famous Night Market where bargains are yours for the haggling. As with our trip to Phnom Penh I found the locals to be an absolute delight. They were friendly (some of the rickshaw drivers very cheeky and funny) and the kids wonderful. Thanks to Pol Pot’s regime you don’t see many older people in this part of Cambodia either and if you talk to these resilient people their family histories are full of heartbreak and sadness. One tuk tuk driver I used quite a few times (he was always parked outside my hotel as if waiting for me to come out!) had a false leg. He never mentioned it, but I noticed it one day. When I asked him about it he told me he’d had his leg blown by a landmine when he was just 17. He doesn’t blame anyone or want sympathy, simply to enjoy his life and job as a certified driver where he can meet people and “be of use”.

Angkor Wat is only one of series of temples covering a vast area. To make the most of my visit I arranged for a guide and tuk tuk driver. They picked me up at my hotel at 5.00 am so I could join the crowds in watching the sunrise over this magnificent temple. With camera and lenses at the ready we made our way through the main gates and found a great possie to get the best shots of a new day dawning. At 8.00 am my guide took me to a local food market where I had fantastic noodle soup for breakfast and we continued our tour. I had a wonderful day hopping in and out of my tuk tuk and being taken to the next site. Of course there were the obligatory kids everywhere trying to sell books, postcards and general tat. It’s hard to say no to these ragamuffins, but you have to. If they can make a living this way they will never go to school or have the opportunity to get “off the streets”. Having a local guide definitely helped, as they stopped pestering me after about the third NO and flea in their ear from the guide. I took loads of photos and arrived home late afternoon hot, sticky and quite exhausted. Not to worry though, a quick nana nap and shower and I was on my way to Pub Street to enjoy a large beer for only 50 cents and Fish Amok (the local dish of fish curry in a fantastic coconut milk sauce – YUMMY!!!) for less than $3 – amazing! I never felt threatened or in danger even though I was a lone female, I only felt welcomed and had a lot of fun getting to know the locals.

I was there for 3 days in total and on my last evening I decided to visit ACODO orphanage. There are many orphanages right through Cambodia, but this one was different. Firstly, it is completed self-funded. Secondly the children literally dance for their supper. There are about 29 children in all ranging from 5 to 17 years old. They have regular school classes during the day and every night perform traditional Khmer dancing for donations. I had seen a professional show on my first night and to be honest wasn’t expecting much from this one, but I was truly moved by the performances of these kids. They had full costume changes and knew every dance step and movement perfectly, and took it all very seriously. You could see how much they loved performing for their (unfortunately) small audience. It was a far cry from my performances as a child with Mrs Bourgeson’s dance troupe where Mum made most of the outfits and Margaret Bent lost her “Kitty In a Basket” prop at the end!! These kids were as good as the professionals. What moved me the most was they way they devoured our attention and love at the end - hugging and kissing us all and asking us to stay. When my faithful tuk tuk driver picked me up outside the gates an hour after the show they all came running out of the gates kissing me, tugging at me, and stayed on the roadside waving till I was no longer in sight. I couldn’t see them for the tears in my eyes!

We are so lucky. We have so much, and these children literally have nothing. Each child has locker no bigger than a shoe box that contains all their worldly goods –mainly a toothbrush and small soft toy if they’re lucky, and a clean pair of pajamas. When everyone has left they sleep on the floor where only an hour earlier they performed – the boys on the floor, the girls on the makeshift stage, as they have no money to build a proper dormitory. The kitchen is a gas ring and large pot that boils the rice for their 3 meals a day. They don’t know what TV is let along Twitter!! and rely on donations for books and pencils so they can learn to read and write. Most of you have kids. If you could image going to their rooms and taking out every toy they have and 99% of their clothing, put what’s left in small box you will get some idea of what these children have. The amazing thing is, these children are lucky. They have been taken out of danger and are given food, shelter and love. If anyone is interested in knowing more about ADOCO, or think you can help with donations including 2nd hand clothing or books and crayons, I’ve put a link to their website on this blog. If any of you are thinking of visiting Siem Reap in the future, please remember these children and make sure you go to watch their show and give them a generous donation, or take food with you. I promise you, you will come away the richer for what you experience.

If you’re interested in seeing some of my photos from the trip, I’ve added them to the slideshow. Double click on the slideshow to see the images larger, then view all to find them.

I’ll sign off on this rather somber note, but take time out now and again to think about how lucky you really are. No matter how much doom and gloom is reported about the economic crisis, or if you get sick, or if you loose your job, or the cost of bread and milk goes up you are so very lucky compared to those who live every day with their unfortunate past or bad luck and still manage to make lemonade out of lemons!

J and G XXX