Tourist takes part of his own skull from Thailand (video)
In the British newspaper Daily Mail there is a bizarre story of a British tourist who took a piece of his own skull home in his hand luggage after a holiday in Thailand.
The 32-year-old man, Lee Charie, fell from his balcony on the island in December Koh Tao. He fell seven meters to his bed, survived his fall, but was seriously injured. Staff at the hotel where he was staying found him unconscious on the floor.
Once in hospital, Thai doctors had to remove part of his skull to prevent further brain damage. The doctors decided to perform this procedure to make room for his brain, which had been swollen by the blow. After the operation, Charie had to rehabilitate: he could no longer walk or talk.
Lee himself did not get much of the incident. He only came out of his coma after two days in the hospital. When he came to, he was so drugged he thought he was on the beach, he told a Daily Mail reporter.
Doctors in England are going to make a mold with the piece of skull to replace the removed piece. Now Charie is walking around with a big dent in his head which looks rather strange.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/B7AjNM71oLU[/youtube]
A lot of tourists and expats fall from balconies. Maybe balconies should be banned in Thailand? Or would this be a case of 'Drink destroys more than you love'?
It may be meant to be funny, but you have a point there, Peter.
In the Netherlands we have standard heights of a balcony balustrade, in Thailand I think also, but because the Thais are smaller on average, this height will also be lower
I had noticed before that when I wanted to hang over the balustrade on a balcony of a hotel, I noticed that it is a bit 'anxious' precisely because the height is too low, my legs start to shake and I don't know how fast I have to go back in. The balustrade on the gallery side of a large hotel in Chiangmai was also too low (for me) so that I did not go down on the 10th floor to see how beautiful the lounge on the ground floor was in the openwork building.
@Lex K., In that case, gravity is not a speculation of the effect, but a logical consequence that you can easily end up on the ground floor quickly…especially if alcohol is involved or a push in the back.
Instead of the many predictable and lame speculations about the effect of gravity on a (drunk??) tourist and the helpful or otherwise helpful hands of Thai people, the first one is already in by the time I do that. As I sit here typing, I would rather express my appreciation for the level of Thai medical science.
The doctors in the hospital managed to patch up that man within 2 months, despite serious head injuries, so that he could go home to continue his recovery. This shows to me once again that the Thai doctors and hospitals are certainly not inferior to Western ones.
Sincerely,
Lex K.
@ Lex it seems to me unsubstantiated and realistic that you draw the conclusion based on an incident that the level of Thai doctors and hospitals is absolutely top. In Thailand, that mainly depends on your financial possibilities.
Maybe a little too much rose-colored glasses?
Peter,
You ask and I turn,
Ten 1st; where did I say that the quality of Thai hospitals is absolutely top notch? of course there is a lot to notice and indeed it also depends on your financial capacity, all true to his money (old Dutch saying) right? that was also the case in the Netherlands, at the time of private and fund insured persons.
2nd; there is no hospital mentioned in the story, so I just did it in general, if a name of the hospital was mentioned then I would have mentioned it in particular, I could have written better about the average doctor and the average hospital .
3rd; I unfortunately have several experiences with hospitals in Thailand, both for me, my children, my Thai wife (on Dutch insurance) but also with my Thai family and I have no complaints about the commitment, dedication and quality of the doctors , nursing staff but also support staff.
I have visited hospitals in Trang, Hat Yai, Krabi, Koh Lanta, Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, both state and private clinics and indeed the quality of care and accommodation of the private clinics is at a higher level than that of the state hospitals, but this is made up for by the dedication and commitment of the staff.
I don't look at anything in Thailand through rose-colored glasses, I'm definitely too critical sometimes, just look at my previous comments, but I don't lose sight of reality.
The Thai doctors in state hospitals have to make do with what they have, but easily endure the comparison with Dutch doctors and hospitals.
I have had more negative experiences in the Netherlands, such as waiting times and lists, but also patient friendliness.
What mattered to me is that there would be all kinds of lame reactions again (gravity, tourist, balcony, alcohol and whether or not Thai helpfulness)
This article is about the luck that a tourist had, thanks to adequate help and good (medical) care, this man survived and that has nothing to do with the quality of balconies, but everything with the quality of the relevant hospital and the doctors there.
Regards,
Lex K.
Lex K,
I completely agree with this version, especially regarding the (doctors) hospitals in Thailand,
with regard to the height of balcony railings or fencing, it is nonsense to criticize
I myself come from a family with tall people, grandfather 2.02 m born in 1869, my father, the smallest at home 1.97 born in 1916, my uncles 2.02 and 2.15 m respectively. And the average height of people in the Netherlands at that time was 1.65 t/ m 1.75, the average height of Thai men is 1.70 m. I have never heard any complaints that the balcony railings were too low, BUT the doors were too low and the beds too small, even according to my father.
Furthermore, in addition to hospitals, you should assume that financially a Dutch hospital is comparable to a Thai private clinic, and then the scale will tip in favor of the Thai clinic.
and for Dear Peter, it would perhaps be a good idea to not put on sunglasses on his holiday in Thailand, because at a certain age you really need both eyes, and if you still put on a pair with strong ones!,… no pink please
When I was in the MBK last week, I was also surprised at how low the gates between the escalators are.
If you are taller than 170, you can easily roll over the railing, down 6 floors...
Of course Peter has a point. An expat or tourist falls from a balcony every week, especially in Pattaya and Phuket. The balustrade of those balconies are usually about 1.5 to 1.6 meters high. When you slip, even when you are 1 meter 95, you don't just fall over that balustrade, do you?. The fence would have to reach at least to the waist for something like this to happen.
Kudos indeed to the doctors who managed to save this man's life.
Moderator: we will post your question as a reader question.